Ready for another round of allergies?

My daughter recently had a bout with asthma. The strange thing
is, she hadn't had any problems for a couple of years. In
looking at the possible triggers - She had a new batch of
puppies at her dad's. While the 2 dogs didn't seem to bother
her, the addional puppies seemed to put her over the edge.

To make matters worse, since we hadn't had problems for a couple
of years, I had become lax in some of the cleaning that I would
have done when she had problems every year.

Once I realized what her problem was, I immediately started
cleaning for asthma. That means thoroughly vacuuming walls,
behind furniture, matresses, pillows, upholstery, screens, and
vents, and dusting every crevice- including things like behind
the tv and stereo inside the cabinet, the backs of furniture.

I normally dust the ceiling fans and blinds, but if you kinda
skip those, you need to pay more attention if you have any
allergies or asthma in your home.

A quick carpet clean and changing air filters and furnace
filters finishes up the cleaning job.

You also want to change your hand towels everyday, just in
case it is a virus triggering the response.

If you have pets, keep them clean and brushed, and their
livingareas cleaned. Keep pets out of the bedrooms of
affected people.

The things that typically trigger asthma is actually
pretty long-

House dust mites found in carpeting, mattresses, bed linens,
toys, upholstered furniture, dampness, poor ventilation,
unvented cooking, humidifiers

Animal-derived allergens from dogs, cats, rodents, and birds.

Mold found in carpeting, walls, and windows, caused by leaks,
poor ventialtion, water damage, or dampness.

Nitrogen oxides produced by space heaters or gas-fueled
cooking stove, used with poor ventilation.

Wood Smoke from wood stoves or fireplaces, used with
poor ventilation, or faulty equipment causing fumes to
come back into the room.

Fumes from cleaners, aerosols- like hairsprays, perfumes
and even air fresheners, pesticides, formaldehyde found in
some older household products.

Viral respiratory infections - exposure to infected people

Endotoxins from bacteria growing in soil, humidifiers, and
other moist places.

Cockroach allergen

Tobacco smoke

Excess weight.

If there is one thing you can do to minimize allergy or asthma
suffering- it is to become a vacuuming fanatic. The more you get
into that bag, the less you have floating around in the air.
It's healthier, and you'll have less dusting to do.

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