I've suffered from asthma for over 15 years since experiencing pneumonia about 15 or 16 or years. The asthma has been present ever since, but never really a big concern, controlled by a preventer and a reliever and was usually triggered by exertion or powerful scents, e.g. cosmetic sales areas in Department stores or ""Lush"". Provided I took my preventer morning and evening, I was fine, and tended to accumulate relievers as they weren't used.
I lived in an apartment which was fully carpeted, generally dustier than it should been, slept under a sealed down duvet and rarley had any problems.
Two weeks ago I moved house, only a few miles but near the sea. On the face of it all was well.
Since then, I haven't had a full night's sleep, and on one occasion suffered the worse possible attack where I almost passed out for not being able to inhale.
I have of course been hammering the inhalers and I'm concerned about over dosing.
I have ripped out the carpets, and cleaned every where - not easy when wheezing and breathless. I've hoovered the bed and bare floor boards, and removed the curtains.
I have washed all my bed linen on the hottest temperatures. I'm using only synthetic pillows and duvets. The room is virtually bare but for belongings from my previous house.
The neighbours tell me there was a dog, and there is a cat flap in the back door. I've never knowingly suffered from fur or animals, but this could be a factor.
The family came round and I asked them what they thought. They thought that the previous owners have tried to hide the evidence of the animals and over-compensated with the cleaners or aerosols.
Downstairs seems OK now and I'm now sleeping in the front room on the sofabed in a bare room.
But going upstairs to the bathroom usually brings on an attack.
I'm at my best driving to work with the A/C on, which has just had the pollen filter replaced!
Can any one offer any suggestions for removing the traces of any pets, if indeed that is the answer, or super cleansers for eliminating dust bugs?
(I did phone my local asthma clinic for an appointment, and was told the first free date was November 29 - over four months away!)
Firstly, please see your GP ASAP if you are using lots of reliever! They may step up your preventer for the time being or add something else on to help you. Do you take any anti-histamines? May help!
Moving house can be stressfull at the best of times, plus all that extra dust you are shifting around etc.
I moved last year to a new place, and when I packed my books I vacuumed the tops as I went and generally tried to keep the dust down everywhere.
The house I moved to, I discovered did have a cat but the place had more or less been gutted by the housing peeps.... there was the odd bit of fluff stuck to the floor but I had lino laid on the whole lot before I moved in (The only problem I had from the cat was fleas that had been left behind!!! Yick)
I increased all my meds for a few months etc and got through it that way.
I am afraid that cat allergens etc can linger around for up to 6 months! And though getting rid on allergens in the carpets, the act of ripping them up will have released more into the atmosphere! (Mum did that in my last place, but had problems for months after despite no carpets. )
There are some anti allergy and dust mite sprays that Boots do - need to be used on a regular basis. Vacuuming every day with a decent cleaner with HEPA filters will help. ( eg a Dyson)
Can you get someone / even pay someone to give the house a really good clean? Or get a cleaner for a few months?
Just a fee suggestions...... hope they help.
Kate
'Moved house - having constant asthma attacks.
Hello, Kate,
> > I am afraid that cat allergens etc can linger around for up to 6 months!
Aargh! Oh, well. Let's hope that we can neutralise them in some way.
> > The only problem I had from the cat was fleas that had been left behind!!! Yick
Oh dear - horrendous. I hope you've successfully annihilated them all.
Anyway, I've got an appointment with my GP for tomorrow.
I phoned the Asthma Clinic, which is in the same Health Centre, but the phone rang out twice - I've no idea what's happening there. And the GP's receptionist wouldn't take a message for the practice nurse in the Asthma Clinic.
You've really confirmed what we thought we'd have to do. I'm still in shock from the severity of it, and weird sensation that going upstairs triggers an attack.
We will ditch all the carpets, even if in the short term it's worse, but at least we'll know that there'll be nothing lingering. We'll then give everything a good clean, although so far everything's been OK.
We have a Dyson, but I'm not sure if it has the fine filter. Intensive hoovering produces very little in the cylinder, but we need to do it frequently.
And I forgot to say I had tried an allergy relief tablet, to little effect, but I suspect that what you can buy off the shelf in Sainsbury's without a prescription isn't going to be very strong.
It does beg the question why all this happens upstairs - did the pets live up there? Yuk. And what else did they get up to? Double yuk.
Cheers, John.
Moved house - having constant asthma attacks.
Update:
My wife and son ripped out all the upstairs carpets today, and the difference is amazing!
The neighbours saw what was going on, and they learned from them that the previous occupiers had two dogs, but wouldn't say any more, so draw your own conclusion.
I've got a Bob Martins flea and larvae killer aerosol going off in the room - ""kills all living creatures including larvae"" - so that should help too!
And the Practice Nurse did call. She let me know it was OK to take the preventer 4 times a day, and that the Dr would be checking the oxygen levels in my blood and examining my chest and lungs.
Can completely relate
Hi John,
Funny you should post this. I'm moving in about a month. I had a bad asthma attack about three weeks ago now? I think it was because of all the dust I stirred up in going through closets, and I also got some things from a friend's basement. There's a lot of mold here right now. But the last time I moved I actually had to move within three days. I just couldn't breath and come to find there was black mold in the place. My asthma doctor has also had me go up on my preventer for the duration, which is kind of annoying because i get side effects, but I've decided it's worth it.
Also, my new apartment is in a smoke free pet free building. I think I lucked out. As I was looking into new apartments, I was thinking...do I want to know what pet has been here before? I mean I have friends with pets who are really good about taking care of their place, but I know other people are terrible about it. I didn't want to be the person moving in after. I guess I learned my lesson and am hoping a bit of prevention will be worth it.
Hope you're feeling better and your GP can help out. Don't hesitate to go for extra help if you need it.
Bee
Hello, Bee,
I'm much much better now, thanks, and have two glorious nights sleep. I realise now how bad I'd been for a couple of weeks.
There must have been a horrendous collection of, well, poisons, in the carpets. The Bob Martins flea and larvae annihilators have made the rooms really fresh.
The Dr's loaded me up with four more inhalers, ""if you need them"" (bit late now) and the preds are helping to ease the inflammation of my lungs.
A friend pointed me to this site - allergyuk.org/prod_soalist.... - which looks good, but at the moment isn't working well.
Thanks, John.
Hi
Your comment about driving with a/c on with pollen filter. My car has this in and just a few weeks back when it was really humid my friend showed me how to work it and within minutes my chest was feeling so much better until i got out of the car. It was like amazing. Go on a long drive and sit in the car that will give you relief.
It is like a miracule cure. Hope you solve your other difficulties soon.
Did you actually have fleas as well? Just wondered because you say you used the flea killer.
I still have some Bob Martins stuff though now confined to the shed with all the other unused junk.
Kate
Moved house - having constant asthma attacks
Hello, Kate,
The house seemed pretty clean when we moved in, and we've not seen (or felt!) any fleas or the like. I was fairly certain that the act of removing the carpets would dislodge anything in the carpet, and if any dormant nasties fell out or were hiding between the floorboards, the Bob Martins was a good way to get rid of them. It seems to have worked in that to me at least, the room is much fresher.
We've still got the stairway to do, which proves trickier as it's the access route to all rooms including the bathroom, so we need to go out of the house for at least the morning while the gas does its stuff. We may do another room at the same time.
Hi, Plumie,
Yes, modern A/C is very good indeed, and it is a delight to drive along with it on. I think most new-ish cars have pollen filters these days.
Use the recirculation button to cool the interior quickly before switching to allowing the outside air in.
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