Indoor allergies making us utterly miserable

[herewegogogox]

So long story short we bought a bungalow in June 2017 which is detached & backs onto a big field! Needed full reservations, finished 2 rooms by winter 2017 & discovered mould in 2 fitted wardrobes on external walls, totally ruined new carpet & clothes within it…had it all ripped out & redone & ensured nothing against those walls…

life went on continued renovations but i noticed i started with a wheeze & running nose.. this got worse & by 2019 i was diagnosed with asthma & allergic rhinitis on fexofenadine, nasal sprays & asthma pumps.. had allergy testing & found i was allergic to dust! So made sure to keep on top of dusting, new bedding etc made no difference!

roll on 2020 & my Husband began with exactly same symptoms … diagnosed with asthma & allergies, not had formal testing!

now my poor 8 year old daughter is exactly the same! Wheezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing over & over making her miserable even a daily antihistamine isn’t touching it!

we have air purifiers, dust frequently & hoover, PIV unit in the loft, nothing is helping!

we are reaching a point where our home is unliveable we have spent thousands renovating but our health is severely suffering! We even paid for a damp survery which found very mind condensation & recommended the PIV unit etc!

i have no idea what is causing it & fear we may lose thousands having to sell! We can’t even have pictures on our external walls as they get mould within a few weeks!

interestingly the previous owner had the heating on constantly so i think there had been a problem that has been covered up for years!

does anyone have any tips??? Advice? To have all 3 of us so badly affected it must be severe but there is no visible signs of mould anywhere! We can’t even sleep as our eyes itch constantly

Also we know it’s 100% the house as had 2 holidays this year & the symptoms totally went!

Feel your pain- only I can get relief from Beconase daily, however recently I've found out it can damage your eyes through prolonged use and I must have been using it daily for over 2 decades. Now I've swapped to a saline spray which makes me feel like I have a cold every day. We don't have any carpet though which is so hard to keep free of dust mites, and also have zip up allergy protectors on pillows which I replace every 2 years (the pillows- and duvet actually)- have you tried these? Like you I'm on fexafenadine but also sodium cromogligate eyedrops and the crap nasal spray.

You could also try Nosa menthol nose plugs which I'm considering- I also use Halls menthoeucalyptus sweets in the black packet on horrendous days.

Have you had actual air quality and mould testing done to know exactly what you're dealing with with?

You have my sympathies, it's horrid isn't it! We moved into our house in June and husband and both kids were suffering horribly. We've had to rip all of the carpets up and replace them with wooden flooring. All curtains were binned. We also bought air filter purifiers for the bedrooms that clear the air of all allergens. Not cheap but they work. Everyone is still sniffing and sneezing in the house but definitely an improvement.

Unfortunately if yours is a full dust allergy like ours, all soft floor coverings are out. As are curtains and long pile rugs. We have a robovac who goes off every day to pick up as much dust as possible but I have to hoover endlessly.

I think I would cut my losses, sell for the best price you can as quickly as possible.

Your health is more important than getting a few extra grand on a house.

No testing of air quality how do we do that?

we are all just so depressed with it, it almost seems worse since coming back off holiday despite my mother doing a deep clean before we got home, my husband is barely sleeping & i keep having panic attacks in the night & waking up with headache

Dust mites love warm, humid environments. If the previous owners had the heating on lots as you suspect and dried clothes indoors/didn't ventilate the house the dust mites may have built up to high levels.

We moved a couple years ago and DS2 has developed a dust mite allergy since. It runs in the family. DS1 sneezes daily due to dust mites and DH has asthma will sneeze if he does anything dusty. Both been like that for years, just mildly affected and DS2 was fine. Now he's got a dust mite allergy, asthma and his dog allergy has got worse. Fortunately, new house only has carpet on the stairs/hallway/landing. Haven't replaced that yet, dreading doing it tbh, but it's been steam cleaned (heat can disrupt the allergen) and hoovered regularly. It's a bloody expensive allergy. We've bought him a new mattress, allergy covers, a new hoover with better HEPA filtration, a tumble drier so we never dry washing in the house. I damp dust daily, hoover and mop floors frequently, wash bedding more frequently at a higher temp etc, etc....no one thing helps, just lots of little things.

As for being better on holiday, because dust mites are dependant on high humidity levels they vary with the climate. It could simply be that where you went has a climate that doesn't promote dust mite population growth or even has different types of dust mites to those you react to. There's no guarantee that another house will be any better.

There will be an antihistamine to suit you all and many are available over the counter now.

For your 8 yr old, Piraton might be the best as i think it is suitable for children. Only available from pharmacists and no prescription needed. For adults, there are a few to try - Fexafenodine works for many.

There's a good chance one of these will bring instant relief and allow you to enjoy your home. You will know straightaway if they work for you - you will feel relief within 20 mins. If no good, try another brand.

• just noticed Fexofenadine did not work for you. It doesnt work for everyone. It doesn't work for me either.

Don't discount Piraton. Doctors won't advise that one now as it's an older one and has drowsiness as side effect. Also isn't 24hr lasting. But it is the only one that works for me. There is also cetirazine, loratodine and bendryl.

Plus various nasal sprays and eye drops. Try everything!

You need to use the services of a company that test air quality and mould.