|
What Causes Dust Allergies and What Can I Do About Them? |
 The flowers bloom, the wind blows, and…the dust mites attack? That’s right. You’ve felt the pressure before causing you to rub your throbbing head and your face to pound with intolerable irritation.
Maybe the problem isn’t the dog you wish you never got or the flowers blooming in your front yard. Maybe its in the carpet covering every square unit of your home. Yes, that’s right folks, a house dust allergy is just one of many things that can cause sinus irritation. Dust mites cause dust and these eight-legged, microscopic critters welcome you home no matter the weather, upsetting your sinuses. If you are experiencing sinus irritation, it’s because of the increase of mucus in your nasal passages creating pressure in your sinuses. If the cause of your misery is a dust allergy, the key is to understand the problem and then come up with a plan to fix it.
Actually, it is the dust mite droppings in carpets cause sinus irritation of a dust allergy. No matter how many times a home is scrubbed and dusted; you can’t reach those microscopic nuisances. The secret is to understand why these dust mites thrive in your home before you can minimize your reaction to them and get your dust allergy under control.
Dust mites need three environments to survive -- warmth, moisture, and dead skin cells. Simply lying on your bed or sitting in your favorite chair can create the desired temperature and moisture for dust mites. Mattresses and carpets are the main areas where dust mites can be found. Other popular household furniture includes chairs, bedding, pillows, and curtains. Remember that dust mites thrive well in kitchens and bedrooms. There’s not much you can do about your body shedding dead skin cells or that mites feed off your dead skin cells.
Here are some ways to keep your dust allergy sinus problems to a minimum:
- Remember to wash pillows, pillowcases, sheets, and bed coverings at least bi-weekly. By simply putting these in the washer and dryer, the dust mites will be killed.
- Dust mites respond to humidity. Keep your home temperature below 70 degrees.
- In winter, use a humidifier to create moisture in the air to keep your sinuses from swelling at night because of your dust allergy. If you slightly raise the humidifier off the floor, it will stop moisture from seeping into the carpet. Remember the mites love moisture. By raising the humidifier off the floor, it will keep your carpet from becoming a breeding ground for the dust mites.
- Buy a plastic cover for your mattress. This zipped plastic cover will prevent mites from migrating from the mattress to the sheets.
- Buy a plastic cover for your pillow. You won’t have to wash it as much. The pillowcase goes over the plastic cover.
- Talk with your doctor to see if they can give you any allergy injections that are tailor-made for a home dust allergy that is a reaction to dust mite droppings.
- Continue to clean your home thoroughly. Vacuum the carpets often. It’s also possible to get HEPA filters to contain more dust in the machine.
- Choose washable stuffed toys for children. Make sure they are washed often in hot water and dried thoroughly. Also, keep stuffed toys off beds.
Fighting a dust allergy is an ongoing process. When a dust allergy generates head and sinus allergic reactions, it is easy to blame the wrong cause. Only by getting to the bottom of why a dust allergy is the source of your problem can you finally make the lifestyle changes needed to find relief. But it is worth the effort to try because once you get your dust allergy under control, you will breathe a lot easier every day.
|