What set off my allergies??

[brookline]

Hi everyone,
I have environmental & food allergies & an autoimmune disorder. I'm pretty allergic to dust mites & slightly allergic to dogs. (I know this through skin prick testing.) About 6 weeks ago I started getting drippy eyes & off and on runny nose (clear). I sometimes wake up with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope you all can help me narrow down the cause of the symptoms. I assumed this to be some sort of seasonal hayfever. I was surprised by the occurrence as my environmental allergies have been pretty quiet over the years due to injections I received as a child in the 1970s. (However, my food allergies have been pretty troublesome over the past decade at least.) Well, we're into fall here in Massachusetts & temperatures are dropping. However, my symptoms persist. I've noticed the symptoms typically lessen (though not always) when I leave our house. Here are some observations I've made of possible allergy triggers around the house:

-We have a dog who sheds like crazy. His hair gets into everything & forms clumps. No matter how often I brush him he just produces more. (I've been brushing almost daily over the past month.)
-However his hair hasn't set off visible symptoms in past years.
-The house is pretty dusty & has been that way for awhile. (I have a spouse & 2 kids who don't believe in cleaning. Ugh.)
-I typically change our pillowcases once a week, sheets once a month. (Like I said we're gross.)
-I wash quilts once a month.

Right now, I'm spending a lot of time trying to clean up the house in the hopes of lessening my symptoms. The only thing that has produced any improvement is washing bedroom quilts and pillowcases. I really don't know what to do to control this. Steamclean the house? Wash sheets & quilts daily? Buy allergy sheets & pillowcases? Shampoo the dog daily? What do people think is the cause? What might help? Cheap solutions that don't involve my quitting work to become a housekeeper?

[JamesR]

Is the house damp? Any sign of mold? Is there a lot of wood like Cedar? (some woods cause reactions). Is it an older house? How old?

Maybe try spending a week or weekend at someone else's house and see what happens to your symptoms?

[Dragline]

Yup, mold or mildew would be my guess. But we are talking a wild-ass guess. There's no real way for any of us to know anything about your environment.

Do you have a dehumidifier for your wettest places?

And maybe you shouldn't brush the dog every day either.

[jacob]

I don't know if my experience translates or is average. I did the prick testing when I was 6 and it turned out I was allergic to nearly everything: food additives, furry animals, dust, pollen. The strategy was either to go on inhalers or eliminate EVERYTHING. My parents went for the latter. As a potential result, I had grown out of most of it when I was 25. Now I'm not allergic to anything except a few things: Mostly cats + excess dust (e.g. someone who has a cat and hasn't vacuumed in weeks).

Old strategy was no pets (only fish). No carpets. No curtains. Limits on certain foods. I also had no-allergy bedsheets. Basically the whole deal ... but it worked. No more reactions or inhalers or anything.

One observation is that there might be a lag reaction in immune response. If your immune system gets really irritated and stuff gets into your system the response can persist for weeks even if the trigger is no longer there.

Lower temperatures in general do reduce sinus issues.

If it's in your eyes (are they red?), it suggests there's something floating in the air (rather than the food). Alternatively, do you touch your face with your hands? When I'm visiting cat owners I make a strong point of never touching my face. Also wash my hands constantly. Total Howard Hughes. It works.

Instead of brushing the dog, give him a bath. Not daily! Washing sheets daily also sounds excessive ... but I do note that if washing them seems to work then wash them more often. Maybe try replacing them with allergy rated ones.

Steamclean the whole house ... maybe vacuum often (like 2-4 times a week) with a HEPA filter. See if that works.

A techmological solution would be to get one of those air ionizers. A serious model will make most of the dust fall to the ground. Could work.

If you're looking for a specific trigger, remember you're dealing with a complex system with a lag time meaning you can only change one thing a a time .. then wait two weeks. Then change the next. It's a rather tricky thing to debug.

[brookline]

Is the house damp? Any sign of mold? Is there a lot of wood like Cedar? (some woods cause reactions). Is it an older house? How old?

Maybe try spending a week or weekend at someone else's house and see what happens to your symptoms?

The house is pretty dry due to a local drought. There is mold in the bathrooms & the refrigerator. (There is only so much I can do to clean up after 3 other people.)
It's an older wood house but was gutted in 2012. I don't see any cedar.
I will look into the weekend away option.

[brookline]

Hi Jacob,
I'm open to living pet-free but that would start a war in the house.
Yes, I have runny/red eyes. I've been rubbing my eyes a lot since this started to clear my tear ducts which are prone to blockage. That said, I'm a good hand washer.
Regular dog baths would be a good move. I'll have to figure out a way to do that inside as winter approaches.
We don't own a vacuum. I will look into getting one.
Steamcleaning sounds like another good option. Hopefully that is something I can DIY.
Thanks!

[IlliniDave]

I attribute my below average susceptibility to colds/flu/etc to handwashing habits I developed being an allergy sufferer growing up with cats. If I touch a cat then touch my face I become an itchy-eyed snot faucet. Dogs are similar but the reaction is less severe. Like jacob I tested as allergic to virtually everything getting those prick tests when I was a kid. And I had years of injections because of allergies to bees (my dad kept a couple hives at his vineyard back then, and I loved honey and I loved bugs and the injections were the price I had to pay). I'm a little skeptical of the skin prick tests because my actual symptoms were milder than you would think for someone allergic to everything.

These are all just guesses. My first thought is delegate the dog brushing to someone else, or maybe wear a dust mask of some sort while you do it and do it outside if you can, and maybe even coveralls. Look at anything you may have brought into the house over the last 6 weeks or so: furniture, bedding, towels, etc. Check the air filter in your HVAC. Vacuuming is a mixed bag for me. In the short run it kicks up a lot of dust so things get temporarily worse. Maybe have someone else do it when you are not home or do it at a time right before you are leaving the house for a while. Being in a drought may contribute to it as there tends to be more dust outdoors which can be brought indoors: dust, dried plant matter, mold from decaying leaves (a big one for me), and perhaps drier air indoors would allow more stuff to get airborne. A humidifier might help. Sort of contrary to that, you might try opening up windows in the house and refreshing the air as often as possible which could help if the source of the problem is indoors. If you have damp areas in the house a dehumidifier might help. Could be you have previously damp areas (basement or something) that are now drier than normal because of the drought and mold spores or something could be getting into the indoor air.

I've also noticed a correlation between my diet and the severity of allergy symptoms. When I do a better job of avoiding sugar, processed carbohydrates/excessive grains, and starches, my symptoms wane. Sticking with animal protein plus non starchy vegetables is my best bet.

Those are all just anecdotal shots in the dark. Hopefully whatever it is clears up before long.

[7Wannabe5]

I am addicted to Febreeze allergen reducer spray for this reason. It is one of the two consumer products I will be found raiding a drugstore for during the zombie apocalypse (The other being Garnier Nutrisse Extra-Light Natural Blonde.) It also comes in handy if you want to wash your clothing less frequently. Not a great solution, but better than resorting to antihistamine ingestion.

[brookline]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your reply. In fact, thanks everyone, these replies have been really helpful. Your caring is appreciated!

I think the issue is definitely in the house. I slept in the lower floor of our house last night from which our dog is banned. I still had symptoms but reduced. When I left the house this morning, the symptoms dropped off even further. I did some sweeping upstairs upon returning to the house & that got me sneezing. At a minimum, a water vacuum or HEPA vacuum is in my future. I washed a pile of bedding today to, which I think will help. Our dog got a shampoo &that is cutting way back on the dog hair.

[jacob]

Getting rid of the dog is obviously a value judgment: reduction in quality of life from allergies vs increase in quality from puppy time + previous commitments. One of my cousins is also allergic, but here the choice was to grow up being a farm girl with cats, dogs, and horses. She spent her entire childhood constantly sniffling but I don't think there were any regrets.

If you have carpets, try to vacuum often (a few times per week) with a HEPA. It will leave the air cleaner than it was. You can rent a steamcleaner from Walmart or similar. You only need to do this a few times per year tops. Otherwise try to get rid of anything in the house that attracts dust, like carpets, curtains, ... wash all blankets that haven't been washed recently. In general, if the house is so dusty that it requires a gasmask to sweep/clean it, it's too dusty to live in.

PS: No need to quote the entire post to reply. A simple @username will do.

[Ego]

I've never suffered allergies but have been cautious about mold after seeing a few nightmare scenarios in apartments we managed. We leave our widows wide open 24/7 year round and run two HEPA air filters most of the time. Honeywells are the best. You can generally find them on craigslist cheap. Look for the ones with the washable filter. Since you have a dog, you'll have to clean the pre-filter often.

[brookline]

Hi Ego,
Thanks for the tip. I just bought a new vacuum cleaner & pillow cases. I will add mattress covers & a HEPA air filter to my shopping list. Ugh. None of this can be helping me get to early retirement.

[zarathustra]

I am just going to post here quickly, but I have a lot more to say about this. I've spent this entire year studying Nutritional Therapy, and a BIG factor in allergies is actually intestinal health and how permeable your gut is. The more permeable and more time your gut is spent not being as selective as it should with what it lets into your blood stream, the more allergies, mood/neurological issues, and yes, autoimmune issues happen to people.

See more in the book: "Gut And Psychology Syndrome" (GAPS) by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride

I spent this summer doing the GAPS diet to heal my gut, as I was experiencing a lot of issues after my brain injury, including severe eczema and acne and anxiety. My life-long struggle with digestive issues was literally CURED, and I started pooping EVERY DAY for the first time in my life, lost the bloat, lost the stomach pains, AND my skin got tons better and now I feel more energetic, focused, and have a better mood than ever before in my life.

There are countless studies and now a lot of books coming out about this connection between gut health and many of the issues you listed. It's almost "hip" now. If you are interested in more info, PM me.