Top Tips

Although it may be tricky to avoid some allergens completely, it's easy to reduce the number that lurk in your own home. The following advice together with the right treatment should help keep your allergy under control.

Dust mites

The allergen to blame for dust allergies is a substance in the droppings of dust mites. The following tips should send them packing!

Regularly vacuum carpets and furniture
Wash pillows, sheets and children's toys at 60°C or above
Keep dolls, teddies and other toys in a toy box
Stick teddy in the freezer for a few hours every so often - don't worry, it's only the mites that will suffer
Keep rooms well aired
Cover mattresses with special allergy-friendly bed linen
Replace carpets with lino or wood flooring and curtains with blinds

Pets

The most common trigger of pet allergies in the UK is the dander (hair and skin cells) and saliva of cats and dogs. But if you just can't live without your four-legged friend, make sure you take the following steps to keep the allergens to a minimum.

Make a 'Pet Palace' where your four-legged friend can eat and sleep away from bedrooms and living rooms
Vacuum carpets and furniture regularly
Try to give them a bath as often as they'll allow!
Brush them regularly

Mould

Although we usually associate hay fever with plants and pollen, it can also be the spores released by mould that are to blame. Stay spore-free with these handy hints:

Use bleach to clean showers, window-sills, kitchens, basements or other areas where moulds might grow and then treat them with a mould inhibitor.
Clean out your guttering and external pipes to stop water seeping into your walls.