Asthma Query (New Apartment)

noodler

Hey to all,

First off, apologies if this is a little bit casual than some of the topics on here.

I have recently moved into a new apartment with carpeting (coming from a place with wood floors) and I have noticed that my breathing has become a bit tighter each morning by the time I wake up.

The carpet is not that clean in a superficial sense (few stains) but I have hoovered it once or twice already.

I bought new sheets, duvet, pillows, duvet cover etc as well so I am wondering if there could be anything in that affecting me?

My asthma has been fairly dormant for years and I am coming from a place that had a Cat and a Dog.

_Whimsical_

If it's particularly on waking in the morning it could be dust mite allergy thats exacerbating your asthma. Is the mattress you're using new or previously used ? Have you got a mattress cover to protect you from dust mites?

My mum suffers from very severe dust mite allergies and she was told to get this cover for her bedding by her dr : http://www.mitex.ie/ . Theyre a bit expensive but you get the VAT back as theyre considered a medical care product. There are cheaper alternatives in Dunnes and M&S but I cant say whether they're as helpful as I have no experience of them.

Someone here was asking about this company too : http://www.irishbedhygiene.com/ . Ive no idea if theyre good or not as the person who brought them up in a thread never got back on their experience. Looks interesting though.

Don't ignore whatever is going on with you however. Go to the Dr just in case your medication needs tinkering with.

irishgrover

Hi,
don't want to particularly do a product placement here. But there are aasthma suffers in my family and we were vacuming etc. regularly. Then we bought a dyson and the amont of additional dust and dirt that the thing picked up was staggering. You may already had a great vacum, but if not, it might be worth considering an upgrade....
On an unrelated note, as a very long term asthma patient, I switched to seritide a couple of years ago and the change that it may to my liek was amazing,.,,
best of luck

tricky D

A lot of hoovers aren't much good and just recycle the dust around the rooms. Have a look at this for certified hoover and other products http://www.asthmaandallergyfriendly.com/find-certified-products.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=23

noodler

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

. Is the mattress you're using new or previously used ? Have you got a mattress cover to protect you from dust mites?

I got a mattress protector between the sheets and matress alright but I don't know if it does that task well.

I didn't wash the new linen, duvet after I bought it so perhaps a possibility?

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

My mum suffers from very severe dust mite allergies and she was told to get this cover for her bedding by her dr : http://www.mitex.ie/ . Theyre a bit expensive but you get the VAT back as theyre considered a medical care product. There are cheaper alternatives in Dunnes and M&S but I cant say whether they're as helpful as I have no experience of them.

Someone here was asking about this company too : http://www.irishbedhygiene.com/ . Ive no idea if theyre good or not as the person who brought them up in a thread never got back on their experience. Looks interesting though.

Will look into them, thanks. The mattress could be old alright but can't say the mattress protector I had in the old place was particularly fancy!

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Don't ignore whatever is going on with you however. Go to the Dr just in case your medication needs tinkering with.

I actually haven't bothered with inhalers for years, playing sport, gymming etc very regularly without incident for a long time now.

irishgrover wrote: »

Hi,
don't want to particularly do a product placement here. But there are aasthma suffers in my family and we were vacuming etc. regularly. Then we bought a dyson and the amont of additional dust and dirt that the thing picked up was staggering. You may already had a great vacum, but if not, it might be worth considering an upgrade....
On an unrelated note, as a very long term asthma patient, I switched to seritide a couple of years ago and the change that it may to my liek was amazing,.,,
best of luck

The vacuum isn't great, maybe I can get a HEPA filter for it? Even if it is not a HEPA vaccum?

tricky D wrote: »

A lot of hoovers aren't much good and just recycle the dust around the rooms. Have a look at this for certified hoover and other products http://www.asthmaandallergyfriendly.com/find-certified-products.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=23

Will have a look (although hoping as I said above that a filter would be possible rather than a new hoover!).



Thank you all for the replies - at least I have a couple of areas to look into now.

_Whimsical_

noodler wrote: »

The vacuum isn't great, maybe I can get a HEPA filter for it? Even if it is not a HEPA vaccum?



Will have a look (although hoping as I said above that a filter would be possible rather than a new hoover!).



.

I don't think you can buy a hepa filter for most vacuums. Im open to correction but I think that what hepa filters do is try not to let dust escape out of the vacuum while you are hoovering so they keep the air clean. They wouldn't improve the suction power of the hoover you already have so if you notice that's poor already a filter wouldnt help much.

Have you changed washing powder or used any new sprays? I find those things can affect my chest. I grew out of my asthma thank god but those things can still give me coughing fits.

noodler

I gave the room a good hoovering with the hoover we have anyway - just letting it air now.


I like the idea of the special anti-mite matress protector but spending 170e on it when I can't be sure it is the issue is a worry at this stage. I mean, my matress in the last place only had a basic matress protector (not a fancy anti-mite one) and I never had an issue (in fact, I'd have a Cat sleep on my bed and all the associated hairs and yet have no issue).

The matress that was here when I moved in looks pretty old so I wonder if replacing that could help?

I'll definitely look into the hoover in the short term though.