My wife, being the beautiful yet enigmatic creature that she is, is allergic to cats. So naturally we have two of them. (She adores cats, and isn’t going to let a little thing like breathing stop her from owning cats and rubbing them against her face.) She’s also allergic to dust mites and various pollens.
We’ve employed every strategy we can think of to try to keep her allergies from driving her crazy – special allergy covers on the mattresses and pillows, excessive vacuuming, locking the cats out of the bedroom, something called Aller-Pet which you spray on them to suppress dander and make them really mad. I’ve advocated shaving them, but she hasn’t yet given in.
The next possibility is Hepa air filters. We have a cheap “Hepa-type” filter, which is a less effective version of the Hepa. The true Hepa is much more expensive, so before we invest big bucks we’d like to know if anyone has used them and knows if they’re worth the money. Are they significantly more effective than the cheapo versions? Any other tips for alleviating allergies?
Two cats in my household - and I am allergic. Here’s what we’ve done to alleviate symptoms.
Medications
For sneezing, congestion, itchy eyes, etc - I take Zyrtec D twice a day. Totally got rid of those symptoms.
For wheezing and difficulting breathing, I take Advair which is an Asthma medication. I wake up breathing clear and easy every day. It’s a miracle.
Household tips
Our vacuum has a hepa filter on it - that sucks up the allergens and keeps them there. A regular vacuum just stirs up the allergens and makes it worse.
Cats are not allowed in the bedroom. That’s really is the easiest way to cut down on a tremendous amount of the allergen.
Then we bought a bottle of stuff that you simply rub the cat down with. Not sure how well it worked because I started on the meds at the same time.
I am very, very allergic and this has pretty much solved all my symptoms.
I’d also try the medicines. I don’t know anything about allergy meds, but I’ve found Allegra to work well. (Zyrtec’s a bit better, but I’ve found that it made me a bit drowsy.)
If you do try them, order them online from Canada, since they’re over the counter there and cost a bit more than half of what they cost here.
Update: turns out we already use Hepa vacuum bags, and have for a while. She says they definitely make a difference.
So, we’re back to the original question, then – anyone know anything about Hepa air filters, especially as compared with so-called “Hepa-type” air filters?
My fiancé, Jim, worked as an asbestos worker for awhile - they use HEPA filters for asbestos clean-ups (where it is very important to block all the fibres). He says HEPA filter are 99.6% effective at blocking particulate matter. He also says that yes, they are worth the money - they are very good at what they are intended for. However, if your HEPA-type filters are working at 99.6% efficiency, they are just as good as a real HEPA filter. Don’t forget to change the filters, too - no filter works properly when it is clogged.
