Is this all down to a dust allergy?

cormie · 26-11-2013 5:29am #1

Does anyone here suffer from allergies? The place I'm renting isn't the best, it's a little lower than ground floor and has suffered from a bit of mold, only small bits really, it's very badly insulated. I've been here 7 years. On top of that, the last 7 years I've been doing furniture removal and the job would have me exposed to a lot of dust and the likes. I've had a dust allergy diagnosed a few months ago after some blood tests from the lab. Have invested in a good Miele hoover, I'm ventilating my place well, even in very cold temperatures, I'll still have the back door ajar and I've also installed little trickle vents too. I bought one of these too but I think it's a bit useless and isn't doing much: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0037WVWRS/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm not sure now if I'll need to invest in silk bedding next, that stuff is REALLY expensive but the symptoms are really annoying. I can wake up with a runny nose and can feel a slight tickle on the back of my throat too, my nose is very sensitive and I can very easily start to have a sneezing fit, it can be sensitive to touch too and this can trigger it, I can try close my eyes and hold the top of my nose to try prevent the sneezing starting as once it starts it gets worse and I end up with bloodshot eyes and my nose starts sniffling a lot

I think it was a lot better in the Summer so it could be effected by me having the heater on too or something. It can be sensitive too with sudden changes in temperature so if I'm in a warm place and go outside where it's cold I might have a sneeze or two. It always seems my breathing is clearer out in the fresh air, although I may still get a trigger and start sneezing on occasion, but I wouldn't feel so stuffed up. If I'm out in fresh air or playing sports or the likes, my breathing is perfectly fine and clear, just seems to get stuffy again during the night or when I'm in my place.

Has anyone experienced similar and found anything in terms of food and diet helpful? I eat pretty well and as my diet has gotten better, my allergy seems to have gotten worse but the two may be completely unrelated. I don't want to take any conventional sprays or med but I'd love to hear from anyone who has experienced similar and managed to improve it somewhat and if anything in terms of diet worked? Maybe I need to move, maybe I need to burn my mattress and duvet

_Whimsical_ · 28-11-2013 5:04pm

If during the night is a problem maybe your bedding is responsible. You should get some allergy safe covers to put over your pillows, mattress and duvet. These ones are expensive but theyre the best on the market : http://www.mitex.ie/. As they are medical grade and considered a medical device these ones do qualify for some tax refund if you pay tax, I think you get around 20% back.
There are cheaper ones out there too but look for reviews.

Have you tried salt inhalers or a neti pot? I know some people who have found they get a lot of relief from them. They have them on amazon, this is just one :http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yoga-Mad-NoseBuddy-Yoga-Mad-Nosebuddy/dp/B004QL7C8C/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1385657903&sr=8-14&keywords=salt+inhaler

Otherwise just keeping your environment as dust free as possible is the most important I'd say. Maybe try leaving a window open in the day time in your room too . My mum has a major dust allergy and she was told to always leave the quilt folded down off the bed when you aren't in it because dust mites multiply less quickly in a cooler environment.

Another thing although it's totally anecdotal and I wouldn't suggest it's science based at all is that lots of people find giving up dairy foods help with complaints that cause mucus like coughing and sneezing. I have someone in my family who was told by an alternative health practitioner to give up milk and within a week a chronic cough he had for years was gone. Might be worth a try for a week or two.

cormie · 28-11-2013 5:48pm

Thanks a lot for the helpful reply. Hehe, I'm almost scoring high on your post, I bought some spray from the Glenageary office of Mitex before, I didn't invest in the bedding yet however, I guess that might be next. Although I was looking up silk bedding too which may be even better, but it's extremely expensive (like €500 for a set!). Another annoying thing about renting, I wouldn't like to invest such money if I'm going to be moving any time soon and getting a bigger bed etc. If I had my own place I'd probably splash out in the hope it would help.

I'm an advocate of netti pots, I advise anyone with any such issues to use one, I use it myself, just probably not enough, was only doing them every odd week maybe once, but have recently read you should really do it a few times each day

Have tried to ventilate the place as much as possible here and sacrifice the warmth for fresh air.

I'm also pretty much vegan, I don't buy meat or dairy, may have it the odd time but very very rarely. Also noticed once I stopped with the milk etc that my breathing got much clearer, but the dust thing is a different story and different kind of sinus issue. I'm not sure if it's just my imagination as I read something about mold effecting lungs last night, but I feel an ever so slight discomfort in my chest, very very very very slight and possibly nothing to worry about, but you never know. Might be worth another visit to the doctor to see if all is ok. I guess something like mold is very difficult to detect whether it's damaging you at all until it's caused a problem big enough to be obvious?

carleigh · 02-12-2013 8:19pm

I don't have a dust allergy, but I suffer from asthma, and one of the triggers for me is dust. Using the hoover can often make the dust air bound, so it might be a good idea every day after you hoover (and wear a mask, it will help!), if you use a damp cloth to clean down surfaces etc.

As mentioned before, a good mattress and pillow protector is essential. Perhaps you have undiagnosed asthma and medication may help.

cormie · 02-12-2013 10:34pm

I wouldn't think I'd have asthma at all, hopefully not, have never had any breathing trouble like asthma sufferers would and would of course hate to have to take any kind of medication. I did a lot of research into the hoover I bought and invested a lot into it. I'd seen videos of dust particle measurement when using the miele with hepa filter and the air that comes back out of the hoover is actually cleaner than the ambient air in your typical room. Next on the investment list will be for bedding. I'm thinking it might be better to get rid of the duvet and pillow I have altogether and replace them with something that's a lot easier to wash frequently? I guess there's not much use having a hypo allergenic cover if the duvet and pillow itself are full of dust mites

jujumushu · 09-12-2013 11:15am

I also have a serious dust allergy so I feel your pain! Itchy swollen eyes, constant sneezing, congestion, runny/blocked nose, the works...I did try using Flixonase nasal spray for a while, which does work quite well, but only if you use it *before* you start feeling the symptoms. Well, that's the case for me anyway because once my eyes start to itch I can't leave them alone. There are stronger alternatives such as Avamys (I haven't tried it yet but from what I hear you just use it once in the morning and you're set for the day).

I know you say you don't want to take any meds or anything but for myself nothing else has even come close to relieving my allergies. I'm also lactose intolerant and yeah, the two allergies definitely have their own distinctive symptoms

I've gone off all dairy etc. and never had any relief from the dust/cat reactions.

byronbay2 · 09-12-2013 11:39am

If you have a dust allergy, the most important thing is to not have carpet in the house, particularly in the sitting room and bedroom. Cotton bedding is fine as long as you clean it at 60 degrees every week. Air the house, however cold it is, for an hour every day. Open the doors and windows and let a draught/breeze blow through. You can then turn the heating on but don't have the place too warm! Use blinds instead of curtains as well and use your Miele regularly but the most important thing is NO CARPET.

cormie · 09-12-2013 11:44am

Thanks for the reply. I've started doing the netti pot pretty much every day now and it might be too soon to tell for sure, but it seems I've have instant benefit from it! Seem to be sleeping a lot better too and not always waking up with sniffles.

Next thing I want to sort is my bedding. I'm thinking rather to get just duvet and pillow "protectors" to see if there's any alternative that could be washed more regularly than a duvet can for example. My place is very small and even having the space to dry and store an extra duvet would be a problem so I'm thinking something a bit more compact, but hopefully still warm, that could easily be washed in the washing machine and dry out handy enough too, while still offering allergy protection would be great, of course being warm enough for winter use and maybe a small version to fold up for a pillow too? Anything like that around that anyone knows of?

BlueFairy · 10-12-2013 6:46pm

This may be irrelevant to you, but thought I'd post it anyway because you never know.

I have a mild dust allergy, and I thought it was what was causing me to wake up every morning with a runny nose, I got the bloodshot eyes too. My sinuses and throat seemed overly sensitive to irritation at certain times too.

Turns out it's not from the allergy but from a combination of clenching my jaw and acid reflux during my sleep. The jaw clenching can cause a lot of weird problems, including sinus problems like a runny nose in the morning and the bloodshot eyes. The acid from the reflux coming up when I'm lying down irritates my throat, lungs and sometimes even nose which causes the sensitivity and runny nose too.

I don't know if that's the issue for you, but if it's happening particularly in the morning and you don't think it's your bedding then it's worth thinking about.

cormie · 10-12-2013 9:03pm

Interesting alright, how would you diagnose such a condition?

BlueFairy · 11-12-2013 3:45pm

Well for me the jaw problem slowly became obvious through various symptoms, and I have always ground my teeth at night. I've been having visual problems, balance issues, tinnitus and lots of tension and sometimes pain in my jaw, face & ear. For a long time we thought it was an ear issue, so it took a while to figure out that it was my jaw.

Technically the issue is called Tempromandibular Joint Dysfunction or just TMJ for short - it can be any kind of problem with your jaw joint. When I read up on TMJ I discovered that it's very much linked to sinus issues and often mimics sinusitis or allergies. It made a lot of sense to me and now I realise that when the TMJ flares up my sinus symptoms also flare up. As I learn to take care of the TMJ the runny nose issue is not as bad. It was an ENT who diagnosed the TMT by just poking and prodding at my (very tender!) jaw - however they were not much help, and my own dentist has been much better at giving me a hand with it.

As for the acid reflux, well that eventually began to manifest itself during the daytime also and through research I realised that this was what was irritating me so much at night. For some people it's not as obvious because it only happens when they're lying down. I notice a huge difference in the morning sinus problems when I take medication for the reflux, so it suggests to me that it's all linked in too.

EthicRanger · 15-12-2013 9:27pm

BlueFairy wrote: »

Technically the issue is called Tempromandibular Joint Dysfunction or just TMJ for short -

Is this all down to a dust allergy?

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