Vital - distributed monthly within the Detroit Free Press & The Detroit News. Also available free in hundreds of local racks

« Articles

LOCK OUT INDOOR ALLERGENS

DON'T LET UNWANTED GUESTS LEAVE YOU SNIFFLING THIS SEASON

By Claire Charlton

Spring and summer are high season for allergies. Think you'll be safe if you close the windows, crank up the A/C and stay inside?

Think again. Seeking shelter from seasonal allergies indoors might not help. In fact, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found levels of indoor air pollutants to be two to 100 times higher than outdoor levels. The World Health Organization says that poor indoor air quality is responsible for 2.5% of diseases worldwide.

And where there are allergies, there is asthma, which affects about 20 million Americans, including 6.3 million children. The biggest growth of asthma is in children under 5, according to the EPA.

So buckle up, batten down the hatches and get ready to banish the indoor allergy culprits with this advice.

Bye-bye, dust mites

Does dust make you sneeze? The problem is not the dust itself, but rather dust mites, microscopic insects that make a meal of dead skin cells within dust and create allergenic droppings.

"They have six legs and are very awful-looking," says Annie Arrey-Mensah, M.D., an allergist and immunologist with a practice in Southfield. "When patients see them under the microscope, they tend to increase their compliance."

The biggest dust-gathering culprits, Arrey-Mensah says, are the soft surfaces of your home, including carpeting, upholstered furniture and bedding. If you're searching for a reason to replace carpeting with hardwood or ceramic tile and upholstered furniture with leather or vinyl, that's a good one.

And because dust mites love moist air, keeping your indoor humidity under 50% will discourage their growth. In the summer, run your air conditioning to naturally reduce humidity in the air, and make sure you use a dehumidifier in damp areas, such as your basement, suggests Jan Roberts, R.N., a certified asthma educator and board member for the American Lung Association's Michigan branch.

"In your kitchen, make sure to use a hood vent even when you are boiling water, or crack a window to keep the humidity level down," Roberts says.

Your skin and nose might prefer a higher level of humidity, however, so drink plenty of water, and slather on moisturizer.

"Hydrate your body from the inside, not the outside," says Roberts.

Dust mites really love to snooze with you, too - 10% of the weight of a 2-year-old pillow is dust mites and their droppings, says Barb Westfield, spokesperson for HoMedics, a personal-care, health and wellness company with headquarters in Commerce Township. The best defense is to use pillow and mattress covers that protect bedding from dust mites, such as those in the HoMedics DreamShield line.

"All the products are machine-washable and defend against these nasty little guys for up to 50 washings," says Westfield.

Arrey-Mensah says it's important to wash your bedding weekly in hot water, and wear loose-fitting cotton pajamas, which you should change nightly. You also should wrap stuffed toys in a plastic bag and stash them in the freezer overnight on a weekly basis to literally freeze out dust mites.

Fight back with filters

Unless your vacuum is properly filtered, vacuuming simply spreads the mites around.

"For vacuums, a high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filter is the best type for people who suffer with allergy and asthma," says Ken Garcia, CEO of Halo Technologies, Inc., a North Carolina company that creates products for home health. "This type of filtration traps 99.97% of pollen, dust mites, and other fine particulates in the air that can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms."

If your furnace is getting old, consider buying a variablespeed model, which will continuously circulate the air in your home, passing air through a minimum-efficiency rating value (MERV) filter of between 8 and 16.

"MERV 8 gets down into microns of filtration," says Michael Levey, president of Air Master Heating, Air Conditioning and Indoor Air Quality in Berkley. "MERV 8 is probably 50 to 100 times more efficient than the old 1-inch filter that you buy for a dollar at the hardware store."

For allergy-reducing central air conditioning, consider a multiple-stage unit that works to reduce humidity to below 50%, even in Michigan's humid summer months.

Light up your arsenal

UV lights also have made their way into furnace systems, according to Levey.

"Whatever comes into the ductwork and passes through the light, including airborne volatile organic compounds released by carpets, paints and detergents, UV will kill," says Levey.

Halo's vacuum cleaners incorporate ultraviolet light, which the company says breaks down and kills dust mites, viruses, mold and bacteria in less than one second.

Gaiam's cordless Purelight UV Wand can be waved over mattresses, toys and utensils to kill allergens.

Move out mold

Mold allergies can cause itchy, watery eyes and nasal congestion, and even can trigger asthmatic wheezing. The majority of indoor exposure comes from basements, crawl spaces, and carpeting in high-humidity rooms, such as bathrooms and kitchens, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The organization suggests keeping humidity below 50%, using a dehumidifier where needed, and treating washable surfaces with a bleach solution to reduce mold buildup. Other cleaners may have scents that further irritate symptoms, warns Roberts. Experts recommend using a 5% to 10% bleach solution for cleaning. Wiping down shower walls after showering can decrease mold, too, says Arrey-Mensah.

Houseplants are littleknown mold releasers and are best kept out of bedrooms, Roberts says.

"Mold stays in the dirt until it becomes dry, and then it becomes airborne. People often don't realize this," she says.

Purify to protect

Air purifiers sometimes work to decrease airborne particulates, but only in limited environments, such as very small rooms, or places where you don't have a lot of environmental control, such as apartments, says Roberts.

"If you plan to use an air purifier, make sure to look for those that don't produce ozone, which can become a trigger for asthma. Read the label or look for products approved by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America," she says

ALLERGY-PROOFING ROOM-BY-ROOM

Here's a look at what you can do to keep the allergen level low in every room of the house:

Kitchen

Always use a hood vent to keep humidity down when cooking.

Bathroom

Use a bleach solution on surfaces to reduce mold.

Dry tub enclosure walls after showering.

Bedroom

Buy bedding that reduces exposure to dust mites.

Wash bedding weekly in hot water.

Don't keep houseplants here; dirt can release mold.

Basement

e a dehumidifier to reduce dampness.

Throughout the house

Replace carpeting with tile or wood flooring.

Make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter.

If your furnace is old, consider a variable-speed furnace with a MERV rating of 8-16.

Consider installing a multiple-stage airconditioning unit.

WIN A HOMEDICS PILLOW!

Vital has teamed with HoMedics for an exciting pillow trade and giveaway. One lucky reader will get to trade his or her current pillow for a DreamShield by HoMedics hypoallergenic microfiber standard pillow that protects against dust mites, water and stains ($19.99 value). We'll send the reader's old pillow to a lab to test for dust mites - they make up 10% of the average weight of a 2-year-old pillow - and publish the results in a future issue. To enter, go to www.vitalmichigan.com between May 13 and 20 and register for our new e-newsletter. We'll pick a winner at random and provide notification by phone. Good luck!