Asthma and Roanoke/Salem/Blacksburg (Franklin: house, neighborhood, purchase)

[GulfCoastGirl]

Hi there,

We're a FL family looking to relocate and fell in love with Roanoke when we stayed there last November. My husband and I were both military kids and have lived all over, but my children have only lived in FL.

I've looked at the pollution and air quality data for Roanoke but would like to hear from people who actually live there. My 8 year-old daughter has asthma (but no seasonal allergies) that was very severe when younger but she is much better now. Even so, she must stay on maintenance inhalers all fall and winter.

Have you noticed (or do you have problems yourself?) a big problem with air quality and people with asthma in your area? The part of FL I live in doesn't have the best air quality either, and she does fine. Mostly I'm worried b/c at least here, we have a sea breeze and (I think) the air tends to get trapped in the valley in Roanoke.

Also, can anyone tell me which areas tend to be cleanest in that area?
Thanks!

[Erin1264]

Yes, it's true that pollutants tend to settle in our valley. I have heard that allergies and asthma are problems here. I've noticed that my own allergies were bad this fall (even though I take medication). I've heard that people who do not have allergies move here and get allergies!

I'd say your research is accurate.

[seanpecor]

I have some pretty significant allergies that I control with allergy medication. I also use the Advair 250 disc. I went off everything on October 1st to see how well I operated without them and so far I'm fine. We've lived in Franklin County since May 2005. Prior to that we lived in Blacksburg, VA from June 2004 to May 2005. There in Blacksburg, my allergies were far worse than they are here. In fact it was in Blacksburg at the age of 31 that I had my first asthma episode. I grew up in Vermont in the Champlain Valley - where the air quality is quite good - and yet my allergies were terrible there. I spent a year in Orlando, FL and my allergies were moderately bad. Worse than Vermont, but not as horrible as in Blacksburg. I think my point is, is that everyone is different. If the particulates are high for a day in Roanoke, and yet you happen to have no allergies to the particulates present, then you won't have any trouble. By contrast if you live in an area with a low level of particulates yet you're extremely allergic to the particulates present - however small the concentration - then you're going to be in rough shape without some sort of intervention.

I'd compare the air in the Roanoke metro favorably to the air in Florida, that's for certain. You may already have this in mind.... but I'd recommend any house that you might purchase have absolutely no carpet or textured ceiling, both of which trap dust and particulates. Just a thought.

You might look in our neighborhood of northern Franklin County, which while quite close to Roanoke City is quite outside the "bowl" of the Roanoke Valley. We're in the Piedmont highlands, east of the blue ridge and perhaps we have fewer bad air days because of that.

Sean

[SouthernMomto3]

I've heard the air in our homes is often worse than what is outside so if that's the case where you live probably doesn't always matter. Any valley area or "bowl" does cause problems. When we moved to the Lehigh Valley we heard the same thing but we have had less problems than we did in Oklahoma. We'll see what our move next year to Roanoke brings us.

[Crystal31]

My huband works in Roanoke, this has been his worse summer yet with his Asthma. He spent one week in the hospital in April and we cant seem to get his asthma under control since - as of today he is doing Advair 500 disc twice a day, Spiriva inhaler, prednisone, ProAir inhaler, Singulair and Claritin.

His Doctor has recommended Xolair shots, we are beginning that next week. Nothing has changed for our lifestyle - we have lived in the same house 4 years now, same pets, same jobs. Nothing has changed except his Asthma. We have been together 6 years now, his asthma has never interfered with our lifestyle or kept him from doing things he wanted to do and now he is not able to finish a sentence without gasping for air.

If your daughter has asthma I would definitly think twice about coming to Roanoke.

[seanpecor]

Wow, that's severe asthma. I would certainly entertain moving to a different climate if my very mild seasonal asthma was that bad. I've heard that one can develop a new allergy at any given time, and that the average allergy lasts 5 years. Sometimes a new allergy can be to something quite obvious, like dust, or tree pollen. Other times it can be a very obscure allergy to something as mundane as a new cleaning product, new carpet, etc.

I developed an allergy to cats as a child of about 8 or 9, after not having a reaction to our family cat for years. In fact, we didn't even know it was the cat, until after he died of old age, and I improved.

Sean

[j1n]

I don't believe I've ever suffered from asthma...certainly never have been medicated for it. Up north, in suburban NYC, I had developed what I believe was some sensitivity to pollen that resulted in pretty miserable hayfever from time to time. I have not experienced anything too significant since our move to the Roanoke area. I've heard that the valley acts as a retaining bowl for allergens, but there also tends to be a lot of pleasant breezes which may help to blow them out.