In the US, over 50 million people experience allergies every year. And what’s worse is, allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illnesses in the nation.
While allergies aren’t curable, there are ways to practice good allergy prevention to keep symptoms at a minimum. These can be allowed to both your home, workplace, and anywhere else you might find yourself sniffling or worse.
So if you’re wondering about how to prevent allergies, then you’re in the right place! Read on for 7 tips on allergy prevention you should know.
- Close the Windows
It can feel a bit stuffy inside at times, especially if you’ve been sitting around for hours. Cracking the window open won’t hurt, right? Plus, it can circulate the air and cool it down if it’s hot.
However, you invite in allergens (such as dust and pollen) when you open your windows. So your best bet is to keep those windows shut.
If you really must open them, try to choose days with lower pollen and wind forecasts. And choose times of day where it’s less breezy so the chances of allergens blowing in are lower. Otherwise, you should rely on your AC unit to cool you down.
- Vacuum Regularly
You should already be vacuuming regularly to keep your carpets and furniture clean and dust-free. But allergy sufferers should be doing this more frequently, at least once a week (depending on your foot traffic and other personal lifestyle choices).
Read your vacuum’s manual and make sure you’re using the right attachments for various surfaces. That way, you’ll maximize on drawing allergens out.
You should also use (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters for your vacuum. These are excellent at trapping all sorts of allergens, which can keep your indoor air quality fantastic.
To reduce the need for vacuuming, and to also prevent the buildup of dust and allergens, consider ditching those rugs. And if possible, replace your carpet with hardwood, marble, linoleum, or vinyl floors. You should also swap out upholstered furniture for materials that are easier to clean, such as leather.
- Dust Surfaces Regularly
In addition to vacuuming, you should also dust surfaces regularly. It can be a pain to do so every few days, but it’ll make you feel a lot better when dust isn’t just sitting around and accumulating in your house or office.
To make things easier, you should keep your surfaces as uncluttered as possible. That way, you can drag the duster across your counter and be done, rather than brush it across every nook and cranny of the items you’ve placed there.
While dusting, make sure to wear a mask. This will reduce how much dust you’re inhaling, and therefore, you might avoid triggering heavier allergic responses.
- Wash Your Bedding Often
If you have a dust allergy, you’re not actually allergic to dust, but actually, dust mites. When it comes to dust mite allergy prevention, the key is washing your bedding often.
Think about it: you spend about 1/3rd of your day in bed, and dust mites eat the skin you naturally shed. That’s a lot of time for them to grow in numbers.
You need to wash your bedding often and you need to set your washer’s temperature to at least 130 F. This is hot enough to kill dust mites.
If you’ve got kids, you should do the same with their stuffed animals.
Once the bedding’s done washing, don’t air-dry it outside, as it’ll attract allergens (this goes for your regular laundry too). Stick to using your clothes dryer.
- Keep Your Bathroom (And House) Free of Mold
Those living in a dryer climate will find it much easier to keep their houses free of mold. Otherwise, if you live in an area with high humidity, you might find mold creeping up in your house (or office).
In any case, the bathroom is an extremely humid room, so you need to stay on top of any mold growth. Scrub down the tiles, curtain, shower door, etc., anything where mold can grow on.
You can keep the humidity down in your house by opening the windows. But it may not always be possible to keep them open.
In this case, you might want to invest in a dehumidifier to keep conditions unfavorable for mold growth.
- Use an Air Purifier
Air purifiers can be a godsend, especially if you get a lot of foot traffic in your home. You can’t prevent people (and pets) from dragging in allergens, but you can certainly do your best to trap them all!
For maximum effectiveness, place an air purifier in each room. In addition, make sure they’re using HEPA filters.
Just make sure you buy the right filters. For example, the 20x25x1 filter will only fit certain models, so read the specs carefully before buying.
- Take Allergy Medications
For seasonal allergy prevention, check the pollen forecast and take an over-the-counter allergy medication on days with high pollen predicted. These usually last 24 hours, so popping one preemptively at the beginning of the day can be a lifesaver.
If you find that these medications aren’t doing much, then it’s worth speaking to your doctor about. They can assess the situation and prescribe you stronger medications if needed.
Reduce Symptoms With Good Allergy Prevention
Allergy prevention is important if you want to live a life that’s as free of sniffles and sneezes as possible. From regular cleaning to using a HEPA filter, you’ll be able to transform any area into a safe space where you can breathe easy.
Some tips might be harder than others to implement. But we promise that once you’ve done them, you’ll wonder why you didn’t sooner!
Did you find these allergy prevention tips helpful? Then keep reading our blog page for more useful life tips!
