Inhalent sensitivities - Part 2

allergens

Part 2

Animals
The allergic effect of dogs is due to their dander (material from the fur and skin); in cats the saliva is the problem. Birds’ feathers can cause problems directly, or due to mites living in the feathers. No allergic person should allow their pets access to the whole house, and especially not the bedroom. Restrict them to one area and keep it clean. Filter vacuum cleaners and good air filters will help keep the load down, as will regular washing of dogs (and some cats will also tolerate being washed). High temperature steam cleaning is effective in removing the ‘reservoir’ of allergen in the carpets.

Chemicals
Some chemicals are known to cause allergy-type problems directly – in other words, you start to react to them just like foods and inhaled allergens. The reactions are often quite rapid and fairly severe because chemicals are absorbed into the body much more quickly than foods etc. However any chemical that we inhale or ingest has to be eliminated from the body through our detoxification pathways; these often fail to function adequately in people with immune system problems. The same detox pathways that get rid of chemicals also have to deal with breakdown products from reactions to foods etc. These pathways use vitamins, minerals and proteins to work; the more you react, the harder the pathways work, and the more vitamins and minerals they use. At the same time, people who are allergic to foods tend not to absorb vitamins and minerals from their diet very well. If you become deficient in vitamins and minerals then the detox pathways can’t work effectively, allowing chemicals to build up in the system. Therefore even low levels of chemicals, which would not affect a ‘normal’ person, affect many allergic people.

Reducing the load of chemicals to which we are exposed each day is therefore an important aspect to consider. Not only should you try and avoid chemicals to which you react, but you also need to reduce as far as possible the use of all chemicals in the home, in order to relieve the load on the immune system and detox pathways. So, ideally, everyone in the house needs to do the following:

• DON’T SMOKE or allow smoking in the house; if someone in your house just won’t give up, ask them to only smoke in one room and get a good air filter in there.
• Don’t use perfume or hairspray.
• Switch to un-perfumed deodorants; use sticks/roll-on’s, not sprays (or ideally, nothing)
• Use fragrance free shampoo and conditioner.
• Use a ‘cleaner’ toothpaste, ie homeopathic, herbal, baking soda (patient only).
• Don’t use air fresheners, carpet powder cleaners, scented vacuum bags.
• Use oxygen bleaches, not chlorine bleach. Borax can be put down toilet bowls, and for soaking clothes.
• Cut down on the use of strong smelling disinfectants. Most people use disinfectants when they only need to clean with soap and water. When a disinfectant is needed use a non-taint, safer type such as Dettox.
• Switch to an un-perfumed soap powder of the ‘sensitive skin’ type and don’t use fabric conditioners at all.
• Cut down on the use of furniture polishes and spray cleaners; use pump sprays or tins rather than aerosols (or ideally just damp-dust).
• Half-used tins of paint, brush cleaner etc. should not be kept under the sink. Eventually the paint dries out in the tin – where does the solvent go? into the air in your house!

In summary, everyone in the house needs to stop using any chemical that is not necessary. Where products do still need to be used, they should be fragrance-free, non-aerosol versions.

Source: http://www.allergyuk.org