Outdoor

Outdoor pollen and mold can affect your child’s asthma. Pollen and mold counts are higher in the spring thru fall. Tree pollen counts are highest in the early spring, grass pollens in the late spring and summer, and weed pollens in summer and fall. Mold counts are higher when the humidity is high and after rain. If pollen or mold trigger your child’s asthma, keep them indoors and use an air conditioner when possible. To find out if pollen or mold counts are high visit the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology website for Daily Pollen Counts.

Air pollution can also affect your child’s asthma. Pollution from factories, smoke stacks, cars, open burning and other activities help create ground-level ozone and small particles that can trigger your child’s asthma. Together ozone and small particles are often called smog. High levels of ozone are usually on hot, sunny summer days with little to no wind. Visit the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Smog Watch website for daily ozone levels or call 1-800-631-2871 or (317) 233-2318. Limit outdoor activities when ozone levels are high.

Many Hoosiers burn their trash in backyard burn barrels and burn piles. Burning trash is illegal everywhere in Indiana. The toxins and small particles that are released from burning trash can cause your child to have an asthma attack. Do not burn trash and report illegal trash burning to the local authorities. For more information on illegal open burning visit Stop Burning Trash.org Explore the great Outdoors in Breatheasyville for more information on outdoor asthma triggers.