My Christmas tree is suffocating me...

[Catsize]

Okay, a slight exaggeration, but I can't breathe very well. I've had very mild asthma in the past and this seems to trigger it again. I'm not generally an allergic type of person.

For the last three years or so, I've noticed a reaction to the Christmas tree when it has been up a couple of weeks.

This isn't usually a problem as we buy one late in the day and go away over New Year. However, it's been up a couple of weeks now and is likely to be served with an eviction notice tonight unless you lovely MNers can come up with some ideas to make it a remainer.

I have always loved a real tree.

My other half is suggesting an air purifier. Anyone tried this?

Thanks! 🌲

Have you tried taking an anti histamine?

Yeah, this is a thing I think. Something to do with mould spores on the tree warming up in the house and triggering asthmatics. I might be wrong, but it was something like that.

This was on asthma UK:

REAL CHRISTMAS TREES
Real Christmas trees are a host for mould, which is a common asthma trigger. Bringing a real tree into a warm, centrally heated home means the mould spores can multiply - increasing the risk of an asthma attack. For some people, even the smell of a pine tree can be a trigger.

If you have a real Christmas tree in your home, here are a few tips to help reduce your risk of getting asthma symptoms:

Hose down your real tree before you bring it into the house. This will help to wash off the allergens.
Keep the tree in the coolest part of the house.
If you notice any symptoms, get rid of the tree straight away.
“Keeping our real Christmas tree in the cool porch and not having it in the warm lounge has made a massive difference to my asthma” – Asthma and Christmas survey respondent.

An air purifier helped my son, but it was in a fairly small space.

Just have a fake tree? I mean, if you having an obvious reaction to the tree then ditch and get yourself a decent fake tree. Get yourself a Christmas tree scented candle for that “authentic” smell.

I didn’t have asthma until one Christmas (12 years ago) and the ONLY thing that was different in my life was the tree in the house. I had a really bad attack and was taken to A&E by ambulance and nearly died.

Strangely a real tree every year since then (I know, foolish but never proved it was the tree) has had no affect whatsoever.

I wonder if the ‘tree people’ had sprayed it with something to stop needle drop maybe? Or perhaps it was just full of mould spores.

Anyway - don’t fuck about with asthma. Be careful.

I'm glad it's not me! I don't get asthma but I get really sore throat and am very sensitive to chemical sprays like Deodorant or air fresheners.

This year I have been really sensitive to the tree - it's a different variety so maybe that's it.

Thanks everyone. I think we are going to try a purifier. Probably not a bad thing to get anyway. I have googled it a bit and this Christmas tree thing is indeed 'a thing' due to the multiple mould spores flying around the house. Very disturbed by the PP's tale of literally early being killed by the tree! What triggered my asthma for the first time (age 27) was one of those plug in decongestant things.

Breathing has improved since the fire went out and the temperature has dropped. Maybe we should just freeze all winter. Cheaper on the heating and saves on getting a purifier. And the tree could stay. 👍🏻

Just in case anyone reads this in the future, a Homedics purifier has helped massively. It has had the added bonus of getting rid of pet smells etc too. 👍🏻

I'm allergic to real trees. I get a contact rash from them.

I've had a lovely fake tree for years now. And frankly, when ivd finished decorating it you can't see the tree anyway.