Let's Talk Allergies

A Good Humidifier Keeps You Comfortable

2012-02-03T18:33:20Z

This winter the weather has been so strange. They were showing comments from viewers on the Weather Channel this morning and it made me smile. I guess quite a few of the people who live in the northern part of the country are enjoying it big time. They will be happy to have another 6 weeks of winter as long as it stays this way.

What can I say, as you know we are in South Florida so in most cases winter weather has little effect on us. Do get to keep the windows open for several months which helps with the electric bill.

One thing we have noticed is people are still buying our EssickAir evaporative humidifiers. There are still some places people are running their heaters. A good humidifier is very necessary for many people. The dry air is a trigger for a lot of people with asthma. Another trigger is cold air. We have a friend that said almost every time he heads up to NY to visit family during the winter he has an attack.

If you want to know more about how evaporative humidifiers can help you can read "Combat Dry Air With Home Humidifiers"

I know when we travel up to NC or out West during the winter our skin gets so dry and starts to itch. Drives me nuts. We are so used to the humidity down here and we have had to crank up humidifiers when we get where there.

Wishing you the best of health

Mike Krause
The Allergy Store

800 771-2246

©Copyright 1996-2011 Cee DeeKay,Inc dba AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved

Cat Dander On The Wall

2012-01-23T12:27:59Z

Going through some question from the weekend.

I moved in to an apartment where the previous owner had a cat. Does cat dander stick to the wall?

Yes. In fact cat dander sticks to everything.

Pet dander is so light that it easily floats throughout an area getting on furniture, carpets, walls, clothes and everything else.

We recommend that you either paint the walls or clean them. I know painting is not always an option so let's talk about cleaning. You can scrub the walls with soap and water if you think the paint will hold up. Usually will not work well with a flat or eggshell paint.

The other option is to spray some Allerseach ADS anti-allergen spray on a rag and wipe the walls down with that. One thing that works well is using a swiffer mop (learned that from one of our customers) Use the dry heads or better yet take an old teeshirt and pin it on the head. Cheaper and you can wash the shirt when you are done.

Wishing you the best of health

Mike
The Allergy Store - Serving our customers since 1989

800 771-2246

©Copyright 1996-2011 Cee DeeKay,Inc dba AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved

Allergies and Fatigue

2011-12-19T11:50:00Z

I found this article at Arkansas Matters regarding allergies and energy levels very interesting. Read the article here. Allergy Fatigue Syndrome

Back in the day, before I was properly diagnosed with allergies, I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue. I had two small children, a responsible position at a large corporation, a husband, a house, a yard, and pets. I would not accept a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue and insisted that my doctor not give up on the reason for my lack of energy. Quite honestly, I just had too much to do to have Chronic Fatigue and I was young and otherwise healthy.

Lucky for me, the doctor decided to run another battery of tests that included allergy testing. That turned out to be the problem. Once I started 60 mg of Seldane every 12 hours my life returned to normal.. I had energy and felt great. I thought my problems were solved.

Unfortunately, Seldane started causing some problems in other people taking the drug. The FDA removed it from the market and quite frankly I was screwed. All other medications came with such severe side effects, I could not take them.

Only when I got my dust mite allergies under control by controlling my environment did I find relief again. I have said and written over and over that my dust mite proof mattress covers, pillow covers, and other allergy-proof bedding are real life changers.

I know when my allergies aren't controlled, I can't think straight and my head feels fuzzy. Now I know that the histamines coursing through my body could be causing decreased brain function.. WOW!

If you are fatigued all the time or if you have trouble concentrating, you might want to show a copy of this article to your doctor and ask if allergy could be a possibility. Who knows, help could be right around the corner.

Til Next Time

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Christmas Ducks

2011-12-18T11:05:00Z

Christmas is one week away. I am sure you have certain foods, events, and customs that you associate with your Christmas celebration (if you celebrate). To me, Christmas is all about the ducks!

Cold Duck and Roasted Duck that is!

Now, if you have never tasted Cold Duck, you don't know what you are missing. This is by far one of the tastiest cheap wines on the market. I don't even think it is real wine, its more like Christmas in a bottle with bubbles.. I may prefer a nice dry Chianti when I am drinking "real" wine, but at Christmas it has to be Cold Duck.

I don't know when I first started associating Christmas festivities with Cold Duck. I grew up in a home that didn't drink alcohol so it wasn't there. But, somewhere along the line I started enjoying Cold Duck when it was time to decorate the Christmas tree. It must have been in the early years of my marriage because I seem to remember both the tree and the bottle of Cold Duck fitting on the table top. I also seem to remember a plastic seagull as the topper to the tree because it was the only thing I could find in the apartment that looked good. Of course, that was through the eyes of Cold Duck!

Decorating the Christmas tree and you must have a glass of Cold Duck! Wrapping Christmas presents and you must have a glass of Cold Duck!

When my children grew up, they too wanted to have a taste of Cold Duck. My son thought it was disgusting. When my daughter was old enough, she liked her taste of Cold Duck. She thought she had arrived when she was finally old enough to legally have her own glass of Cold Duck when we decorated the tree.

The other starring duck is roasted duck. I grew up in the south. Our family tradition was to have ham on Christmas Day. My father was a big hunter. But he never went duck hunting. I didn't even eat a duck until I was married. It was at a Chinese restaurant, so I am not even sure that counts as duck. So, why do I love duck? Its just one of those things that evolved. Once, when we still lived in Texas and the children were small, I thought why not try a duck instead of the same old ham we have every year. So I bought a duck, roasted it and everyone thought it was tasty. It could have been a tradition. But it didn't have a chance. Change was in the air.

The next year we moved to Florida, we spent Christmas Day every year with another southern family and it was back to ham. It was good, but it wasn't duck! That started a tradition where our two families spent almost every holiday together. It worked well, I liked to cook and her family liked to eat. Unfortunately, divorce split the other family up. People were scattered. Hearts broken and lives really messed up. I miss those Christmas Day get-togethers, but if there was one sliver of a silver lining it was we were back to the duck!

It might sound morbid, but my kids (who were in those pre-teen and teen age years) began the tradition of naming the duck every year. We don't name our chickens before we roast them. I don't know why they thought they needed to name the duck, but they did. I like to stuff the duck with oranges, apples, celery and onion. Prick the skin all over so the fat escapes and the skin is crispy. Yummy!

By the way, we never drink Cold Duck with our roasted duck. Don't know why. Guess it just wouldn't be ducky.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Pets Get Allergy Relief Too!

2011-12-17T22:40:00Z

This isn't the first time I've heard of someone purchasing products for their allergies and finding out that their pets get relief from their allergies too!

Carol writes, "I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I love De-mite. In fact, I just placed an order, and I purchased the liter size of De-mite. We purchased an Austin Air Cleaner a month ago, and we absolutely love it. I have allergies as do our cats. I have noticed that since we have been running the Austin Air Purifier, we are all doing much better.
Thanks so much for offering such wonderful products, providing great savings offers, and for providing excellent customer service!

I am a pet owner and I am guilty of treating my pets just like family members. So I know what she means. If my cats or birds aren't feeling well, I worry. So, I am thrilled to hear that her cats are benefiting from the changes she made in her environment.

Its the kind of good news that just keeps you going!

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

What is Pristine?

2011-12-16T10:10:00Z

People seem to get confused about the allergy mattress covers that are available. In an effort to clear things up, ot along ago, I wrote about the trademark fabric AllerSoft. The other branded fabric you will see to make dust mite mattress covers is Pristineâ„¢.

Pristine is a trademark owned by the Precision Fabric Group. Precision Fabric is located in North Carolina and they specialize in engineered woven and non-woven fabrics. They make fabrics for allergy control, military parachutes, and surgical use.

When you look at allergy bedding, you will find several Pristineâ„¢ fabrics available. They may be all polyester or a polyester blend. Some of the Pristine fabrics are treated with antimicrobial chemicals.

Our Pristine Luxury allergy proof mattress covers, pillow covers, and duvet covers are a woven polyester fabric with a pore size of 2.8 microns. Our Pristine allergy mattress covers do not have any chemical treatments. We do not recommend antimicrobial treatments to mattress cover fabrics and none of our fabric mattress covers, pillow covers, and duvet covers have these treatments. Do you really want to sleep with chemicals?

Because Pristineâ„¢Luxury is all polyester, it is extremely durable. It will stand up to repeated hot water washing and drying with no increase in pore size or loss of protection. That means this is a fabric that is perfect for the person that is constantly washing their zippered covers.

So, no matter your brand preference, from AllerSoft to Pristine, The Allergy Store has you covered and we are trying to clear up the confusion about allergy control fabrics.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Dust Mites and Humidifiers

2011-12-15T16:57:04Z

The official first day of Winter this year is December 22, 2011. Winter may not be here yet, but many people have already turned on their heaters. A side effect of using heating is a drop in the relative humidity in your home. That drop in humidity is actually a good thing as far as dust mite populations are concerned.

Exactly what is relative humidity? It is the ratio of the amount of moisture in the air compared to the amount of moisture that the air can hold at that temperature (dew point). Once the air is saturated, dew forms.

Once relative humidity drops, you can get more static electricity (because the decrease in moisture means an increase in friction) and lots of people find that their nasal membranes and throat feel dry and they have difficulty in breathing. Low humidity can also cause skin to dry and the scalp to flake. Also, because dust mites need moisture from the environment to survive, their populations decrease as the humidity decreases. That is one good thing about dry air.

To combat the dry air caused by heating, many people run humidifiers. These appliances are designed to put moisture back in the air. This adds moisture to the nasal passages, decreases dry skin and scalp, decreases static electricity and makes the air easier to breathe. It also provides moisture for the dust mites to continue to live and breed.

So, if you have dust mite allergies and want to add humidity what should you do?

To begin with, never add more moisture than is necessary to bring comfort. A relative humidity of 30% to 40% is what you want. If you start getting condensation forming on your windows, try to dial the humidity back.

Speaking of "dialing it back" don't buy a humidifier that doesn't allow you to set the humidity level you want. A quality humidifier will have a humidistat, which allows you to set the humidity at your desired level. If your humidifier doesn't have this feature, invest a few dollars in a hygrometer. This measures the humidity levels.

We like evaporative humidifiers because they don't produce white dust, won't scald a child if they get too close to the unit, and don't have the problem of scale build up that occurs with warm mist humidifiers. There are units that are designed to do multiple rooms and units designed for one room.

No matter the type of humidifier you use, keep the humidity level as low as comfortable so that you don't make those dust mites comfortable!

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

OxyBoost Saves the Day (and Khakis)

2011-12-14T22:27:22Z

Yesterday I played hooky from work. After a string of cloudy and rainy days, the sun broke through. Besides, it was my mother's last day in town. During most of her visit I worked so late we didn't spend much time together.

What a great day. Catching the early morning sale at Macy's and then heading over to the beach to walk along the Broadwalk and have some lunch. There are benefits to being the "southernmost Allergy Store" and hanging out at the beach in the middle of December is one of them.

On the way back from the beach, we decided it was high time to get a Christmas tree for the Krause House.. We stopped by the stand that sells fresh trees from North Carolina and found a beautiful specimen. I just love that douglas fir smell!

After the first scene of the Laurel and Hardy show which featured Mike and I getting the 9' tree off the top of the Jeep Wrangler, it was time for act two....getting it in the door. The finale was finally getting the tree in the stand upright (well OK maybe it leans a little). After all the mauling of the fresh tree I realized that my khaki clam digger pants were covered in black sticky pine tar/sap. Now those are almost my favorite pair of pants and I was heart broken that they were possibly ruined. If you have ever gotten pine tar on you, you know what I am talking about. That stuff just doesn't come out!

I thought, this is a job for OxyBoost stain remover. Mike (ever the doubter) said "Won't work, stain is just too bad". I said, "Hey pine sap is organic and OxyBoost kicks butt on organic stains."

So, off came the clam diggers and into the sink with hot water and 1/2 scoop OxyBoost. I then heated a small bowl of water (about 2 cups) in the microwave for 2 minutes and added it to the sink with the other half of the OxyBoost scoop. WOW that stain remover went to work right away. Since the active ingredient is sodium percarbonate, it began to foam as it worked the stain out of the fabric.

After about 20 minutes of soaking, I lifted the pants out to see if I need to scrub the spots and they were all gone! All the dullness in the khaki was gone also. Those pants were clean.

I gathered up enough dirty laundry to make a load and ran the pants through the washer and dryer and they are as good as new. Now, if I could only get the pine sap out of my hair and off my arms and legs.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

What is AllerSoft?

2011-12-09T16:03:27Z

AllerSoft is a registered trademark of Narcote, LLC. They make allergy control fabrics as well as other medical and sports related fabrics.

The main AllerSoft fabrics you will see are either all cotton fabrics or cotton polyester blends. The blend is the original fabric used in AllerSoft dust mite proof mattress covers. Because it has polyester in addition to the cotton, it can be woven more tightly. Because the weave is tighter, the pore size between the fibers is smaller.

The polyester also makes the fabric more durable than the all cotton fabric.

However, when it comes to softness, you just can't beat AllerSoft 100% Cotton fabric. It is so light, thin, cool and comfortable you don't even know it is on the bed. Of the people that walk into our retail location and feel the fabrics before they make a purchase, the AllerSoft 100% cotton is the most popular.

The Allersoft 100% Cotton is also available in a certified organic form.. This is the same cool, comfortable AllerSoft cotton fabric, however its growth has been certified to be organic. That means it was grown without chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer.

When you are looking for allergy-proof mattress and pillow covers and you want cotton content in the fibers, be sure to look for the AllerSoft trademark. It is a sign that you are getting a quality fabric. But then again, we wouldn't sell AllerSoft if it didn't do the job.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Allergy Bedding Care

2011-12-08T23:34:01Z

I get asked many times a day...Is it hard to care for your allergy bedding? The answer is no. If you know how to operate your washing machine, you can properly care for your allergy-proof mattress, duvet, and pillow covers.

The key is to doing it! I wash my dust mite proof mattress cover a couple of times a year. The duvet cover on my wool comforter gets washed in accordance with how many cats have been sleeping on it. The more the cats sleep on it, the faster it needs washing. In general I would say it gets washed about 4 times a year.

I find the zippered allergy-proof pillow covers need to be washed most frequently. This is because the oils from my hair go through my pillowcase and make the cover soiled. I wash those about every 6 weeks or so.

Don't ever wash your allergy bedding with liquid chlorine bleach. If your covers are so soiled or stained that they need a bleach, use the dry oxygen-based bleaches. These will not harm the fabrics. You can wash up to 160 degrees if you want, but I prefer to use cooler temperatures and a little De-Mite. By washing in cold water, I save on the energy to heat the water, I save stress to the fabric (this is especially true of cotton), and because I am using De-Mite I know the covers are clean.

When you wash your covers, make sure that they are unzipped. Also, don't crowd the washer! We give a great warranty, but it doesn't cover damage caused by the agitator mauling the fabric. When they go in the dryer, use the lower or perma press setting. Make sure the covers are completely dry before you put them back on the bed.

We don't recommend hanging them out to dry. This is because if there are pollens or molds in the air, the covers will just catch them and you will bring them inside and put them on your bed. Not a good idea!

Once last washing tip. We really don't recommend the use of liquid fabric softeners. These leave a residue on the fabric that "flakes" off and actually creates dust in the room. Not a good idea! If you must use a softener, then use a dryer sheet.

If you can operate your washing machine, you can properly take care of your allergy bedding and protect yourself from dust mites and other allergens!

Until next time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store