Question:
My husband and I have mild-to-moderate allergy problems, and I'm thinking
of getting some mite proof bedding (I'm always stuffy in the morning). Does
anyone have any recomendations? I know some bedding can feel "plasticy"
and I'd really like to avoid that.
Answer:
I used to have severe allergies, got worse all the time. We removed carpet,
sealed and re-textured walls, repainted, got new mattresses, allergy-free
pillows, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum... Our room still looks like a hospital
room. Nothing seemed to work. Try things like not eating dairy or sugars a few
(3-5) hours before bed, drinking plenty of water, and supporting your immune
system with as many green vegetables as you can stand. These help your body
defend the allergens. Drink fresh lemon juice in water every couple of days.
This is nature's cleanser, immune support and anti-biotic. The juice of one
lemon in a large glass. Sip often, but also rinse with clear water (it eats the
enamel, my teeth began to get sensitive, the dentist questioned me and luckily
we stopped the damage) Also, humidifiers and sleeping with an open window
whenever possible, or in some areas you may need to do the opposite, sleep with
closed windows but have circulating filtered air. I've now gone back to my fav.
down pillows and taken off the stiff "mite-proof" cover off my luscious,
pillow-topped mattress. I do clean my linens 2x a week for good measure,
including the mattress cover, sometimes more in the summer or peak allergy
times. During peak allergy season, take your shower before bed, at the very
minimum, wash your face and rinse in coolest water you're comfortable with. Try
to encourage your SO to do the same. Don't put deodorants, perfumes and the
like on before going to bed. Even if they don't bother you during the day, the
lack of movement and concentration of inhaling them while you sleep can be a
problem. Remember to launder your pillows as well during allergy season. I
even launder my down pillows (oh, the horror...hey, it works!). Put a clean
sneaker in the dryer to keep them fluffy. A combo of the above helped me...hope you find some relief. It doesn't
feel good to wake up every morning feeling like you've been hit by a truck.... Have you had allergy tests done? Just curious, because mite-proof
bedding is not very useful if you're not allergic to mites
specifically. *grin* Morning stuffiness can be traced to all kinds of
different causes, including just being horizontal for several hours!
DH is always congested in the mornings too, and has no environmental
or food allergies at all. We purchased our bedding stuff from National Allergy Supply
(www.natlallergy.com or 800-522-1448 for a catalog) and spent a
_chunk_ of money. Customer service was amazingly helpful. There were
cheaper places but the service just wasn't as good. We weren't able to
get insurance reimbursement even though I had a prescription for this
stuff, but some insurance companies are less obnoxious. We have pillow covers and a mattress case on the bed now. (Platform
bed, so no box spring.) None are crackly and plasticky, they all feel
like regular fabrics, and they don't make you sweaty. We bought the
cheapest non-vinyl pillow covers and I'm not entirely happy with them
as they're pilling a bit after a year or so, so we'll probably cough
up the extra three or four bucks per for the middle range ones when it
comes time to replace them. The Satin Soft air-permeable mattress
casings are the _greatest_, IMO, but they're pricey. We have soft
vinyl casings on the futons in the living room, which also do double
duty to protect against our Piddling Wonder. ;-) They are cheap and
quiet, but very hot in summer. Use caution with mite killers for carpeting - most mite killers are
very nasty poisons and leave residues that are extremely bad for cats
and dogs, who lick their feet a lot. We got one at the health food
store that was based on eucalyptus that is a bit safer around
critters. Steam cleaning carpets can leave them damp for days and the
moisture actually _encourages_ the mites. I've ruined two sets of
sheets with the very-hot-water washings allergists recommend for
killing mites, so I'm looking for another option that will let me use
less-hot water. Grapefruit seed extract seems promising, and it IS an
excellent mold and mildew killer, so I may try that.
