We know pregnancy changes us, right? You gain weight, you find emotions you never had, you eat more, have trouble breathing out of nowhere…. WHAT? Nobody ever told me that one!  I was one of the lucky people to develop adult on-set asthma and allergies from my body composition changing during pregnancy! And, you guessed it; my daughter was born with the same issues.

What is asthma? – Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease characterized by periodic attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, and a tight feeling in the chest.  (http://respiratory-lung.health-cares.net/adult-onset-asthma.ph)

After my daughter was born, I had trouble taking deep breaths and wheezed with congestion in my lungs that I never had. A few months later spring hit and suddenly I couldn’t go outside without my nose dripping and having breathing issues-pollen and grass allergies with asthma. As spring progressed and my daughter was outside, she developed the dry, hacking cough that kids get with asthma as well. Suddenly I find myself on medications to breath, fight seasonal allergies and using a nebulizer to put medicine in not only my airways but my daughter’s airway as well. Crazy when you have never dealt with this before!

So now I have to find triggers and avoid these “things” for us both. Ok-easy enough.  Take meds regularly, watch the dust in the house, and keep windows closed and pollens out.  Keep house extra clean, right? Wrong! Keeping the house “extra” clean proved to be a MAJOR trigger in the asthmatic systems.

Household cleaning products such as bleach or that contain bleach are extremely harmful to adults and children’s lungs-especially those with asthma.  Who knew? I found out the hard way while cleaning with a bleach product in a small bathroom space.  I had a major asthma attack, and the fumes traveled to the lower level and resulted in my daughter’s coughing attack as well.  (http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/organic-parenting/asthma-chlorine-55040901)

Now what? Finding household cleaning products that are less harmful on the body.   This isn’t an easy task. Most experts say to clean with vinegar and water, which I tried.  It just doesn’t seem like everything in the house can be cleaned with the same cleaning product!  So along comes Carribean Mist…non-toxic, natural products for cleaning that are better for the environment and the body.  A clean house mom’s dream comes true!

When we think of products that are greener for the environment, we also have to think of what these products are doing to our bodies. If they are bad for the earth, chances are they are not good for our insides either!  Think green, and breathe easier!!