Air quality
Hi, all, do you mask when outdoors when air quality is moderate or just when bad or not at all?
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.
Hi, all, do you mask when outdoors when air quality is moderate or just when bad or not at all?
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.
It depends. I don't mask if going on errands, etc, but do mask is I'm working outside, esp in dirt. I watch tree pollen (severe allergy) more closely than overall rating and mask if it's high or if I'll be out long.
Before my diagnosis, I livedwhere summer wildfires were common and followed the particulate matter measurements and guidelines for healthy folks, wearing masks when levels were high.
Now I would follow those for sensitive groups.
Yeah been following sensitive groups guidelines too. Which for me is masking if spending time outdoors at yellow level or above.
I have tree allergies too. More spring allergies lately but fall allergies were horrible for most of my life. I'm 64. This past year after getting house tested and treated for mold air spores, had vents cleaned, use air hepa purifiers, holistic/integrative functional Dr tested me for mold due to so many recurring pneumonias and indeed I tested positive for a mold. I attempted to detox but don't know if was successful. Had to stop midway for awhile. Just tested again but haven't gotten results yet. Should have in a couple weeks.
I didn't have any fall allergies this last fall!
I'm not sure what you mean by mold detox? There doesn't seem to be any accepted procedure for doing it. BUT, our bodies are amazing at ridding themselves of undesirable substances through lungs, liver and kidneys. Herbs, supplements and medications are only helpful in very specific situations. For example, I had heavy metal poisoning in my body from exposure to bad joint implants. Once they were removed, the metals were gone from my blood in less than a year.
The exception would be if the mold toxins colonized in your lungs and medications were required to kill them.
Understand. Functional medicine isn't always seen as acceptable methods in the traditional medical world. I will say though that through better foods (with the help of the nutritionist and adding supplements for the things I was really low in on blood tests has helped reduce the c reactive inflammation marker down to a very very low level and raised the vitamin, nutrient deficiencies. I'm grateful for that and getting back a good gut health. Hence one big reason I'm nervous if indeed I test positive for MAC. Antibiotics trash the gut so easily. Ugh. But first things first I need to be able to get a good sample. I'm struggling to get a sample - don't usually get much of anything up unless I'm sick. So I don't know. One day at a time I guess.
I have recurring aspergillus showing in my sputum tests results. I was tested for allergies, both through blood tests, and skin and tested positive for mold. My allergist wants me to have the allergy shots desensitizing for mold but I am not convinced I can do it. There is not much research on the topic although allergy shots have been an approved method to fight allergies including mold. What I found out is not proven but mentioned as possible increase in IgE and that could worsen, possibly, bronchiectasis. If anybody here was treated with this method against allergies and had also bronchiectasis please respond.
Functional medicine when it comes to improving diet and health habits ought to just be called normal life.
But we have been exposed to things like mold for millenia without needing to detox- you cleaned it out, covered up your body, nose and mouth, or stayed away from it. Your body took care of it. The same with liver detox etc. All are profit centers for someone!