Have you experienced the same problem? :[ (asthma/smog-related)

[xani]

Originally Posted by rgb123

I don't think so. My allergies are not breathing related really (at least not the extent I had them in Texas, here I just get a stuffy nose). It's more skin reaction because of the dryness, it makes the things I might have a mild reaction to much worse because my skin has become more sensitive here. I also think the vitamin D deficiency makes it harder for the skin to heal. My eyes also water -- I don't know what it is but I understand it can have something to do with the pine trees.

I also have a cat -- which I think contributes to these things.

I'd say the air quality here is some of the best, as long as you tolerate dryness well, which I understand many people with asthma do. I don't think they have mold problems here really.

I did not get sick this winter at all except for the skin reactions and vitamin d deficiency which may contribute to other things (and I'm not guessing here, my doctor tested me twice!)

the skin stuff was partly my own fault as I typically have oily skin but being on some new medicaitons and moving to a drier climate, I didn't change the products I used which are typically fairly harsh. But the type of skin I have just doesn't do that well in such a dry climate for the long term because I don't tolerate heavy lotions and creams well.

I like travelling to the Seattle side for the humidity sometimes! It does rain a lot in spokane so it's hard to understand why there is so little moisture in the air.

Huh, the ground probably has good drainage and the moisture may be drains right through leaving the air dry...
It could be that you're allergic to shower water in your new water district... Recently I had to stay in a new area not far from where I stayed before and out of the blue I got skin dryness and allergies which I normally never have, while I noticed that tap water is kind of harsh here. Also, new medications.... Because healthy skin should be able to handle moderately dry air without additional heavy lotions. Unless lotions are all-natural, they themselves are skin-killers and will cause skin dryiness... I only use natural oils and shea butter at this point and organic soaps (they don't dry skin out). I too take vitamin D all the time...

Huh, pine trees... would give everything to have those in front of my place right now!

[xani]

I thought of sticking to coastal areas of LA to escape smog and this way keep myself living in LA without asthma nightmare... but looking at air quality data, I got these numbers:
while US average air quality index is 32 (the lower the index is, the better)
Santa Monica's index is 47, Redondo Beach's--49(!), while even San Bernardino (notorious for smog levels) has lower index of 46, and LA in general has lower index than these coastal areas. Huh looks like no escape?
It appears that on the coast, only areas south of Newport Beach and north starting from Malibu are protected... the most unaffordable ones. Plus, getting a tech job, it'd be in downtown or around El Segundo/Torrance anyway, next to the biggest oil refinery. Last company I worked for--I worked in their SD office, but their main office was right next to the biggest CA refinery.

[miyu]

Originally Posted by xani

Totally true--I'd say 2 mile rule for freeways is the best in either upwind or downwind (I saw some study related to that). However, even busy roads can be like a freeway....especially with cars parked on roads in peak hour, basically just idling a lot.
Steroid inhalers don't help me and I'm against the use of steroids in general (very bad on a long term). Looks like the environmental source of a problem has to be removed for me, that's all, since I did fine in SF bay area.

I agree, it makes sense if the concern about freeways is also generalized to major roads too... hard to escape.

How long were you on the steroid inhalers? They are pretty much the only thing that helps me... I didn't feel the positive effects for about 2-4 weeks but now I am symptom free and I don't even use it anymore except in bursts when I know I am going to be exposed. Inhaled steroids shouldn't get into your body in any significant amount (only the airway mucous lining). Helps to prevent long-term scarring. Of course it is best to remove yourself from the pollution but sometimes that is hard to do.

[rgb123]

I always suspected the water .... I don't think it's the area as much as my specific apartment complex...

[xani]

Originally Posted by miyu

I agree, it makes sense if the concern about freeways is also generalized to major roads too... hard to escape.

How long were you on the steroid inhalers? They are pretty much the only thing that helps me... I didn't feel the positive effects for about 2-4 weeks but now I am symptom free and I don't even use it anymore except in bursts when I know I am going to be exposed. Inhaled steroids shouldn't get into your body in any significant amount (only the airway mucous lining). Helps to prevent long-term scarring. Of course it is best to remove yourself from the pollution but sometimes that is hard to do.

I don't want the use of steroids--against that stuff; I know they're not helping me at all on short-term (possibly make it worse even), as to long-term, I didn't even try... The remedy I tried was moving to SF bay are which worked...until I returned back to LA.
Well with long-term scarring being a scary problem it's probably better off to inhale stuff.. however, I believe they do get into the system quite well--that's why albuterol puffs are used by bodybuilders.

As to escaping the smog--apparently, in LA area Hemet, Santa Paula, Santa Clarita, Malibu and beach cities south of Laguna Beach are the ones that have decent air quality.