The Bedroom

Testing/RAST

12 Ways You Can Beat Your Allergies

Is It a Cold or an Allergy?

Common Sources of Mold and Fungus

How can I limit mold exposure?

Decongestant Users: BE ALERT

Dangerous Mixes DO NOT MIX:

Learning to Live with Animal Allergies

Common Symptoms Associated with Foods

Destroying Dust Mites at Home

Minimizing Mold Levels

ALLERGY FACTS

The Bedroom

You can spend well over one third of your life in the bedroom. It follows, then, that you breathe the air in your bedroom for one third of your life. If you can purify your environment for  third of your life, making it almost devoid of allergies or irritants, your respiratory system (lungs, nose, throat and airways) can get a chance to rest and build up strength and resistance for the next barrage of pollen, dust and so on.

Once you've accepted that the bedroom should be the focus of your efforts to improve your environment, look at the following guidelines:

* No stuffed chairs, rugs, drapes, or leather upholstered furniture.
* Wooden or linoleum flooring only.
* Furniture should be constructed of wood, plastic or metal.
* Keep your bed away from air vents, with nothing underneath it.
* Everything in the room should be washable. This includes bedding, rugs and any foam mattresses.
* Never allow pets in the bedroom.
* Closets should be kept neat. Do not store blankets, hats, woolens, sports equipment.
* Store clothes in zippered containers.
* Synthetic pillows only, preferably Dacron or foam. No feather, goose down or kapok. Wash monthly. Be sure not to have kapok as the stuffing in quilts or sleeping bags, either.
* Avoid dust catchers - anything with a surface area such as shelves, mobiles, books, ornaments.
* If there is a furnace vent in the room, cover it with cheesecloth or other appropriate material, If you have baseboard heat try to remove the front and sides so that you can vacuum inside - dried dust can be very allergenic.
* Doors and windows must fit tightly. Close them during pollen and pollution alerts. Keep the windows clean.
* Clean the room twice a week with a damp dust cloth.
* Vacuum mattresses and enclose them in plastic with zipper closing. These (the mattresses) should be less than ten years old.
* In the rooms of young children keep their toys in a box.
* Use synthetic blankets only.
* No venetian blinds or long drapes. Preferably roll-up blinds or short, light, smooth and washable cotton, terylene or polyester curtains.
* An air conditioner is ideal.