🗣️ Advice to a Patient:

“When you’re living with aspergillosis, it’s important to know that we can’t completely avoid risk — but what we can do is balance it. The amount of risk you take should match how important the activity is to your health or happiness.”

“The basic rule is: always weigh the risk of fungal exposure against the benefits you’ll get from doing something.”

Here’s how it works in everyday life:

• If it’s something essential, like a hospital appointment, even if there’s a moderate risk, it’s really important for your health. We accept the risk — but protect you properly with things like masks and hand hygiene.

• If you’re doing something low-risk, like taking a walk in a clean park, the benefit is huge for your mental and physical health. You should enjoy it freely — no extra precautions needed unless it’s particularly dusty.

• If it’s something high-risk like gardening with compost, but it’s just for enjoyment, we don’t tell you to give it up — we modify it. Wear an N95 mask, use bagged compost, and avoid stirring up the dust.

• If it’s something non-essential with high dust exposure, like home renovations, it’s best to delay it or stay somewhere else until it’s safe.

• If you’re thinking about overseas travel to places with high fungal spore levels, it depends. If the trip is very important, we plan extra precautions. If it’s just for pleasure, we weigh it carefully and might suggest safer options.

• If you have emotional bonds — like living with a pet bird —, there’s risk, but there’s also huge emotional benefit. We don’t say “get rid of the pet”; instead, we manage the risks carefully, like wearing a mask during cage cleaning and improving ventilation.

The main things to remember are:

• Essential activities always come first — over the ones that are just “nice to do.”

• We try to modify activities rather than asking you to avoid everything.

• If your immune system is weaker temporarily, you’ll need to be extra cautious just for that time.

• It’s your decision — once you understand the risks, you choose what you feel comfortable with.

• Risk tolerance can change — your lung health, immune status, even the season can affect how careful you need to be.

🧡 “You can’t live in a bubble. Our goal is to help you do the things that matter most to you — safely, sensibly, and without giving up your quality of life.”

🌿 Aspergillosis Risk Acceptance Decision Chart

Step 1: Identify the Activity
➡️ What do you want or need to do?

Step 2: Assess the Potential Exposure Risk

• Low Risk (e.g., walking outside on a dry day, visiting a clean indoor space)

• Moderate Risk (e.g., busy public spaces, gardening carefully, mild dust)

• High Risk (e.g., heavy dust, compost handling, construction zones, visible mold)

Step 3: Assess the Importance of the Activity

• Essential (e.g., medical appointment, critical family event)

• Important but Optional (e.g., exercise, visiting friends, hobbies)

• Non-Essential (e.g., DIY projects, risky travel purely for leisure)

Step 4: Decision Guide

Step 5: Extra Protection if Needed
🛡️ Use a high-grade mask (N95/FFP2)
🛡️ Keep time in risky areas as short as possible
🛡️ Shower and change clothes after high-risk exposure
🛡️ Monitor symptoms for 48–72 hours after any major exposure

📝 Quick Tip:

“If the risk is high and the benefit is low, it’s usually best to delay, avoid, or modify the activity.”
“If the benefit is high and you protect yourself well, it’s usually worth doing.”