Preparing A Sleeping Area For A Child With Asthma

When you are dealing with a child with asthma, it is very important to ensure that you do everything that you can to prevent asthma symptoms from occurring. An asthma attack can be devastating to a young body and severe attacks can result in hospitalization and a significant recovery time.

According to the Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma-in-children/AS00034), because asthma can’t be cured, it’s important for parents to have formal a plan to minimize symptoms. One important part of this type of plan lies with making sure that children with asthma have a sleeping area designed to minimize exposure to symptom triggers.

Three Steps to Preparing a Sleeping Area to Minimize Symptoms

In order to prepare a sleeping area for a child with asthma, attention to detail and a high level of cleanliness is necessary for creating an area that will be comfortable for the child to sleep in.

1. Dust Furniture With Dust Capturing Product

The first thing that you should do to prepare a sleeping area for a child with asthma is dust the furniture in the room with a product that captures dust instead of just brushing it off of surfaces. The frame, headboard, and footboard of the bed should be dusted thoroughly to limit the amount of dust that is around the child while he or she is sleeping. If you notice that there seems to be a lot of dust in the sleeping area, you may want to consider installing a high quality air filter into the home’s HVAC system to remove more of the dust from the air inside the home.

2. Cover Mattress And Box Spring With Protective Cover

Dust mites and their offspring live and breed deep within the mattresses and box springs used in sleeping areas across the nation. To protect people with allergies and asthma, some manufacturers have begun making protective coverings for all sizes of mattresses and box springs that prevent allergens from coming through the covering including baby beds and toddler beds. These coverings are used to cover the mattress before the sheets and blankets are put on to provide an additional layer of protection from anything that may be in the mattress.

3. Wash Bedding And Pillows

Before placing a child with asthma in a sleeping area, all of the bedding and pillows should be washed thoroughly using the washing directions the manufacturer has placed on the tags of the items. Washing these items before allowing the child to sleep on them will remove any contaminants or pollutants that may be present on the items that you may not know about. This is especially important for bedding that has been recently purchased as many companies spray their products with chemicals before shipping to protect them from pests, bacteria, and mold. If the child likes to have stuffed toys in their sleeping area, these should be washed thoroughly as well.