Allergy sufferers can take a major step toward improving their symptoms by making their homes hostile environments for allergens. Doctors say preventing allergens from concentrating in the home and eliminating those that get in are as important as medication for patients to effectively manage their illness.
 
"I look at allergy management as a three-legged stool," Dr. James Sublett, Allergy and Immunology Section chief at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, states in a news release. "One leg consists of medications which can be quite helpful, the second leg includes allergy shots for selected patients, but I think the most important leg is management of the indoor air by using good techniques to reduce particulates and indoor allergens."
 
Although outdoor allergens capture considerable attention, more patients suffer from allergies caused by triggers inside the home. Sublett says there are several steps patients should consider to manage indoor allergens that produce no side effects, including:
 
- Maintaining relative humidity in the home at less than 50 percent to minimize populations of dust mites and mold.
- Using allergen-resistant coverings to prevent dust mites and dander from collecting in bedding.
- Improving cleaning with more effective equipment and filtering the air in the home to remove as many allergens as possible.
 
"Two effective ways to eliminate allergens from the home include better air filtration on your heating and air conditioning system using a disposable, high-efficiency, pleated-surface filter with at least a MERV 12 rating and by using central vacuuming to reduce the particulates that are left in the house," Sublett says.
 
A recent clinical study by the University of California at Davis School of Medicine found that allergic rhinitis patients' symptoms improved by 46 percent to 61 percent when they used a central vacuum system instead of a conventional vacuum to clean their homes. Patients in the UC-Davis study used Beam Central Vacuum Systems that were installed in their existing homes. As a result of the study findings, the American Lung Association now requires central vacuums in homes built to the ALA's Health House National Demonstration Program standards.
 
"When you use a conventional vacuum, the exhaust air actually stirs up allergens and increases particulates in the air," notes John Coghlan, president of Beam Industries in a news release. "A central vacuum exhausts outside the living area, preventing recirculation of dust and allergens. And it takes captured particulates completely out of the home."
 

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