Understanding and Managing Allergies
Part Two of Two: Allergy-Proof Your Home

As a little girl growing up in a small midwestern town, I can still hear my mother saying, “Open the windows, and let’s bring some fresh air into the house.” Now I am the mom, living in a large metropolis, tagged as one of the most challenging places to live with allergies. Yet, as bad as that outside air might be, surprisingly, it’s the indoor air that is much worse. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), our indoor air quality is 4-5 times worse than our polluted outdoor air. What’s a mother to do?

Why do we care?
It’s estimated 15 million Americans have asthma (including 1 in 13 school-aged children), 35 million suffer from upper respiratory symptoms that are allergic reactions to airborne allergens and allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic disease– costing our health care system $18 billion annually.

Weighing in
With 25 years of experience as a health care professional, an advocate for healthy living and as a mother of an allergic child– my passion lies in helping others help themselves. And, when it comes to allergies, one of my favorite topics is how to put our bodies (or our children’s) in a place of strength, allowing it to perform as nature intended, allowing it to self-heal from a place of prevention.

Our body is like a reservoir
In understanding the way allergic triggers can affect us, I like to use the example of comparing our body to a reservoir. In regards to our environment, life presents us many different scenarios. Sometimes our environmental conditions are controllable (such as our home) and sometimes they are not (school or work). For an allergy sensitive person, our environment affects the “reservoir.” Different factors can affect the reservoir: high pollen, grass or mold count and pet dander to name a few. Exposure to these factors fills the reservoir, and when the reservoir is full, it causes the dam to break. The allergy sufferer’s body is able to handle one trigger perhaps, but the combination of too many factors — several triggers in the environment, stress, or a period of poor eating habits — tips it over the edge. When the dam breaks, the symptoms of an allergic response appear: running nose, itchy watery-eyes, eczema, wheezing and asthma. This analogy may help explain why it’s hard to predict your body’s allergic reaction and why it can sometimes be more severe than others.

Allergy-proofing your home is do-able
Creating the best possible environment in our home is one positive step we can take to help our families lower their “reservoir” and manage their allergies from a place of prevention. Decreasing the exposure of these pesky allergy-triggers can make a significant, sometimes almost magical difference in your allergy “reservoir.” The good news; allergy-proofing your home is within everyone’s reach and do-able.

Where do I start?
There are numerous ideas when it comes to allergy-proofing your home. In this article I focus on eliminating the top three allergic triggers: dust and dust mites, pet dander and mold. The following three suggestions come from my research and personal experience in creating the best “allergy-trigger-free” environment for my family. Here are some of my favorites:

• Whole-House Air Filtration System
According to the results of a health impact study completed by scientists at Environmental Health & Engineering Inc., in collaboration with professors from the Harvard School of Public Health, Trane CleanEffectsTM, a whole-house air filtration system removes up to 99.98 percent of particles and allergens from the filtered air and more than 99 percent of the common flu virus, or Influenza A. This whole-house air filtration system removes things like, pollen, dust, mold and pet dander to name a few. The cost comes in at approximately $800-$1,100 installed. If you think this is pricey, weigh-out the cost of putting multiple portable units in your home to cover the space a whole-house air cleaner covers, in addition to regularly replacing expensive HEPA filters. The good thing about the Trane CleanEffects system is that it’s 8 times more effective than a HEPA filter and when it comes to cleaning it, all you have to do is either vacuum it or hose it down. You don’t have to replace the filter. The unit simply tells you when it’s time to clean it out.

• Allergy-Free Bedroom: Use allergy-free bedding, remove curtains/carpets, eliminate stuffed toys
You will spend one-third of your life in bed. Therefore, it makes sense to create a sleeping environment that is as allergy-free as possible. Dust mites lurk in bedding, soft furnishings and high pile carpet. Invest in allergy-free bedding which encases your pillow and mattress. Wash your bedding and one chosen stuffed toy once a week in hot water (160 degrees F) or use special laundry detergent that allows you to wash at any temperature. Remove carpets and curtains and replace with wood, tile or elements that don’t hold dust and mites.

• Pets live outside, or at a minimum, out of the bedroom
Dander from your dog or cat can float around in the air and be a trigger for allergies. 36 percent of Americans have dogs and 31 percent have cats. Cat allergens especially are “sticky” and adhere to clothing and other surfaces. If you’re going to have pets, at a minimum, keep your pets out of the allergy sufferer’s bedroom.

The bottom line
If the above suggestions appear drastic, just keep in mind the benefit ratio of incorporating some of these changes in exchange for living a potentially healthier, allergy-free life. Creating the best, allergy-trigger-free environment, contributes to keeping your environmental “reservoir” low. Prevention is the key. Be aware of your surroundings. Factors that may have previously “tipped you over the edge,” now removed, create a healthier environment, giving your body a chance to respond as it’s capable–naturally, beautifully and allergy-free.

For more information about allergies and how to “Allergy-Proof Your Home”, see Article: Allergy 101. and my book, 2nd edition coming spring 2010 Bright Sky Press, Healthy Mother Healthy Child For more information on cleaner, healthier living, go to Trane.com