It was midnight. After a good movie with pizza and mushroom soup, I turned off the TV. It was a good meal. It was a good movie. I took a shower and went off to bed.

All of a sudden. My entire body was itchy as hell. I was covered with rashes. I looked in the mirror, and my face was unrecognizable. 

I called for a taxi and rushed to the emergency room. I spent five days in the hospital, missing a crucial meeting and losing a deal.

The following day, I went through skin testing with my allergologist.

My asthma has evolved. In addition to the allergic coughs I treat with an inhaler, I now have hives. 

My skin test revealed I was allergic to dust, pollen, mimosa plant, cat hair, cockroach slime, and most seafood. Overall, I am allergic to 40 out of 120 common allergens.

Overall, living with asthma puts you in a lot of difficult, embarrassing, and delicate situations. 

My officemates were very supportive. Whenever we eat in a seafood restaurant, they make a special request for meat so I can still eat with them. 

However, some of my friends find it more difficult to relate. I was pals with some girls who weirdly reacted whenever I refused to drink alcohol or eat seafood.

I had my rebel days. I wanted to be socially accepted, so I drank anyway. As a child, I became an excellent lock picker to steal the chocolates my parents were keeping from me. 

I had asthma as a kid. It was terrible in infancy. I got better after that. Then it worsened again in my early 20s when I got my puff. Then it significantly improved after I became a writer at a health company and was encouraged to adopt the healthy lifestyle I was writing about.

Here are some lessons I’ve learned through the years.

#1 Stay in good company

Understanding and support from friends and family is healing and comforting for someone with asthma. 

Some people who have enjoyed good health throughout their lives may have difficulty sympathizing with people living with asthma. Prioritize your health and never compromise it for social acceptance. Value friends and colleagues who are supportive and understanding.

#2 Know your triggers

Asthma is a set of sensitivities to environmental triggers. And it’s different for every person. 

Learn your triggers through observation, skin testing, and other methods, and consult your doctors to manage them.

As tempting as it may be, ignoring your triggers will worsen your asthma. 

#3 Check the label

Beware of allergens in food, cosmetics, personal care, and everything you use in your body.

This includes:

• Triclosan
• Parabens
• Phthalates
• Sodium Lauryth Sulfates
• Fragrance
• Propylene Glycol
• Coal Tar Dye
• Formaldehyde
• Mineral Oil
• Aluminum

#4 Eat Healthy Food, Exercise, and Enough Sleep

Since I started living outside the city, I have enjoyed access to healthy food, fresh air, and long walking and jogging paths.

I have felt much better and had no severe asthma symptoms in the past five years. The power of a healthy diet and lifestyle is transformational.

I had to give up my promotion, but I chose my health.

#5 Keep your home clean

Keeping your home clean and free from allergens dramatically impacts your health and quality of life.  

If you spend most of your day in a clean and comfortable space, you’ll be able to live normally with little to no asthma symptoms. 

As the weather changes during seasonal shifts, you must be vigilant of periodic allergens. 

Summer brings higher levels of pollen, and some pets also shed more during the summer. 

Install filters are a great way to keep allergens from circulating the house, while proper insulation can keep outdoor pollution from entering the house. 

Discomfort due to heat can also trigger asthma symptoms, so make sure to tune up your HVAC system.

Finally, when a family member gets sick, it’s easy for the disease to go around. Keep air ducts clean to eliminate harmful air contaminants that may circulate in your home.

Bonus: Choose where you live

Living in less polluted areas outside the city can encourage a healthy lifestyle and dramatically lessen asthma symptoms.