0174A: Asthma Trifecta

The colder months are always hard on me since it really drives up the sensitivity of my asthma. It's like this each and every year and I just do my best to get by with regular medication and a generous amount of caffeine. It's somewhat ironic since I do enjoy the colder weather versus the humid, hot summer months. It just doesn't seem to play nice with my lungs.

Recently the building has decided to invest in repainting all of the common areas. On the one hand, it's nice that the building administration is trying to make sure that the building doesn't look like crap. On the flip side, it means that the strong smell of paint floods the common areas and even the elevator shafts. So yes, it also means that the paint smell also creeps into the individual units - and this happens when the painting job is within a few floors of you. They're still not done - and thus I've woken up to a few mild asthma attacks as a direct result of this activity.

Now at the office there are some significant reconfiguration efforts going on to create more usable office space. Sadly this is taking place right at the wing where my office is, so every day is an adventure in new smells. Apart from the general dust that accompanies any construction project, last night was especially bad since they've progressed from the basic build-out to painting and finishing. Thus the wing was flooded with a very strong smell that was a cross between paint thinner and varnish. The net effect felt a lot like sniffing acetone and it was not pleasant at all.

So it seems that this particular cold season is proving to be especially challenging for me on all fronts. I just hope that all these renovation projects would end already so that my lungs can take a break. As much as the medication helps relieve the more acute symptoms, I hate feeling dependent on these repeated low-level steroid boosts that keep all of us asthma folks alive.

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