God Bless You! Gesundheit! Four Ways to Lessen Allergies

According to WebMD, 10-20% of the US population is afflicted with hay fever or seasonal allergies.  Some ways to lessen their affects include:

Investing in a UV Germicidal Light

This is a light within your duct work that kills (I like to think it “zaps”) bacteria and mold that can trigger allergies.  A UV Germicidal Light is also helpful for keeping your home clean.  Check with FLAME for more information about this.

Air Purifier

Air Purifiers like the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier work to catch dust, mold, dry skin and all those other little things floating around in your air ducts.  How much they catch depends on the quality of the purifier.  Air Purifiers will make sure these allergy inflamers do not re-enter the mainstream of your home.

Vacuuming

This may not be exactly what you are thinking…according to WebMD, traditional vacuuming can just cause allergies to act up even more.  This is because, the vacuum will not pick up all the tiny things.  They just pass right through the bag and they go up, up and away into the air.  These tiny particles can include lead, pesticides, heavy metals and more.  Therefore, it is recommended that you use a vacuum cleaner with a  HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter.  These HEPA filters catch more dust and dirt than regular vacuums.

Pillows & Mattresses

Strange, right?  You have probably never really thought one way or another about your pillow and mattress (well you have probably thought of its firm to fluffy ratio).  Unfortunately, according to WebMD, pillows and mattresses can be breeding grounds of allergies and sickness, “The average person sheds about 1.5 million skin cells per hour and perspires one quart every day….”  I am not a math person, so I will let you do the math when thinking about how many skin cells you shed on your bed after an 8 hour night of sleep.  YUCK. Also:  

“If that’s not gross enough for you, Tierno explains that a mattress doubles in weight every 10 years because of the accumulation of human hair, bodily secretions, animal hair and dander, fungal mold and spores, bacteria, chemicals, dust, lint, fibers, dust mites, insect parts, and a variety of particulates, including dust mite feces. After five years, 10% of the weight of a pillow is dust mites. This is what you’re inhaling while you sleep.”

Therefore, it is recommended that you get an allergy mattress cover that will not let these particles settle into your sleeping area and will also not allow what is already there to come out and bother you.

I hear allergies are incredibly frustrating and no fun and my heart and advice go out to those who suffer.  For more information about UV Germicidal Lights and Air Purifiers, check out this part of FLAME’s website or Contact FLAME!  I received my information about allergies, vacuuming and pillows & mattresses from WebMd:  “6 Daily Habits That May Make  You Sick” and “Allergies and Hay Fever“