allergy proofing our home...

[Julie in MO]

I was hoping to glean some good advice from the BTDT crowd. Apparently we're having the worst year for allergies ever here in MO and that, coupled with hormone changes, has side-lined my daughter. I take her to see a homeopathic practitioner, but have not seem tremendous relief from that yet. Claritin (what the primary doc suggested) has been useless. The allergist doesn't have an appointment available for 6 months (I'm on a waiting list). I had someone come to the house today to give me an estimate for a whole house air purification system and have been researching the internet for other ideas to ease her symptoms. Next I will call The Allergy Store to ask about allergy bedding. I'm also checking out having the vents cleaned. I keep a clean house, but that doesn't seem to be enough. She's allergic to dust, pet dander (we are keeping them outside as much as possible), and numerous environmental allergens. I need to be careful to not just throw money at this problem unless I know it will have some positive effect. What has worked for the allergy sufferers on the board? I appreciate your help. She is so sick right now.

Blessings,

Julie

[newbie]

Make sure you have good vac w/hepa filter.

 

No carpets.

 

Cover bed and pillows w/dust mite covers.

 

Oreck air filters.

 

No chemicals in house, she could have chemical allergies. Don't bring shoe in home.

 

allergybuyersclub.com has great stuff. We bought our steam cleaner there.

[Oney Jones]

I feel for your daughter (and you!) Can I ask you to consider the age of any carpet in your home? I had had a seriously troubling winter and spring about 3 years ago. Respiratory allergies were the worst I had ever had-- a couple trips to the ER, inhalers, meds... the worst year ever. Our daughter was graduating that year so in preparation for her graduation party we got a wild hair and ripped out our living room carpet (which was well over 15 years old). I had to wear a mask during this rip-out time but we got it all out and cleaned the wooden floors underneath.

 

I have not had even a common cold since then. I refuse to put carpet back down just because I love to breathe.

 

You wanted BTDT. :D

 

I hope you find a solution.

[StephanieZ]

I would ask her gp for a RX for Singulair ASAP. It was a miracle for me and also for my ds who suffers allergies. It rocks. You can use it on top of Claritin/Benadryl/etc. FWIW, Benadryl is more effective than the newer 24 hr Claritins, etc. . . It just makes you sleepy and only lasts 6 hours or so. . . Benadryl at bed time and Claritin in the a.m. work nicely. . .

 

So far as environmental . . . carpets gone and hardfloors in. . . I'd tackle her bedroom first and foremost since she spends 8-12 hours a day or more there and it is small and therefore easier to make-over dramatically than the whole house. . . Pull everything OUT and put in hardwood floors. . . Then get a wrap (ant-allergy covers) for her mattress & pillows (new ones that are not feathers) and use simple washable bedding (quilts not comforters). . . and wash in HOT water & DRY in a dryer. .. Then only put back simple, clean, stuff . . . not piles of books and no stuffed animals. Try to go extreme in her room at first. . . Once her allergies are under control, she can try to bring more of her "stuff" back in to her room.

 

That's what I'd do. . .

[elise1mds]

 

www.dustmitex.com We use the stuff in our steam cleaner as well as the spray for furniture and in-between sprays. It has a mild odor but it fades fast and keeps my son's dust mite allergy under control, which is saying a lot.

[ElizabethB]

You need to wash all her bedding and towels in hot water...it has to get to 140 degrees ( I think, I remember it was quite high) to kill dust mites. If you have your hot water heater turned down for energy saving purposes, the water won't get hot enough to kill them, you'll need to turn your water heater up if it is low.

 

Allergy shots really helped me. (Well, everything but my food allergies.)

 

Before I got the shots, one summer the only thing that could help me sleep were breathe right strips.

 

Allegra and claratin work for me, but I like to divide my dose up and take half in the morning and half at night, that way I can breathe, making it easier to fall asleep.

 

Shower a few hours before bed was also helpful during high pollen season.

 

If you have a bedroom without carpets, give it to her and clean out all mold from bathrooms and clean up all dust.

[sbgrace]

I can tell you what we do but it's a real struggle here:

 

no carpet in the bedroom, wash all his bedding on hot/dry on hot once a week, encased mattress, etc. We are saving for a hepa unit for his room. Our air conditioning system does have a hepa filter. I agree with the above poster that the 140 matters and we do have our water set on that for that reason. But I *think* hot dry gets hot enough to do the job. We do both.

 

Hepa vacuum (important for dust/pet allergies)

 

Showers before bed every time. This is really important. You don't want her taking the allergens on her hair and etc. to her bed. Similarly, we don't play in my son's room. It's as allergy free as we can make it. We also shower when we come inside from outside during his outdoor allergy seasons. That's a pain in the rear but does seem to make a difference.

 

We tried nasal rinses as that helped my mil but it didn't help my child.

 

We re-homed our cat. Really hard...at any rate no pets in the bedroom.

 

He takes zyrtec and it didn't help nearly enough. Claritan helped even less (not at all it seemed). We added singulair. Big help. We're still not at 100% control but it's made a huge difference. Next step would be nasal steroids.

Edited June 3, 2010 by sbgrace

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

I was hoping to glean some good advice from the BTDT crowd. Apparently we're having the worst year for allergies ever here in MO and that, coupled with hormone changes, has side-lined my daughter. I take her to see a homeopathic practitioner, but have not seem tremendous relief from that yet. Claritin (what the primary doc suggested) has been useless. The allergist doesn't have an appointment available for 6 months (I'm on a waiting list). I had someone come to the house today to give me an estimate for a whole house air purification system and have been researching the internet for other ideas to ease her symptoms. Next I will call The Allergy Store to ask about allergy bedding. I'm also checking out having the vents cleaned. I keep a clean house, but that doesn't seem to be enough. She's allergic to dust, pet dander (we are keeping them outside as much as possible), and numerous environmental allergens. I need to be careful to not just throw money at this problem unless I know it will have some positive effect. What has worked for the allergy sufferers on the board? I appreciate your help. She is so sick right now.

Blessings,

Julie

 

We've BTDT. We've covered our mattresses and pillows. We wash our bedding frequently. Curtains/window dressings are washed every two weeks. Blinds are dusted every few days. We use the highest allergen rated air conditioning filters we can afford and change them every three weeks.

 

But the single best thing we ever did for our allergies was get rid of our carpeting. Once it was gone, so were 75% of our allergy symptoms. (Seriously) We sweep the entire house once a day.

[Wheres Toto]

I have severe allergies that lead to asthma attacks if not kept under control. My allergist recommended getting rid of all carpeting, keeping pets out of the bedrooms, getting covers for pillows and mattresses, HEPA filter for the vacuum and air filters. Keep windows closed, run air conditioning and shower before bed. If its really bad, have her change clothes and shower as soon as she comes in from being outside for any length of time. Don't hang clothes out to dry on a line.

 

Singulair has been the best medicine for me with my allergies (and I've tried them all). Exh is a pharmaceutical rep and has sold Claritan and Allegra. Part of the reason Claritan doesn't cause sleepiness is because they keep the dose very low - too low to be effective for a lot of people. Allegra worked okay for me but not when I had my worse symptoms. All of these do need to be taken for a few days before they are really effective and need to be taken daily regardless of symptoms.

 

Benedryl also is very effective, works immediately and only has to be taken when symptoms are there. Depending on how it affects her, taking just one pill (1/2 dose) may be enough to give some relief without the excessive sleepiness. It was the only thing that worked for me that I was comfortable with taking while pregnant. PP was correct that it is okay to take it in combination with Singulair, Allegra or Claritan.

 

Good Luck to your daughter. Allergies can be so miserable.

[momteaches2]

I would also suggest no stuffed animals. Like the carpet and bedding, stuffed animals trap and carry pollen from the clothes. We are on a daily regimen of allergy meds - Zyrtec in the AM, Singular at bedtime, nasal spray and eye drops as needed. YUCK!:tongue_smilie:

[Dana]

We're dealing with allergies with my son right now. The nebulizer is out again :(

 

You're getting good advice. I just want to mention about the pets... My husband is highly allergic to cats and dogs. We had cats when we got married and for a few years. After they died, his asthma was finally under control for the first time in his life. He doesn't need the rescue inhaler that he used to use multiple times during the day.

 

If you aren't able to get the allergies under control to where your daughter can comfortably get through the day, you may want to consider allergy shots for her if you keep your pets or finding another home for them. Even if they stay out of her room, their dander will be in the house and on everyone's clothes and she will be reacting to it.

[Julie in MO]

some of you posed. We took the carpets out last year and replaced with Pergo. That was great for dh's allergies, but didn't seem to help dd much. We bought all leather furniture two years ago (this is an expensive diagnosis, isn't it?!?!) I just can't believe how much dust is generated in my house! That's why I started considering having the vents cleaned. I can do an exhausting whole house deep cleaning and within 24 hours it looks erased by dust! I never open windows so that we're cutting down on environmental allergens. We do wear shoes in the house, though - she has orthotics and has to wear them all day. I just made an appointment with that specialist and will ask if it's possible to have a second pair made for indoor only shoes?

 

Thanks for all the thoughts - so helpful!

 

Blessings,

Julie

[2boysmom]

RabbitAir purifier has done wonders for us. It's pricey though, but sooooo worth it.