# Dust Allergies



## Keke24 (Sep 2, 2016)

Anyone have experience dealing with dust allergies?

My partner has what appears to be a serious allergy to dust. He's out of a job now so going to the doc is not really an option right at this moment. According to him, none of the prescribed medications worked for him as a child so his mom just tried her best to soothe it with menthol vapor baths when it got really bad, and the menthol sticks during the day. I'm realizing now that my father had this same problem so I'm convinced there's a strong likelihood our children may suffer from this. Hence it's important to me to understand how it works and the preventative measures for dealing with it outside of medication. 

I've browsed some articles on scholar and feel a bit overwhelmed with the information. It's clear that humidity is a factor, dust mites need to be killed with heat, bed/pillows need dust mite covers, we need to be dusting with rags not our usual dusters, the damn bedroom carpet I've been hounding him about needs to go asap etc etc. Our home is right on a main street and we live in a tropical climate therefore we have these 2 factors working against us right now.

So does anyone have a comprehensive strategy for dealing with a dust allergy, or any tried & proven suggestions please?


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

I'm allergic to dust, various molds and mildews, and various pollens. None of my allergies are extremely severe, though, and I mostly manage with cleaning tactics and a daily anti-allergy medication. I use Claritin, Alavert, Zyrtec, whatever is cheapest at the time. 

I keep covers on the mattresses and pillows. I wash all our bedding, including the pillow and mattress covers, and towels frequently, using hot water with bleach. I chose window coverings that can be laundered, so I wash those several times a year, too. It's not an option in my current home, but in the last house I had built, I chose windows with blinds between the glass specifically to eliminate the need for blinds or curtains that could collect dust. As you said, I wipe dust rather than using a duster that stirs it into the air. I've mostly eliminated open shelving that can harbor dust, in favor of closed cabinetry and furniture pieces with doors. I keep 'dust catchers' and decorative tchotchkies to a minimum. I dust often, making sure to get every surface, before cleaning the floors. I own a hella good vacuum cleaner that I use religiously on all the area rugs. I'm slowly working through the house, replacing all the carpeting with hard floors, which get vacuumed and dusted regularly. I use very high quality HEPA filters in our HVAC system and change them regularly. I shower before bed each night so that I'm not breathing in any allergens that collected in my hair during the day. I wear a mask when cleaning or doing anything that might expose me to lots of allergens.

But, if those sorts of things aren't enough, your partner probably needs to see an allergist. There are prescriptions and treatments that can make life better for him.


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## honcho (Oct 5, 2013)

Getting rid of carpeting made a huge difference in my allergies. 

Allergies do change as you age, when I was a kid no med's ever put a dent in the symptoms. Now that I'm "old" my symptoms aren't near as severe. Out of all the med's on the market the only one that gave me any relief was benedryl but that was taking way more than a person should. I was taking them like candy back in my 20's. After I got in my 30''s the symptoms started become less and less severe.


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## Keke24 (Sep 2, 2016)

Rowan said:


> I'm allergic to dust, various molds and mildews, and various pollens. None of my allergies are extremely severe, though, and I mostly manage with cleaning tactics and a daily anti-allergy medication. I use Claritin, Alavert, Zyrtec, whatever is cheapest at the time.
> 
> I keep covers on the mattresses and pillows. I wash all our bedding, including the pillow and mattress covers, and towels frequently, using hot water with bleach. I chose window coverings that can be laundered, so I wash those several times a year, too. It's not an option in my current home, but in the last house I had built, I chose windows with blinds between the glass specifically to eliminate the need for blinds or curtains that could collect dust. As you said, I wipe dust rather than using a duster that stirs it into the air. I've mostly eliminated open shelving that can harbor dust, in favor of closed cabinetry and furniture pieces with doors. I keep 'dust catchers' and decorative tchotchkies to a minimum. I dust often, making sure to get every surface, before cleaning the floors. I own a hella good vacuum cleaner that I use religiously on all the area rugs. I'm slowly working through the house, replacing all the carpeting with hard floors, which get vacuumed and dusted regularly. I use very high quality HEPA filters in our HVAC system and change them regularly. I shower before bed each night so that I'm not breathing in any allergens that collected in my hair during the day. I wear a mask when cleaning or doing anything that might expose me to lots of allergens.
> 
> But, if those sorts of things aren't enough, your partner probably needs to see an allergist. There are prescriptions and treatments that can make life better for him.


 @Rowan, thank you for sharing. Quite a bit of steps involved, wow. Thankfully, it seems like the dust is his biggest issue. What's a bit strange though is that I can't recall his sinuses ever being a problem when we were living in a colder country. I've checked, and the humidity levels there are about the same as here.


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## Keke24 (Sep 2, 2016)

honcho said:


> Getting rid of carpeting made a huge difference in my allergies.
> 
> Allergies do change as you age, when I was a kid no med's ever put a dent in the symptoms. Now that I'm "old" my symptoms aren't near as severe. Out of all the med's on the market the only one that gave me any relief was benedryl but that was taking way more than a person should. I was taking them like candy back in my 20's. After I got in my 30''s the symptoms started become less and less severe.



That's a very good point. From what he's relayed about his experiences with it as a child, it was significantly worse. He had to be rushed to the hospital on a few occasions. He said none of the prescription meds he was given worked back then and he's still convinced they won't now. That part is a bit frustrating.

Knowing there's a possibility the symptoms may become less severe with time is really comforting. I don't function well when I lose sleep and have a hard time getting back to sleep after waking up at night. When it happens multiple nights in a row, it really leaves me in a mess. If him no longer waking up at night was part of the reduced severity of symptoms, it would make both of our lives so much easier.


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## Slartibartfast (Nov 7, 2017)

..


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## Keke24 (Sep 2, 2016)

Slartibartfast said:


> I think outside of some of the obvious general things you've already mentioned (carpet removal, etc.), You're flying blind until you get an allergist in on the act. I know he's out of work. Is he Medicaid eligible? Not as fun or easy as with conventional insurance, but can get him treated. Talk to a community clinic about how to get access to care. You have to quit guessing.
> 
> It's very common for childhood allergies to go away, which means it's entirely possible for there to be entirely different allergies arise with age. Molds can come into the picture in your climate. It can be anything. And both therapies change and the response to therapies change over time. *He can't depend on childhood experience*.
> 
> And I think that if this was my problem that would be hard to deal with without insurance, I'd be looking for a job with insurance benefits. Even Starbucks, a classic stopgap job for many, pays most of the insurance premium.


Agreed, it's a bit frustrating that he chooses to rely on these experiences. I hadn't considered the mold, need to look into that.

We don't have the insurance option that you highlighted as we're outside of the US but his inclusion in my health plan will kick in within a couple of months. I'm hesitant about pressuring him to do things he doesn't want to do but perhaps once he gets on some proper medication he will thank me for getting him to go see a doc.


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