5 Ways to Reduce your Allergies during Spring Cleaning
- Posted on: Mar 26 2021
Spring is just around the corner and you may be thinking of doing some spring cleaning in your home. It’s important to rid your home of numerous irritating indoor allergens like dust, mold, pet dander, and even cockroach. Long-term allergy management with immunotherapy such as allergy drops is also an effective way to decrease your allergy symptoms. What are some good tactics to keep the allergen count in your home down and prevent an allergy exacerbation this spring?
Keep Your Humidity low
Allergens like dust mite and mold love humid environments. You may consider a dehumidifier in your home to keep your relative humidity at 45% or less. Also, try to run your shower for less time to prevent moisture build-up.
Wash bedding and pillowcases
Many people forget that their mattresses, bedding, pillows, and pillowcases can harbor lots of dust. The Allergy and Asthma Foundation recommends washing your bedding and pillowcases once a week in hot water ~ 130 Fahrenheit and dry in an even hotter cycle to kill dust mites.
Remove extra rugs/carpeting
The less carpeting and rugs in your house the better to control allergen build-up. Pet dander, dust, and even mold spores can linger in carpeting for years despite adequate vacuuming. The most effective vacuums for dust-mite have HEPA filters (high-efficiency particulate air filters). If you have a severe dust allergy, consider replacing some of your carpeting with bare flooring or finding a high-quality vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.
Manage Pet Dander
Cat and dog dander is highly allergenic and can linger in upholstery, bedding, and carpet for weeks to months. Aggressive cleaning of furniture, bedding, and using a mattress cover has shown to decrease allergen counts. Keeping pets out of the bedroom is also effective. For those who are severely allergic to their pets, unfortunately, removal of the pet is the most effective way to help with the dander. However, studies showed that even after a cat was removed from a home, the dander lingered for 20-24 weeks. There is also no scientific evidence supporting “hypoallergenic” pets so proceed with caution if you have a severe pet allergy and are considering adopting a new furry friend.
Start sublingual immunotherapy
If you are sick of suffering each year from your allergies to pet dander, dust, mold, and more it may be time to consider preventative therapies such as sublingual immunotherapy, also known as allergy drops. Allergy drops are a concentrated liquid of antigens (such as dust, mold, etc) that you put under your tongue daily to build up your immune system. This is essentially a vaccine for your allergies. With continued use, people build up antibodies against allergens and rid themselves of allergy symptoms. Usually, at 6 months you begin to notice benefits and if you continue for 3 years you will obtain long-term benefits.
Schedule a Consultation
If you are sick of spring allergies each year, consider trying these spring cleaning tactics and starting on allergy drop therapy for long-term relief. Contact us today for an allergy consultation at 512.601.0303 to schedule an appointment.
References:
- Control Indoor Allergens to Improve Indoor Air Quality. (2015, September). Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America. https://www.aafa.org/control-indoor-allergens/
- Environmental Remediation in the Treatment of Allergy and Asthma: Latest Updates. (2014). Current Allergy and Asthma Update Reports, 419. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3966021/
- Home Environmental Interventions For House Dust Mite. (2018). The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1–7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6474366/
Tagged with: allergens, allergies, allergy, Allergy drops, allergy symptoms, immunotherapy
Posted in: Allergies, Allergy Drops
