allergies and my bedroom - what to do?

privatescreen33

What other symptoms do you have? I know that when i first wake up in the morning that my facial skin feels a bit irritated so ive wondered if its a dustmite allergy. also my eyes sting sometimes without even having to touch them (rubbing my eyes with clothing also seems to make my eyes sting). Ive tried changing detergent and that didnt seem to help. I know that when the sun shines through the window that i see a LOT of dust and god only knows what else is floating around in this house. Please fill me in on your other symptoms.

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tip2mol

Hi,

The severity of my dust mite allergy was discovered after 8 months of living hell. I ended up with several ER visits, 2 hospitalizations and finally got sent to a research hospital. I could not get off of the allergy medications here in Oklahoma to be able to complete skin allergy testing- without ending up in horrible shape- in the hospital. When I went to a research hospital in Colorado- I cried when they asked me to stop the medications so they could test me. I physically didn't think my body would make it through another attempt. It was amazing though, no problems except for a big bout of vertigo (It was discovered several months later that I also have Meniere's disease). The doctors couldn't understand why I had been so sick for months and suddenly there- I was doing better (and was even off of the antihistamines). Then they skin tested me. I had a horrible reaction to both types of dust mites. Even after 1 1/2 years of allergy shots- I still react horribly to the dust mite testing. I am doing better though- with radical modifications to our home, allergy shots, a strict regimen of multiple antihistamines and extensive rest.
We have removed the carpeting from our home (as it is a huge source for dust mites). We purchased new bedding and placed dust mite protective encasings on it and the pillows. We have taken down most of our curtains and replaced them with mini-blinds. We also have bought dehumidifiers (as dust mites can not survive in a humidity less than 40%- therefore explaining why I didn't have trouble in Colorado. It is one of the few places that the humidity stays below that consistently. It sure doesn't here in Oklahoma. We also placed air purifiers throughout our home. We are now trying to save the money to replace our upholstered livingroom furniture with leather furniture. This has been a long hard process- but my allergy is so extensive to dust mites that I ended up so weak- and had to use a wheelchair when I could tolerate being outside of the house. These measures have been hard- but worth it. I still don't have a normal life, but at least now - I can enjoy times of going out to eat with my husband and son and also going to see an occasional movie.

You might want to consider some of these measures to help with your allergy.
I wish you the best

quincy

If you have ioniser....turn it off, for that in itself can cause allergic reactions, especially asthma attacks.

Cover your mattress in an allergy-proof cover, as well as your pillow.

Invest in the Shark vaccuum....the small one with the little beater attachment and vaccuum your bed daily (cover, sheets before you make it). We do (have a cat), but regardless, it cuts down on the fabric dust. As well, vaccuum your room, use a swiffer (dry) on your walls and ceiling.

Wash sheets in HOT water weekly at least.

Get your carpets cleaned thoroughly and vaccuum either daily or every two days. Change filters regularly.

You'll have to do the bull-work....but it'll pay off.


quincy

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tooanxious

I also have horrible dust mite allergies. I got tested and my arm swelled up from the dust mite reaction. Anyway, I have declared war on dust in my room. I have encased all pillows and my matress in a allergy proof casings. Also I bought new sheets and washed them in hot water, dito for the comforter. In addition I bought a vacuum with an allergy filter so it doesnt blow the dust back into the air. I would like to remove the carpeting altogether but that isnt possible in my situation. I also have a HEPA air filter in my room and I dust often. I also will get a dehumidifer soon. It has been a lot of work and money but Im hoping it will pay off. Good luck with your bedroom. It takes alot of delligent work to get rid of dust mites.

skittles411

Besides the itchy burning eyes, I wake up congested in the mornings, and sometimes I feel itchy all over. I also have had this mysterious rash come and go on my arms, and I can't find the source. I still have not been running my air purifier. My bed has had the dust mite covers since I moved in - on the mattress, box spring, and pillows. I don't wash my sheets or vacuum as much as I should (about every two weeks).

I can't pull out the carpet in my room. I live in an apartment and I don't think they'd like it very much.

I don't have an ionizer, but why are they bad? I was thinking of replacing the hepa filter model with one of the ionic models, because like I said, it just seemed that even with brand new filters in the hepa one, it was just spewing dust into the air.

sneezydiva

Ditto everyone else's advice. Especially, getting dustmite proof matress and pillow encasings.

Does your model have a prefilter? Have you replaced it? Also, did you use any type of cleaner when you wiped it down? The air cleaner could be spreading that stuff all over the air in your room.

skittles411

I finally cleaned the inside of it as best I could with some lysol kitchen wipes, and replaced all the filters, and it seems to be working better now... I go through filters so quickly though... a carbon filter in 2 weeks when it is supposed to last over a month.

sneezydiva

You need to get better furnace filters then. It will cut down on the total dust in your home. 3M filtrate are the best.