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Topic of the Month - February - Spring cleaning: Dusting away indoor allergens
This Topic of the Month answers the following questions:
- The symptoms of indoor allergies
- The causes of indoor allergies
- Steps to reduce indoor allergies
- Other spring cleaning tips
- When should you see an allergist/immunologist?
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Spring cleaning: Dusting away indoor allergens
Spring is just around the corner and so is spring cleaning. For the more than 40 million people throughout the country who suffer from indoor allergies, a thorough cleaning can help control symptoms.
Making changes to your indoor environment can take some time and effort. However, progressive changes will produce an indoor environment that is less allergenic, easier to clean and healthier for the whole family.
The best thing you can do is to reduce or eliminate your exposure to the indoor allergens in your home, so focus on sites where allergens accumulate. First you must know which allergens or irritants in your home provoke your symptoms. The term "allergen" refers to any substance that can trigger an allergic response. Common allergens include pollen, mold, animal dander and cockroach or house dust mite droppings.
Symptoms of indoor allergies
Indoor allergy symptoms can occur quickly, or they may build and become most severe eight to twelve hours after contact with an allergen.
Indoor allergy sufferers will often wheeze, sneeze, cough and hack their way through the winter months, thinking they have a chronic cold. They probably don't. Some symptoms between a cold and allergies are similar: sneezing and a stuffy or runny nose. However, if your symptoms are also accompanied with a fever, sore throat, colored nasal discharge and aches and pains, then you probably have a cold. With allergies, there is never a fever, the nasal discharge is clear and eyes may become red and itchy. Furthermore, while a cold usually lasts about a week, allergies can last all year.
Some other major differences between the two include:
Colds
- Result from a virus infection
- Symptoms may also include a fever and aches and pains
- Usually takes a few days to hit full force
- Symptoms should clear up within a week
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Allergies
- Symptoms begin almost immediately after exposure to an allergen
- Symptoms last as long as they are exposed to the allergen
- If the allergen is present year-round, symptoms may be chronic
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Causes of indoor allergies
Common indoor allergens include tobacco smoke, aerosols, paint, perfumes, cleaning products or other strong odors or fumes. Increased time spent indoors during the winter months also means increased exposure to allergens like dust, pet dander and mold. These allergens can all trigger an allergic reaction, which involves symptoms such as swelling of tissues, sneezing, wheezing, coughing and other reactions.
Steps to reduce indoor allergies: A spring cleaning checklist
Use the following checklist to guide your spring cleaning and to rid your home of indoor allergens: 
- Get rid of clutter that may be collecting dust.
- Clean windows, book shelves and air conditioning vents thoroughly as they may have collected dust and mold throughout the winter.
- Put mattresses, box springs, and pillows in allergy-proof or "non-allergenic" cases
- Vacuum carpeting, or replace it with washable throw rugs.
- Wash blankets, sheets, and pillowcases in 130-degree water and dry in a hot dryer (this should be done every week).
- Fix leaks - they leave surfaces wet and allow mold to grow.
- Clean moldy surfaces, such as the corners of showers or under sinks, with a cleaning solution that is 10 parts water to one part bleach.
- Clean under stoves, refrigerators, or toasters where loose crumbs can accumulate and attract cockroaches.
- Block cellar doors, outside drains, and wall, window, or floor cracks where cockroaches could enter your home.
Other spring cleaning tips
- Dust Mites thrive in house dust, which is composed of plant and animal material. Their droppings are the most common trigger of perennial allergy and asthma symptoms.
- Change and clean cooling and heating system filters once a month.
- Have your home, car and office vacuumed and dusted frequently.
- Wash blankets and bedspreads weekly and sheets and pillowcases more often. Be sure that the water is above 130 degrees F.
- Try to regularly wash curtains.
- Molds are microscopic fungi. Their spores float in the air like pollen, and are present throughout the year in many states. Molds can be found indoors in attics, basements, bathrooms, refrigerators and other food storage areas, garbage containers, carpets and upholstery.
- Keep bathroom and kitchen surfaces dry, fix leaky plumbing and seal cracks where water can seep in to avoid mold buildup.
- Reduce humidity in damp areas by using a dehumidifier. Clean dehumidifiers once a week.
- People are not the allergic to their pets' hair, but to a protein found in the saliva, dander (dead skin flakes) or urine of an animal with fur. These proteins are carried in the air on small, invisible particles and can trigger allergy symptoms.
- If you have a cat or dog, it might help reduce household allergens by washing your pet once a week.
- Do not sleep with your pet. Sleeping with your pet, long or short-haired, greatly increases the amount of contact with unwanted allergens.
- Cockroaches live in warm, tropical climates, but various species dwell in the offices and homes of humans living in various climates. A protein found in their droppings can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms.
- Remove all food sources and household food wastes. Food should be stored in sealed containers.
- Consider a professional exterminator.
- Thoroughly and frequently clean to remove dust and cockroach byproducts.
When should you see an allergist/immunologist?
By conducting a thorough history of your health and performing allergy tests, if needed, your allergist/immunologist can help you determine which indoor allergens provoke your symptoms. Environmental control measures differ for dust mites, animal allergens, cockroaches and molds, but your allergist/immunologist can help you determine ways to reduce your exposure to these allergens. To relieve your symptoms, your allergist/immunologist may also prescribe appropriate medications, such as antihistamines, decongestants or asthma medications and allergy vaccine therapy (immunotherapy).
Please contact an allergist/immunologist for information on treatment options and tips on reducing allergen exposure. It is important to learn what causes your indoor allergies so that you can take steps to make them easier to live with.
An allergist/immunologist is the best qualified medical professional to manage the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of allergies and asthma. Please visit www.aaaai.org for more information on indoor allergens and the role of an allergist/immunologist.
Additional Resources
National Allergy Bureau: Indoor allergens
Tips to Remember brochure: Indoor allergens
AAAAI News Release: Indoor allergens
Tips to Remember brochure: What is an allergic reaction?
Patient Update: Prepare for battle: How to fight indoor allergens
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