encourage mold growth which is an asthma trigger.
9. Encourage Birds
If you don’t have the space to plant trees that will invite birds into the garden, a small bird feeder works too. Birds can reduce your exposure to insect dander while you’re outside.
10. Garden On Low-Wind Days
Your odds of being exposed to triggers in the atmosphere will increase on windy days so try not to garden on those days.
11. Don’t Be Afraid To Outsource
While it’s your garden, that doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. People with severe asthma triggers might find that it’s a good idea to get help with tasks like weeding and mowing the lawn.
12. Take Your Medicine
Generally, doctors encourage you to start taking allergy medicine at least two weeks before pollen season. You should also ask your doctor if you need to change anything about your asthma medication during that time.
13. Keep Weeds In Check
Weeds like pigweed, ragweed, and sagebrush can produce a lot of pollen. That’s why you need to keep your garden free of weeds.
14. Check Out Pollen Monitoring Apps
The not-so-great thing about pollen is that you can’t control how much of it gets into your backyard from other places. One preventive step you can take is to check pollen monitoring apps to see what’s happening in your area.
RELATED: Your 3-Step Asthma Attack Action Plan
15. Get A Plan From Your Doctor
Things can still go wrong even if you’ve done everything you can to avoid asthma triggers. That’s why it’s essential to get an asthma action plan from your doctor. This plan will detail what steps to take if your condition is under control, if you’re having a flare, and if you’re having severe symptoms.
RELATED: Got Asthma? Ask Your Doctor These Questions
How It Impacts The Black Community
Though many Black people have had backyard gardens in the past, there has been a more concerted effort to build the practice as a community in recent years. This can either take the form of an individual backyard garden or a shared community garden. Having these gardens can improve Black American’s access to healthy food, build rapport, and relieve stress. If these gardens grow enough to become businesses, they can also increase your odds of building generational wealth.
Learning how to garden while dealing with asthma may seem unrelated but the facts about the disease say otherwise. According to several studies, Black people’s higher risk of developing asthma can be directly linked to their financial status. Without good living options, they’re more likely to live in densely populated buildings that also have issues with poor outdoor and indoor air quality. Interestingly, having the right plants has been shown to improve indoor air quality so even if you’re not growing food, gardening can help you.
As you might expect, an external garden can go a long way to improve outdoor air quality as well. If you don’t have a lot of space outside, a community garden can improve your overall health.
Backyard and community gardening have become viable options for Black Americans to improve their health while opening up opportunities for financial growth. Given how many Black people get diagnosed with asthma, however, it might be difficult for them to take part in this movement. The good news is that there are a few steps you can take to avoid asthma triggers if you want to enjoy the benefits of a good garden.