Typo Knig uses a neti pot on occasion, when things are acting up, and he likes the effects. Moon Unit is not so interested. I’m hoping that as she gets older and is taking more responsibility for how she feels, she’ll be willing to give it a try.
I hear ya on the shots (I’m convinced that this is why I have slightly less trouble, overall, than the rest of the family). Though Typo Knig has been doing them for several years and is seeing less of an effect.
Wow, that’s great! I can’t believe the statistics that one study presents…93% of people reported improvement, and they had an average of 57% improvement. Mama Zappa, I’m surprised a kid is not willing to do it. Would she be less adverse to the bulb syringe method? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nasal-lavage/MM00552
As for the “external” allergen removal steps, I didn’t notice much of a difference when we moved to a house with hardwood floors, except that it made it much easier to see the dirt and therefore vacuum more. When the cat-hair tumble weeds start to form, you know you need to clean. (Then again, the lack of improvement may be due to the fact that this house has a raging mold problem.)
Has anyone tried the dust mite spray solution? We got it free with our vacuum, but I haven’t used it yet since I’m highly skeptical. I just doubt the healthiness of spraying vast quantities of a chemical all over the house, as seems to be required.
In additioned to bathing/showering before bed (which has already been mentioned). It often helps to keep shoes, coats, sporting equiptment and any other outdoor gear that isn’t washed after every use OUT of the bedroom.
This helps to keep pollen and outdoor allergens from being introduced to the bedroom after you have it clean.
And I personally also find that not sitting or lying on the bed (even on top of the bedspread or comforter) in “street clothes” is also very helpful. For a teen or pre-teen this can be a bit of an issue since it also means no friends on the bed… If your kids generally hang out in a family room or den and not in their bedrooms, that’s best… but if friends will be hanging in Moonunit’s bedroom then you might want to make a “no shoes in the bedroom” and “no butts on the bed” rule. As a teen and college student, I solved that problem with a “no shoes” rule and few large floor pillows for seating, which I washed regularly.
I have tried other sprays from National Allergy. They have some that are boron-based and some that are tannic acid based (natural, but risk of staining). The sprays were particularly useful to me when I first found out about my allergy, because I’d been making no efforts at all to prevent mites in carpet, upholstery, etc. and I needed to make up for lost time. FWIW, the National Allergy site says the active ingredient in the one you linked to is FDA approved as a food additive. YMMV as to whether you think that means it’s safe, or that the FDA is part of a chemical-industry cabal.
One other point is to keep the humidity low. Before I found out about my dust mite allergy, I had taken to using a humidifier under the mistaken impression that would be a good idea for my stuffy nose and sore throat. Dust mites do better in humid areas. I think the recommendation is to keep humidity below around 50% if possible.
I haven’t used it, but, curious, I researched it. Seems that the active ingredient is a chemical called benzyl benzoate, which according to Wiki is what they put in the cream used for body lice and scabies (and “itch” in horses). It’s also a solvent, and a fixer in fragrances, so it’s definitely a chemical and not something harmless like baking soda or something. There’s no information on whether it’s a hormone disruptor, carcinogen, or a developmental/reproductive toxin. And it’s noted that side effects include cough, eye irritation, and skin irritation. So it’s an irritant, but not exactly a toxin as such. And Wiki notes that it should not be used by people who have a perfume allergy.
Me, I’d be leery of saturating my house with any chemical, especially one that has no deep research history, and one which the manufacturer seems intent on purveying on a “saturate your house with this! All the time!” which serves mostly to sell a lot of Acarosan. And it comes in powder form, which is bound to get in your eyes and mouth, and on your skin.
Saying that it’s registered with the EPA doesn’t signify, because baby powder is registered with the EPA (she said with a fine rhetorical flourish 
), yet you’re not supposed to spread it around so that you breathe it in.
And I’ll tell ya, Madison Avenue cynic that I am, this sentence right here sends up all kinds of red flags: "That is why even the cleanest homes need the BISSELL® Acarosan® Dust Mite Control Kit. "
Uh huh. :rolleyes: Selling refrigerators to Eskimos, yep. I’m seeing a company that decided it saw a market niche, told their chemistry geeks to come up with a chemical that wasn’t too terribly toxic that folks could spray around their (already clean) homes, and make them a bunch more money.
While this post makes many excellent points, this is basically all I needed to hear to know not to use it. 
FYI - in case anyone is looking to purchase mattress encasings, Allergy Control Products has all their encasings (the high-end microfiber, the all-cotton, and the economy versions) on sale for 20% off; I had been browsing around the site the other day and had decided on the microfiber version, but didn’t order immediately (and I’m glad I didn’t!). Shipping can be a bit pricey there (it would have been 17 dollars) but I threw in a couple of extra Doser* inhaler counters to bring it up to their free-shipping levels.
It’s not a site-wide sale; I checked on the price of a HEPA unit I’d seen the other day, and that was not on sale.
A few things I’ve noticed over the years, dealing with my own allergies (including eczema/dermatitis):
I agree on the sweat thing. I go to the gym, but make sure I shower off every time, and apply lotion (I highly recommend Aveeno as the least irritating). It’s not so much that you shouldn’t ever sweat, but shower it off as soon as possible.
As for frequent showering, I’ve had doctors tell me not to use hot water as it dries out the skin even further. I could never manage to take a lukewarm shower myself; instead I made sure I moisturized thoroughly afterwards. But if she can limit the length of her showers to just what is necessary to get clean, that might also help.
Be careful with the corticosteroids, especially (in my opinion) with children. I believe they thicken the skin, and I have developed angiomas (benign tumors of the surface blood vessels) which are ugly and expensive to remove, in areas of heavy use of those medicines.
(Side note on dermatologists: the one I went to the longest always wanted to prescribe the strongest corticosteroid on the market. All that ever did was make it harder to deal with the next outbreak. I stopped going to dermatologists and stopped using prescription meds – except for Singulair, which I am very sold on --, and over time the outbreaks got calmer and easier to deal with.)
In line with minimizing sweat, minimize the polyester in anything that touches her skin. At least for me, cotton feels the best.
Clothes storage is important. Shirts especially are kept in plastic so they can’t get dusty. I always notice when I put on a shirt that has hung around outside of the plastic for a while - I get itchy for the first couple of hours.
For my skin eruptions, exposure to sunshine and fresh air work wonders. I think it’s mostly the sunshine. I don’t know why, but it works for me. I always suffer most in the winter when there’s no sun and I’m not spending any more time than absolutely necessary outdoors. When it gets really bad, I go to a tanning salon, which is almost instant relief.
I’m glad to read all the other advice, I think I’m going to try one or more of those anti-mite products for myself.
Roddy
Room air filters are a good idea. Actually, it would be better to have a lower filter efficiency and a higher air flow, relative to typical HEPA units, but that’s OK, HEPAs are fine.
I have several made by www.allerair.com and they are very solid, good quality, good air flow, many pounds of carbon, and otherwise quite nice.
A house with central air could also use electrostatically enhanced filters such as 3M’s “Filtrete” brand. These things really do trap more dust than the ordinary filters. You have to change them frequently, though - for one thing, when they get loaded, they let more dust through, whereas ordinary filters just get harder to blow through.