I'm at my wits end. WHAT am I allergic to in my bedroom?!

[snifflesandsneezes]

PLEASE help me! We built our house just 12 months ago, and this has plagued me for almost as long, it is happening more so in pregnancy but was happening before too. I go to sleep and I wake up at some point between 12am-3am with dry itchy eyes, a scratchy throat I can't help but swallow to scratch, a dry cough, sneezing, runny nose and it keeps me awake for hours sometimes. It used to happen most nights which was bad enough but I could take antihistamines and somewhat cope but now I'm pregnant I can't and it's been months of happening every single night I sleep in that room. I move into the spare room sometimes but it's small with a day bed and not my lovely comfy bed and I don't want to never share a room with my husband again.

I know I'm sensitive to dust, but I wet dust most days and hoover every couple of days too. I change and hot wash our bedding twice a week. The bed is upholstered, could this be the problem? It's big and heavy and against the wall so there is dust build up behind it, it's also very low to the ground so can't hoover under, but this dust isn't being disturbed enough to cause this level of allergies surely?

What else could it be? The air? The mattress? The carpet? Do I just need an air purifier? Is there going to be mould hidden somewhere? I just don't understand and I'm SO fed up. I keep thinking I'll sell the bed, get a more wipe clean one, change the carpet to laminate etc but it's a lot of expense without actually knowing what the cause is

Someone solve the mystery please

You can use eye drops and steroid nasal spray. Should make a massive difference. Glycerin throat pastilles should help the scratchy throat

Upholstered feather bed or feather pillow/quilt. I once went on holiday and took the only latex pillow in the room and whilst we were out the cleaning people mixed the pillows up so I came back, had a snooze and woke up barely able to breathe as I was on a feather pillow. It was horrendous. Was ill for weeks afterwards.

I'd be looking for damp or mould because I know that's an allergen for me. Under carpets, under mattresses, in built in wardrobes etc. Mould isnt always black, can be white or yellow. Alternatively, can you try moving your bedding and mattress to another room to narrow down if it's the bed or the room?

The bed is upholstered, could this be the problem? It's big and heavy and against the wall so there is dust build up behind it, it's also very low to the ground so can't hoover under, but this dust isn't being disturbed enough to cause this level of allergies surely?

This is the mostly likely source. You need a bed frame that is not upholstered. You need to clean behind and hoover under the bed. If you can’t use an attachment to hoover under the bed, have your DH lift up and hold the mattress and get to it through the slats with an attachment.

If you have any curtains they need to be washed every two months, blinds need to be dusted once a month.

Also check your radiator and ensure it is dusted inside. You can get a goat hair brush to do this. Because a possible cause is having the heat on will release dust into the air if the inside of your radiator is dusty.

Yep. Dust mite allergy. DH has very severely. Nose always inflamed. What he thought was just grass/pollen hayfever he realised was just year long.

We now have a wooden bed we can hoover underneath. Plus wooded floorboards in bedroom - but get this is not for everyone. Being able to hoover under bed is though.
Consultant suggested either hoovering the mattress every fornight (I did it the day he came home with his diagnosis - horrified at the dust coming from the mattress) or get a medical grade mattress cover. Link below.
Also washing pillows at 60 degrees fornightly - or again, medical grade pillow covers.

And also nasal douching. He now does daily (again link below). Not fun but "cleaning" his nasal passages keeps it from inflaming with a

The difference in taking these steps has been enormous. He can breathe, no longer snores, hayfever is now just a few weeks a year not constant, not feeling groggy to antihistimines. To be honest, his psoriasis has also really reduced too.

So links Allergy Covers.. Expensive, but worth it. Feel a bit "plastic bag" like when you first get them because they are incredibly finely woven - meaning the mites cannot penetrate. But medically tested and work. If nothing else (unless you can be arsed with the hoovering mattresses /washing pillows - consider these. www.allergy.uk.com/shop/Alprotec_Allergen_Barrier_Bedding.asp

Nasal douching www.amazon.co.uk/NeilMed-Original-Sinus-Premixed-Sachets/dp/B000RDZFZ0

DD at around 12 started showing similar symptoms. She is not as bad as DH - so the mattress/pillow protectors largely eased her nose. She does do the nasal douching when hayfever season kicks off though.

I hoover my mattress occasionally. Don't care what the instructions say.
Allowing bed to air properly before making it helps reduce dust mites.

Also Google "slow vacuuming".. Most people briskly move hoover back and forward.
Do that, empty bag then hoover again just pulling Vac very very slowly towards you- you'll be amazed at how much more dusty crap you remove

Feather or down pillows /duvet?
The type of laundry products used on bedding?
Fancy airfresheners, romantic candles, perfume sticks, flowering plant.
Something you clean your face with before bed?

The dust under the bed won't help, get DP to move the bed and hoover beneath it.

Do you have any air freshener type things plugged in.

You can take loratidine in pregnancy

www.nhs.uk/conditions/antihistamines/

I get this every evening when I move to the lounge! Drives me insane.

Oh yes

But also i can't have an upholstered bed

Best without curtains also

Dust under bed does stir up all the time - with door opening - I use a wet towel on a stick to go under the first foot or so all round every now and then

Do you have anything in the bedroom made of MDF, such as fitted wardrobes etc? Perhaps even the bed is made of this underneath the upholstery? MDF can emit formaldehyde gas and cause symptoms like yours.

Well I wiped all the upholstery with a wet cloth then hoovered it, moved the bed and hoovered between that and the wall and this was the result 🤮 will under it be as bad? Horrific

Under the bed is also grim 🤮

I now have a wooden bed frame and laminate flooring. The amount of dust that accumulates under the bed is astounding and makes me realise that previous carpeted bedrooms with divans must have been absolutely gross.

The bed is upholstered, could this be the problem? It's big and heavy and against the wall so there is dust build up behind it, it's also very low to the ground so can't hoover under, but this dust isn't being disturbed enough to cause this level of allergies surely?

Whenever you move, or turn over in bed you are creating air movements. It doesn't take much to make the dust move and swirl. You only have to see dust dancing in sunbeams inside your house to realise its all around us.

Get cleaning properly (or get dh to do it), if still bad then try an air purifier.

Well I've hoovered every inch of the bed, mattress, carpet etc so we'll see how I get on tonight. I think I'll go pick up an air purifier this afternoon there's one in Argos for £199 which has good reviews and hopefully between the two I'll be ok. Next step new bed if not 🙈

I had this. I bought a giant king sized mattress bag. It zips the entire mattress inside it. Seems to have made a difference!

Is there a different paint in your bedroom to the rest of the house?

Of course there is one big difference between the marital bed and the spare room...and something that can start to happen during pregnancy...

Try kicking husband into spare room to see if you have suddenly become allergic to his pheromones. Unfortunately it does happen (and disappears once baby is born).

However, I'm pretty certain its the dust. Your hoover picture was quite impressive 😆

You said built in your OP — do you mean built or is that a typo for bought?

I had a conversation with my optician about something similar and she said it was usually either carpet fibres or pet dander. If you don’t have pets I wondered if anyone who’d been in the house prior to you had them, hence the clarification.

Personally, with me it’s downstairs’ dog (I live in a flat). Even though the animal never comes in my home it’s in the building and apparently that can still trigger the reaction.

You could also try Hycosan Dual eye drops — they have an antihistamine in them (obviously check the ingredients first to make sure you can take in pg).

@Mrsjayy what antihistamines work for you? I've had post nasal drip for 8 years although only usually between September to April and it drives me mad. I've had an inhaler, antihistamines and a nasal spray and nothing seems to get rid of it completely. As soon as the weather gets cold, the heating goes on and I spend more time indoors the coughing and clearing my throat starts.

Just to be clear OP - when you sleep in the spare room and it's fine, are you using the same actual duvet and pillows as your bedroom?

If I had this problem I would always start with “are these pillows/duvet made from feathers?” and work from there. Stop cleaning stuff OP and check what your bedding is made from.

I have some “sliders” which the bed legs stand on and this enables me to easily slide the bed over the carpet. I can’t remember the name but I think I just searched sliders on Amazon. I also have a spare set which I pop under my very heave leather couch, the space bed or any heavy items, they really are a miracle!