Three Solutions for a Clean and Allergy Free Carpets

Many allergy sufferers are very familiar with the troubles that carpets in the home can cause. There are many tiny particles ranging from pet dander to dust, pollen and dirt which are trapped in the carpet and can trigger allergic reactions. Even people who are not normally affected by allergies can succumb to allergic reactions if a carpet has been neglected in a long time.

Vacuuming the Carpet is Not Enough

The solution to decreasing the event of an allergic reaction is keeping the carpeted area clean. But this remedy for many proves to be more difficult that one might think.

The most common tool to clean a carpet is a vacuum cleaner. Instead of decreasing the presence of allergens, a vacuum often simply kicks the dust, dirt and debris back up into the area. This makes the situation worse for the person suffering from allergies. Many people would resort to chemical and commercial cleaning agents to remedy the problem, but there lies another danger. Without even realising it, these chemicals are dangerous and can cause allergic reactions themselves.

Solution for Allergy Sufferers?

There are always options for those willing to spend the time and energy to look for a better way to clean carpets without aggravating allergies. Following the steps below will put you on the right track towards excellent indoor health, which is free from both naturally occurring and chemically induced allergic triggers.

1. Look for Environmental Protection Agency approved cleaning agents.

There are ‘green’ cleaning chemicals out there which are both beneficial for the environment and your own personal health. It is easy to identify which cleaning products have been declared safe and ‘green’. Looking for the EPA logo on the packaging. If you are using a commercial cleaning service, be sure to choose one which uses environmentally friendly products.

2. Switch to steam cleaning.

Steam cleaning is gaining popularity as a method of cleaning. There are a number of common stains which can be removed with a steam carpet cleaner using only water or a small amount of an additional substance. There are also environmentally friendly products that can be used with a steam cleaner. For example, there is a safe and EPA-approved carpet cleaner and other natural products like vinegar, baking soda etc. Steam cleaners are less costly than they used to be and many people often have a small steam cleaner in their home. Using the steam cleaner, allow carpets to completely dry to reduce the risk of increasing allergens like mold and mildew.

3. Enlist professional help.

For a person with allergies, cleaning is a must and sometimes tedious. For people with allergies, it is recommended to vacuum the carpet from 3 to 14 times per week to decrease the event of an allergy attack.

Suffering from allergies may seem the easy option rather than dedicating your life to a stringent cleanliness routine. A solution is a professional cleaning service that can handle the brunt of the cleaning work.

Choosing a service requires extensive research, especially one that specialises in reducing reduction of allergens (with the option of using environmentally friendly products). It might be the best to get some help and hire someone to take on a share of the load. Whether for home or office, this option can save you time and decrease allergic reactions at once.

This guest post was written by Sharon Freeman, an Australian freelance writer and blogger. She has been writing about commercial cleaning services and workplace cleanliness articles for companies like http://cleangroup.com.au/

The Common Causes Of Allergies

There all a lot of individuals have some kind of allergy attributable to one thing or another. It could be from the food they consume, or maybe the soap that they use, or to the pollen in the air.

What are allergies?

An allergy is a subnormal reaction by a person’s immune system against a commonly harmless substance. Still, just because there is a cause and effect been exposure to a substance and the sign of symptoms does not always mean that an individual is allergic to that substance. For instance, a person experiencing side effects of medications is not necessarily allergic to that medication.

Allergies are something that you get from an antibody called Immunoglobulin. Antibodies is very important to us, since it helps to fight off any parasites.

What are the most common allergies?

The most common allergies are asthma, hay fever, allergic eye, emphysema, and hives. There are other allergies as well, such as rhinitis and sinusitis.

The most common allergy that you might get is hay fever, it is from the pollen in the air. Hay fever is seasonal, generally in spring and summer. Some insides allergies are from dust mites and mold.

When you developed allergies, it causes your nose to swells from inflammatory attacks making it hard to breathe. The most common symptoms that come from allergies are runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, nasal itching, itchy eyes, and postnasal drip.

Allergies can also cause your bronchial tubes to get inflamed and will narrow the passageway making hard for you to breathe. This may also cause you to develop asthma as well.

What are allergens?

Allergens are substance in the air that you breathe, they are in what we ingest, they contact our skin, and they are everywhere that you can think of. They are foreign to the body’s immunity system causes an allergic reaction. In some case mold and pollen causes such reactions.

Just about anything can be an allergen; the most common being house dust mites, pollen from plants and grasses, cats, dogs, insects such as wasps and bees, milk, eggs, peanuts. Less common allergens include nuts, fruit and latex. Protein is often regarded as just something that we eat. It is, in fact, an organic compound containing hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which form an important part of living organisms. There are, however, some non-protein allergens which include penicillin and some other drugs. For these to cause an allergic response they need to be bound to a protein once they are in the body.

What are some remedies for allergies?

There are tests that will show what you are exactly allergic to and medicines to help you to get some relief from allergies.

If you have allergies to something in your house then you might want to use air filtering systems to clean the air in your home, making you more comfortable.

How The Weather Cause Allergies

The weather can cause allergies in a lot of ways. One way is humid, it can affect the immune system, inducing a sensitiveness to emerge. On rainy days it encourages dust mites, mold and pollen, which causes sensitivity to your immune system.

Your immune system may react to a particular seasons like spring when pollen and mold spread. These are the two biggest things that people with allergies have to deal with.

How mold affects you

Mold develops in areas where dampness resides. Mold grows in bathrooms, around kitchen sinks and inside walls. Mold comes from dampness. Being around trees, rotten logs, hay, leafs, mulch, any place that there is moisture can subject you to mold. In your home, you will find mold in the showers, as well as the shower curtains, around the window frames, and maybe in your basement.

How pollen affects you

Pollen comes from common, or natural elements such as grass, trees and weeds. That’s why you get allergies in the spring because of the pollen. If you get allergies in the summer its pollen from the grass, and in the late summer its ragweed.

Find relief for allergies

When it comes to pollen, these things might help you to get some relief. Take a shower or bath at bedtime. Cleanliness will prevent skin cells from shredding heavily from your body. Sometimes bathing before bedtime will help you to breath easier as well.

Try to avoid going outside on windy and dry days where the wind is blowing all the pollen around. This would be a good time to only use your air conditioner in your home as well as your car. When using your air conditioner you can keep your window close. This will stop the pollen from getting in your home making it easier for you to be comfortable.

How to get relief from mold

When it comes to mold, it is everywhere. Mold will grow inside your home as well as outside of your home. However, maybe if you try these things you might get some relief from your allergies. Don’t place home plants in your house and if you have any get rid of them, this will also cut down the mold in your home. But keep in mind however, plants produce oxygen and its count of pollen are so small in the air it rarely causes allergies.

When you take shower, you might want to dry out the tub or shower as well as the shower curtain to avoid mold. Mold loves the shower curtain.

If you find that too much to do all the time, you can change the shower curtain every six months. You can wipe your walls down with bleach and water. This will kill the mold on the walls like in your bathroom and basement.

When wanting to redo your bathroom try not to put carpet down. Mold clings to damp carpet.

Use paints on the wall that are designed to stay dry. Try keeping your humidity at a level that does not feed mold, pollen, dust mites or other allergic irritants.

Medicines that relief allergies

Some antihistamines that you can get that will help; yet, they have some side effects. The antihistamines can cause dry mouth and fatigue. Decongestants come in pill form or nasal sprays and often helps.

Do not take over-the-counter medicines for more then three days without informing your family doctor. These medicines have side effects may affect you. Before taking any new drugs you should always talk it over with your doctor first.

Allergies and Sneezes- What a Headache!

Although spring is the most beautiful season of the year, it is dreaded by many because it is also allergy season. The most common allergens become widespread in the environment causing people to be sneezing, wheezing, and feeling very sick. To combat allergy symptoms and sneezing during the spring season, it is important to know a few things about allergies.

What are allergies?

An allergy is an abnormal response of the immune system to a substance in the environment. This substance is called an allergen and is usually harmless to others that are not allergic to it. Once the body is exposed to an allergen, it reacts to it by releasing chemicals, primarily Histamine, which cause the allergy symptoms.

Symptoms of allergies:

There are many different symptoms for allergies and they often depend on the particular allergen or individual that is allergic. The most common symptoms of allergies are sneezing, wheezing, coughing, itchy eyes and nose, runny nose, hives, rashes, and a general ill or tired feeling. Food allergies can also cause diarrhea and vomiting in addition to these symptoms. Allergies to insect stings can cause localized swelling and redness.

Severe allergic reactions:

Some individuals can have very severe allergic reactions especially when it comes to food or insect stings. The symptoms for severe allergic reactions are similar to the above, but, can be very debilitating and incapacitating. Anaphylaxis is the most severe and dangerous allergic reaction. Individuals that suffer anaphylaxis can experience hives and itching all over their body, shortness of breath, tightening of the throat, and tingling in the extremities. Anaphylaxis is very dangerous and can be fatal.

Allergens:

Many different kinds of substances can be allergens to certain people. Here is a list of the 7 major categories of allergens and the most common allergens for each category:

1. Animal Products – allergy to cats, fur, dander, cockroach calyx, wool, dust mites
2. Drugs – Penicillin and Sulfonamides
3. Foods – nuts, eggs, wheat, corn, gluten, soy, seafood
4. Insect Stings – mosquito stings, bee stings, and wasp stings
5. Fungal allergens – mold spores
6. Seasonal Allergens – tree pollen, weed pollen, grass pollen
7. Synthetic Allergens – latex and metal

Determine Allergies:

The easiest allergens to determine are the seasonal allergens. There is a skin test available in which different kinds of allergens are placed directly on the skin to see what kind of reaction they have. This can be very helpful in treating seasonal allergies.

Other kinds of allergies are usually determined when the person develops allergy symptoms soon after being exposed to a certain substance. To determine food allergies, individuals can eliminate foods that commonly cause allergies from their diet for a few weeks and then reintroducing them one by one to their diet and monitoring their body’s response.

Treatment for Allergies:

The most commonly used medications for the treatment of allergy symptoms are antihistamines,

decongestants, and corticosteroids. Antihistamines directly block Histamine receptors in the body and prevent allergy symptoms. Decongestants help relieve congestion caused by allergies and can be used in combination with antihistamines. Corticosteroids help reduce the inflammation caused by the allergic response to the allergen and are often also used in combination with antihistamines.

Natural Treatments for Allergies:

One of the best ways to reduce allergy symptoms in the long-term is by introducing small doses of the allergen so the body becomes desensitized to it. Most natural stores offer drops or capsules for common allergens. Local honey is also widely used for this purpose. It is effective because bees pick up pollen from the area which is then passed on in their honey.

Another way to prevent being hit hard during the allergy season is to strengthen the immune system with vitamin C, fish oil, and licorice root. Since the body responds to allergens with inflammation, eating anti-inflammatory foods, such as leafy greens, berries, tea, extra virgin olive oil and Wild Alaskan salmon, can also be helpful.

Guest author Kevin Wiseman is a freelance blogger for the Edrugstore.md website. To learn more follow them on their Edrugstore Facebook page.

Avoiding Asthma, Allergy Triggers This Summer

We usually associate the summer months with lots of fun and the time to gout for a vacation or enjoy with friends. But these happy times can turn sour due to insect bites or asthma attacks. In fact, millions of Americans suffer from asthma and allergies during these summer months. Allergies and asthma can lead to sneezing and wheezing and sometimes even more serious conditions which can totally dampen the happy spirits. But if you plan a little bit then you can have your share of outdoor fun without any trouble. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology have suggested certain measures with the help of which you can avoid allergies and asthma.

Take the medicines before you leave

It is very necessary to take any prescribed medicines on time during summer. You must take any allergy medication before you walk out of the front door. Many people make the mistake by the waiting for the symptoms to kick in but they do not realize that the medication will not be that effective once you have that allergic reaction or asthma. We have all heard of the age old saying “Prevention is better than cure”. Well, this is the perfect time to follow that.

Stay fully covered

If you are going out of your house during that day then try to wear the big, wraparound sunglasses so that the pollen does not get into your eyes. If you do not have such sunglasses then add this in your monthly shopping list. Studies have shown that wraparound sunglasses are very effective in stopping the pollen from entering the eyes. You must always go for the branded sunglasses as they offer proper UV protection and avoid the ones sold in the flea markets.

Avoid insect bites

If you are allergic to bees and other insects then you must try to avoid as far as possible. Try to keep a distance from uncovered food and be very cautious of open soft drink cans. Bees also get attracted towards bright colored clothes and perfumes; so, in your own interest, you should avoid these as they can attract bees. If a person near you gets stung by a bee, move away from that area immediately. There are some bees which emit a chemical after stinging and this can attract other bees.

Exercise caution at the food table

You must be very cautious at the food table. Avoid dairy products and nuts and be aware that common allergens are usually found in mixed salads and salad dressings. If you are going to have grilled food then place the food on aluminium foil and then grill it. This will arrest cross-contamination with other foods.

Ozone alerts

If you are prone to allergic reactions and asthma then you must pay attention to ozone alerts. People who are suffering from pollution can have severe problems when high temperatures get mixed with pollution. You must carry a quick relief inhaler whenever you go out. If you are planning on a vacation then stay away from those cities which are known their high ozone content in the atmosphere.

About the author: Diana Maria is a blogger and a writer. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on eco friendly technology attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on asthma treatment.