What are some tips on removing allergens from the home.. what's the best meds that worked for you?

Question

I'm allergic to dust mites, animal dander.. and you name it! haha. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

I'm allergic to cats but am able to live with our 7 cats and enjoy them by doing a few things. I take a 24 hour allergy tablet each morning (Walmart brand). You need to take these for about 4 days before you notice a difference. I have an albuterol inhaler with me all the time. I keep a supply of Benadryl in the cabinet. Also I do not allow any pets in the bedroom because this is my allergy-free space. We have two HEPA air cleaners going all the time. We vacuum with a HEPA vacuum once a week. We dust with a damp duster. At least twice a year we steam clean the carpets. I buy pet cleaning cloths at Petsmart and brush and wipe down my kitties to remove the dander from their fur. I always wash my hands after handling a pet, change clothes after holding one. When weather permits we let the pets outdoors to help minimize the amount of dander in the house. I think one of the worst allergies any of us may have is the allergy to fine dust. When I vacuum, I roll up the area rugs and vacuum under them where this dust collects. I may also put the rug back down face down and vacuum the bottom side of it. Also to minimize allergy to dust mites in your bed clothes, buy hypoallergenic pillows, change the bedding at least once a week, vacuum your mattress when you change your bedclothes. Use easy up-easy down curtains and wash them at least once every 3 months or so. Fabric creates and holds onto dust. You can minimize the amount of fabric in your home by having wood or tile floors, blinds instead of curtains, eliminate throw pillows. Buy vinyl or leather furniture. All of these things help.

Answer 2

I feel your pain. i am also allergic to everything. I have the ionic air purifiers at both ends of my house. I also went and bought a smaller one to put by my bed. That has helped me so much. I take loratadine in the morning and benydryl at night.. Attarax is also very good, but it has to be prescribed by your Dr. Dust mites love your bedding, so keep bedding washed at least weekly. I hope you get your allergies under controll.

Answer 3

besides a good vacuum you can have an ionic filter installed to your furnace /air cond. fan duct work that is by far superior to any rip off unit on the market at this time check the cost with your local furnace air conditioner man it should only be around one hundred and eighty dollars for the entire house compared to the huge price tag on the much touted units that hardly move any air at all. stick with central ionic filter systems .

Answer 4

Please read my ebook "76 Tips to Reduce Dust Mites and Indoor Allergens" ...the most comprehensive information available (at a single site) on the Internet. The content is available free, without downloading, at:
http://www.sterilmattress.com/ebook_dust_mite_removal_tips.html

I can't help you with your "med" question but I can offer the following. Instead of medicating...remove the source!!!

There are basically 4 ways to cope with allergens

1). Patient/Parent education...learn, track (record) triggers

2). AVOIDANCE...without a doubt the BEST (learn how)

3). Pharmacotherapy...medication. Multi-BILLION $$$$ industry and medical/health clinics, physicians, pharmaceutical companies want to keep it that way!

4). Immunotherapy...same as # 3).

The very best and most cost effective way to cope with indoor allergens is through avoidance and removing the source. Through the avoidance of indoor allergens, allergic reactions should subside forever.

If allergic reactions persist after you have done all possible to remove the indoor allergens, see a physician and be prepared to furnish allergy, family, and past medical history. Also, be prepared for a skin prick allergy test, the purchase of costly medications, or to endure months and months of immunotherapy. Sometimes, either pharmacotherapy or immunotherapy will work for a person (of course both work very well for generating $$$ for the "professionals"), but not for suffering individual.

Change Housekeeping Practices to Decrease Allergens

The “grungiest” place in our homes is often in our bedrooms…and in particular our beds, where we sleep one-third of our lives. Because our bedrooms are generally unseen by guests, typically less time is spent on cleaning bedrooms as opposed to cleaning our front rooms or living areas. Our bedrooms become, unknowingly, a "dumping ground" for allergens. After a day outside, at work, in a classroom, or away from home, the bedroom is the first place we go to change clothing. Our clothing attracts and collects a number of allergens such as pollen, dust, animal hairs, molds, and pet dander. In addition, the ideal micro-habitat provided within our unhygienic mattresses, pillows, and our bedding, lend to a perfect breeding ground for micro-organisms that include dust mites, mold, mildew, spores, pollen, bacteria and viruses.

Nowadays, utilizing a professional mattress cleaning service, a service that not only cleans your mattresses but also cleans all of the “soft furnishings” in your home, is extremely effective and very cost efficient. Recent technological advances have resulted in producing the specialized equipment required to reduce or eliminate indoor allergens.

Technicians’ using HEPA-rated vacuums (not just HEPA-rated filters) and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) light wands can also educate homeowners with tips to continually reduce indoor allergens and avoid the triggers that cause allergenic rhinitis as well as asthma and other illnesses.

Additional Resources

The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) has suggested that 50 % of ALL ILLNESSES are caused by, or aggravated by, poor indoor air quality.

The U.S. EPA states that “dust” is worst offender amongst indoor pollutants

Also, per the EPA, children nowadays spend 90-95% of their life indoors, inhaling pollutants.

Asthma and "hidden" asthma has increased, year after year, among children to a nearly epidemic proportion,

House dust contains a mixture of approximately 28 allergenic components. Typically, dust mite allergens (DMA’s) account for the majority of the composition of dust, more than any other single particulate. These allergens are very light-weight and easily become airborne for up to two hours at a time before settling throughout the entire house. This fact negates the effectiveness of costly mattress and pillow enclosures as the dust and allergens simply continue to float about the indoor air and accumulate on your bedding.

Hire professional mattress cleaning technicians to remove the allergen source(s) at the point of origin. Integrate into your housekeeping practices, the tips offered by the mattress cleaning technicians for reducing allergens. Remove dust “collectors” in your home and using proper HEPA-rated vacuums to clean carpets no less than weekly. These housekeeping practices can lessen your exposure to indoor allergens, thereby reducing possibilities of suffering from allergenic rhinitis, asthma, respiratory and skin diseases and increase your quality of health.

Removing or reducing Home Indoor Allergens will allow everyone to breathe easier, sleep better (may even stop certain persons from snoring) and will improve the quality of health while reducing risks of future medical conditions, some of which can be quite serious.

If there is no one providing the specialized services described above in your area (check your Yellow Pages, Internet, local directories, etc.) consider launching your own business. Combine the growing number of "baby boomers", the "health and wellness" movement across the U.S., the EPA's 2007 public awareness campaign, and major corporations advertising their "solutions" to dust mites on television...Home Indoor Allergen Control is a niche industry, ripe for explosive growth.