Sarah went to the allergist to get the official word on her allergies.
She’s allergic to guinea pigs, dogs, cats, but not birds, bunnies, mice, or horses. She’s also allergic to a forest of different trees but most of all she’s allergic to dust mites/dust mite poop or whatever it is people are allergic to. Her symptoms range from hives (guinea pigs) to snuffly nose and itchy eyes (everything else). The question is, what should we be doing here at home to help her?
I know we need to be more vigilent about keeping everything dust-free. We’re partway there already. We have very little carpeting and lots of hardwood flooring. We have a great vaccuum and I use it frequently, but I’m afraid to say that we let Sarah’s bedroom get a little too piled up with stuff.
Emma and Sarah’s bedrooms are tiny, say 9′ x 10′ or so – with sloped ceilings! – and space is always a challenge.
So far I’ve managed to talk it up and present this all as a FUN FUN FUN big change. But Sarah hasn’t always been very receptive to change. She cried when our couch was taken away to be reupholstered. But she was about four at the time so I’m hoping she’ll be more accepting.
I’ve been doing some research. This is what we need to do (this is from the CHEO website):
- Remove upholstered furniture [no problem, Sarah doesn’t have any in her bedroom]
- Enclose the mattress, box spring, and foam pillows with zippered vinyl (or other “dust-proof”) covers. Vinyl covers let you remove the bedding and remove dust with a damp sponge. These covers are available in medical-supply stores.
- Wash sheets and blankets every 2-4 weeks
- Wash blinds regularly; mop the floor with a damp mop each week. [We need to take down her curtains]
- Remove unnecessary toys, books, and stuffed animals — within reason! [And put it where? Gah. I haven’t really figured that out yet.]
Here’s something interesting from the same website: “… exposure to dust can not only lead to asthma attacks, but long-term exposure can increase airway inflammation, increasing the severity of the reaction to other asthma allergens and irritants.”
The Asthma Society of Canada has a great little tip-sheet too. This point was a bit of a shocker:
“Vacuum your child’s bedroom at least once a week and wait two hours before changing the bed sheets. This is the length of time it takes for dust and debris to settle after a carpet has been vacuumed and you do not want dust to settle on a freshly made bed!”
Ack!
I started the process yesterday by doing a massive edit of the stuff in her bedroom. It was a challenge: hairbands, buttons, stick-on jewels, pencils, tape, erasers, elastics … too much! I thought it was going to be difficult to convince her to let us remove it, but she seems to love her new room (so far).
While I purged and dusted I thought about other changes we could make:
- A fresh coat of paint
- One piece of wall space just for her artwork. I’m wondering if magnetic paint is the answer.
- New pillows are a given, but I’d like to get a new high-quality quilt that can withstand frequent washing/drying.
- Wall stickers (I am in love with these repositionable ones from Blik)
- A slim desk/shelf combo which can be closed up… something to hide a few of her favourite knick knacks and give her room to work on her art.
*sigh*
It is all a bit overwhelming. What I really need is some excellent interior design help.
