Nightwriter
New member
Hi Melissa,
You know, you are already ahead of the game because your insticts are correct. Some people may call avoiding bacteria living a bubble. But you have to do whatever it is you can WITHIN REASON to keep a CFer healthy. Because there are things worse than a bubble -- and that is a prison which is what life turns into when someone gets into a phase of exacerbation after exacerbation.
1.houseplants are NOT for CFer's. Do you know many hospitals discourage plants in patients rooms? Because... you are right -- the wet soil. Mold grows in wet soil. Not to mention bacteria like Cepacia. Plus plant nurseries use a lot of chemicals and pesticides in them. So Sorry. There are great artificial ones.
2. No fragrance. Of any kind. Perfume, cleaning products, shampoos, soap, etc. Most Cfer's have hypersensitive lungs. They react to chemicals -- maybe not even in a visible way like coughing. However it makes asthma worse --which is the contributing factor to exacerbations -- in other words the airways swell trapping the thick mucus. Fragrance causes inflammation. All of my friends or relatives don't wear perfume if they are going to be around me -- or remove any air fresheners if they are going to see me. I find that everyone is pretty considerate.
3. Drinking water should be filtered. Even a Britta pitcher is good. Or one that goes on the faucet if you want to get fancier. My doctor also recommends a charcoal filter on the shower head which is cheap and you can find it at Home Depot. The Chlorine and other substances in the mist is terrible.
4. Dust and Dustmites in your bedding is a big irritant whether the person is allergic or not. You have your face right in the stuff. And when you plop down on the mattress, it all goes in the air. You can buy mattress and pillow protectors to encase. Wash bedding once a week. If you have a comforter you can't wash that often, put in the dryer for 10 minutes on hot.
5. Get rid of all the toxic chemicals in and around your home. Clean with Vinegar and baking soda or green products.
That answers your specific questions.
Others include:
bagged salads contain Pseudomonas, so if you use these, wash them well.
No drycleaning -- unless it's the natural kind
Good hepa/charcoal filter vacuum and air filter
Car windows up/recycle the air
No fireplace. No barbeques and if you can't avoid, wear a charcoal mask (Smoke is about the worst thing a CFer can breathe).
Chemical and preservative free food. (Preferably organic if possible.)
At age 6, allergy testing.
A doctor who will treat the asthma component of CF, even if you have to go to specialist. By keeping the airways open and getting the mucus out of the lungs, they will be less liokely to attract and hold bacteria.
Nasal Rinses and extra ones if exposed to anything particularly harmful. The nose and the eyes are how colds get in. Plus cold remedies can be helpful (with your doctor's approval.
Avoid people with colds, and if you really want to be safe stand 3 feet away from people that you suspect are sick. Hand sanitizer is your friend when ther is no soap and water.
This list goes on, but here is a start.
This was a similar thread and may be helpful -- I wrote a few posts here.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=39912">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...catid=6&threadid=39912</a>
You know, you are already ahead of the game because your insticts are correct. Some people may call avoiding bacteria living a bubble. But you have to do whatever it is you can WITHIN REASON to keep a CFer healthy. Because there are things worse than a bubble -- and that is a prison which is what life turns into when someone gets into a phase of exacerbation after exacerbation.
1.houseplants are NOT for CFer's. Do you know many hospitals discourage plants in patients rooms? Because... you are right -- the wet soil. Mold grows in wet soil. Not to mention bacteria like Cepacia. Plus plant nurseries use a lot of chemicals and pesticides in them. So Sorry. There are great artificial ones.
2. No fragrance. Of any kind. Perfume, cleaning products, shampoos, soap, etc. Most Cfer's have hypersensitive lungs. They react to chemicals -- maybe not even in a visible way like coughing. However it makes asthma worse --which is the contributing factor to exacerbations -- in other words the airways swell trapping the thick mucus. Fragrance causes inflammation. All of my friends or relatives don't wear perfume if they are going to be around me -- or remove any air fresheners if they are going to see me. I find that everyone is pretty considerate.
3. Drinking water should be filtered. Even a Britta pitcher is good. Or one that goes on the faucet if you want to get fancier. My doctor also recommends a charcoal filter on the shower head which is cheap and you can find it at Home Depot. The Chlorine and other substances in the mist is terrible.
4. Dust and Dustmites in your bedding is a big irritant whether the person is allergic or not. You have your face right in the stuff. And when you plop down on the mattress, it all goes in the air. You can buy mattress and pillow protectors to encase. Wash bedding once a week. If you have a comforter you can't wash that often, put in the dryer for 10 minutes on hot.
5. Get rid of all the toxic chemicals in and around your home. Clean with Vinegar and baking soda or green products.
That answers your specific questions.
Others include:
bagged salads contain Pseudomonas, so if you use these, wash them well.
No drycleaning -- unless it's the natural kind
Good hepa/charcoal filter vacuum and air filter
Car windows up/recycle the air
No fireplace. No barbeques and if you can't avoid, wear a charcoal mask (Smoke is about the worst thing a CFer can breathe).
Chemical and preservative free food. (Preferably organic if possible.)
At age 6, allergy testing.
A doctor who will treat the asthma component of CF, even if you have to go to specialist. By keeping the airways open and getting the mucus out of the lungs, they will be less liokely to attract and hold bacteria.
Nasal Rinses and extra ones if exposed to anything particularly harmful. The nose and the eyes are how colds get in. Plus cold remedies can be helpful (with your doctor's approval.
Avoid people with colds, and if you really want to be safe stand 3 feet away from people that you suspect are sick. Hand sanitizer is your friend when ther is no soap and water.
This list goes on, but here is a start.
This was a similar thread and may be helpful -- I wrote a few posts here.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=39912">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...catid=6&threadid=39912</a>