Down pillows, thatch rooves and asthma

[Jonathan_C]

I have exercised induced rhinitis - which is triggered by exercise if its quite rigorous. Very seldom is it triggered when i hike or walk. Occasionally it is triggered by other factors, but very randomly.

My family has a holiday home at the beach (South Africa) and I go there a few times a year - in December I stayed for 3 nights over Christmas and another 5 after new years. Both times I got quite clogged up and any slightly rigorous exercise - hiking, walking on the beach, short swims etc triggered a mild asthmatic/rhinitis reaction - mild enough not to be problematic, but significant enough to cause discomfort and affect my enjoyment of hiking/walking etc. The longer i stayed the worst it got and even started affecting my stomach (although that could have been the food and drink)

There was definitely something at the house that caused this - because during the time between the visits i was fine (after 24 hours) - even though the drinking continued ;).

My wife thinks it was the down pillows (goose down from my parents farm which was natural) and the dust in the thatch. The strange thing is this is the first time I have experienced this at that house, despite staying there often.

Does this make sense?

[bigroj]

It makes sense to me! When I started to get a similar asthmatic/rhinitis reaction all year round, rather than the seasonal version, I tracked it to the down duvet we had on the bed. With a hypoallergenic duvet and a wool pillow, I don't get the reaction any more so that's one less thing I have to worry about!

[Homely2]

Totally makes sense.

I stayed at a dog hair filled holiday home, which triggered a major asthma attack.

Next time, take your own bedding and take a good sized hepa air purifier for the dust with you, and make sure the the house has been cleaned thoroughly.

See if that sorts the problem.