LIVING AREA ALLERGY

      Since indoor allergen exposure is an important factor in allergic diseases and environmental allergen reduction has been demonstrated to improve asthma symptoms, medication use and lung functions, indoor environmental control should be the first line approach to allergic diseases.

      Allergy sufferers can take a major step toward improving their symptoms by making their homes hostile environments for allergens. Doctors say preventing allergens from concentrating in the home and eliminating those that get in are as important as medication for patients to effectively manage their illness.

Here are some of the important issues to consider in making that home allergy-free.

Check for a site where the neighborhood is away from factories.  Avoid dampness, therefore you should build or find one in an elevated area. This is better than being close to streams or rivers because there is higher moisture content of the air in those areas. The higher the humidity in your home the more likely it is you will encourage mould and dust mite growth.

Build a house with a full basement. Every living area of the home needs to have part of the basement underneath it. Avoid basement bedrooms. The basement should be a storage area only. Avoid laying carpet directly on cement slab. This is the perfect environment for dust mites, due to the higher humidity, that is possible carpets on breathable wooden floors.

Every new home will create some out gassing because of the preservatives used in woods, the preservatives and glues used in particleboard and the materials used in constructing our homes today.  Use chemically treated timber throughout all new houses, for protection against rot and mould growth.

In bedroom, your mattresses harbor dust mites. Studies show that even new mattresses brought from the showroom will have significant dust mites when vacuumed and measured.  The most effective solution is to fully encase all bedding with anti-allergen barriers.  It is better to keep pet out of bedroom.

The best way to reduce allergen-levels in the home is to minimize fabric surfaces, such as carpets and rugs. Carpets act as a continuous reservoir for house dust mites.  Hard-surface flooring is ultimately the preferred choice of flooring in creating a low-allergen home. But avoid grooved wood surfaces that become dust traps.

Ceramic tiles are particularly suitable for 'wet' rooms such as the bathroom and kitchen. Porous, unsealed tiles may harbor bacteria and other micro-organisms. To ease cleaning, porous tiles should be sealed.

Paint is the first choice, recommended over wallpaper. However, solvents used in certain brands can cause more irritation over others. As a general rule, the higher a product's VOC content, the stronger the odor. Water-based paint has fewer odors than oil-based types, due to reduced solvent content.

Wipe able vertical blinds or shades collect less dust and are easy to clean. Minimizes soft furnishings. Leather and vinyl are best for covering soft furnishings, as they are not good dust collectors.  Avoid Gas Stoves - excess moisture, high in carbon release and reduced oxygen.

Many allergens, including animal dander and mould spores are found in the air, while others, such as mite droppings and cockroach droppings, are in carpets and bedding but become air-borne when disturbed.

Improving ventilation is the key to minimizing air pollutants indoor.  Keeping windows and doors open for part of the day is useful in improving indoor ventilation naturally, but remembers that pollens and moulds will get indoors this way.

Dehumidifiers are not considered useful in reducing dust mite levels in New Zealand. However, they are good to reduce excess humidity (for mould etc). High humidity and low temperatures of typical homes where winter can drop the unheated house temp to +5 overnight, are ideal breeding grounds for mould.

Avoid gas fires as they increase indoor humidity in winter. Wooden fireplaces are atmospheric, but are sources of indoor pollution, which can aggravate asthma.

Air-conditioning system is good at keeping the humidity normal, which will have a significant impact on dust mite allergen concentrations. An electrostatic air filter must be installed, and cleaned monthly.  Air conditioning systems fitted with filters will also reduce the ingress of pollen and moulds into the house.

Air filtration may be more useful for allergens associated with small particles that remain airborne longer (i.e. cat) rather than for allergens associated with large (i.e. mite faucal) particles, which settle out quickly and arise from local sources.