Asthma

 This is mainly for my own reference. I'm having my first major asthma attack in over a year.  I'd got used to living without asthma - I was really enjoying it...

Things that have probably helped reduce the asthma risk - no carpets.  When we installed the heat pump, we opted for an underfloor heating system with LVT tiling. That cut down dust exposure quite a lot (and I know dust/dust mites is one of my triggers)

Most likely cause of current attack - a search through old DW entries finds one where I'd mentioned the risk from fungal spores.  This may be spot on - penicillin and aspergillum spores peak in September/October and mould is my other key trigger.  Things like wet paths made from woodchip can make me wheezy.

There's not a lot I can do, apart from avoiding mould as much as possible. I've just completed my first course of steroids in a long time - and I'm still wheezing.

Making sure we empty the food waste bin regularly, possibly cutting down on the number of house plants, and drying laundry outside as much as possible are all we can really do to reduce the risk from mould - apart from choosing carefully where we go for walks.

Frustratingly, most pollen count web sites ignore fungal spores, but this one from the University of Worcester has some limited data - https://www.worcester.ac.uk/about/academic-schools/school-of-science-and-the-environment/science-and-the-environment-research/national-pollen-and-aerobiology-research-unit/pollen-forecast.aspx

Their site says:

Aspergillus and Penicillium types

The year starts with a high risk for these types with a total monthly average of 1,333 spores in January and 1,215 in February. Spores continue to be airborne during Spring and early Summer but possibly below the levels needed to trigger symptoms, although studies show that A. fumigatus can be high in March and August, as well as the Autumn. From mid-August the risk starts to rise again and people often report symptoms during warm, humid conditions in late August, September and October, with the peak reaching an average of 1,950 spores in October. Although the spore levels continue to be high during November and December, few people report symptoms, so it is likely that the types occurring during these months are less allergenic.