My house is attacking me! AIBU to panic?

[ConfusedRabbit]

I've had an inflamed throat and nose for the last three weeks. I get stuffed up and my breath starts whistling every time I encounter dust (I didn't think my house was dusty but every time I sit on my (6 month old) couch, off I go). I've got a nasal spray and I'm waiting to see if it works, but I'm scared and miserable, and I'm scared my throat might close up more. There's so much to do like buying expensive anti-mite bedsheets and deep cleaning my home, which I can't afford but apparently if I don't do it I will get worse.

Background is that I've had a truly awful 2016 and was hoping 2017 would be better, but it's started out with scary symptoms and a huge to do list. Am I overreacting? A chorus of "yes" from those in the know would be entirely welcome, as would any advice.

I'm trying to find my BGP and pull 'em up but I can't seem to find them at the moment.

Everything you say makes me think you need steroids but I'm not sure what you do with that! Meanwhile I refer you back to my recommendation above for fexo - I've looked up the UK name and it's Allegra. Hth.

Meanwhile certirizine is a funny one, makes alot of people drowsy and makes me feel weird.

I see another vote for damp dusting - go for it, and get yourself one of those builder's masks from b&q to wear whilst cleaning.

Good luck!

Thanks Iborgia, I'm going to the pharmacy today and will ask about Allegra. My doc is reviewing me in two weeks so I can ask about steroids then. Thanks for the reply

Permithrin is a really nasty chemical, no way I'd want that on anything I was touching regularly. As you have a HEPA filtered vacumn give soft furnishings and your mattress a really good hoovering (pass over each bit 10 times with your hoover). Do the carpet in the bedroom the same way too. That gets rid of loads of dust mites. Also wash bedding and towels at 60oC

Use a dust mask when you do house work. Also, put Vaseline around your nostrils. Vacuum thoroughly rather than frequently.

Just check around the house for anything new- air freshener, candle, flowers etc.

This is really helpful, thank you The pharmacist gave me a new antihistamine and I'm looking at those anti-dust mite mattress seal things. Maybe an air purifier as well, there seem to be some good reports online.

Allergies can randomly appear and/or get worse. I sympathise OP! Wheezing a lot isn't good, make sure to take antihistamines, as others have said. This last summer one of the GPs at my practice switched me from a fluticasone spray (ie. what Avamys is) to a combined antihistamine and steroid spray called Dymista as well, I feel it improved things a bit. I was taking fexofenadine (Telfast) 180mg daily and using a neti pot for sinus irrigation multiple times a day. One thing I would look out for, though, is getting a choking sensation due to some kind of swelling or dried-out mucus build-up towards the back of your nose/throat. My GP said it might have been the fexofenadine drying out my mucus too much. I never got to the bottom of it, it seemed to come and go, could even have been due to badly controlled silent reflux irritating the back of my throat.

I'm going to chuck a curve ball in. I had similar symptoms for about ten months. Doc did allergy check and it came out that I was allergic to household dust and cats. Having lived with both for years I was sceptical but monitored myself and took antihistamine. I buried my face in my cat - nothing happened. Breathed in deep when I emptied the hoover - nothing happened. The Has didn't do much good and I still got the symptoms even when not in my house: walking along a street; staying in a brand new hotel room (first guests); on camping holiday where there were no pets or dust. I just knew it was something else. Went back to docs and eventually got prescribed a really strong anti histamine which sent me scatty so I stopped taking it and went back yet again. I got strong steroid tablets to take for a week plus steroid nose drops to take indefinitely. After a couple of days the symptoms stopped. I took the nose drops for two weeks then stopped them just to see what happened. Nothing. No symptoms whatsoever. It's been weeks now and no symptoms at all. So it wasn't an allergy though the doctor still maintains it was. Have no idea what but you might want to ask for the nose drops and see if it makes a difference.

It could be an allergy to mould spores which can cause hayfever symptoms or asthma. That would get worse as the weather gets colder as mould breeds more. I've had similar issues for years but as I've got older, it's got better overall. I'm prescribed a nasal steroid.

To get rid of mould on Windows etc use a hydrogen peroxide spray. Dettol power and pure has this in. Although it's not marketed as a mould remover, it works really well. It's better than chlorine bleach as it kills the mould properly, not just removing it on the surface.

When I first moved into my flat, I kept sneezing in the bathroom. I later found that we'd left a hoover bag in there full of dust which was making me sneeze.

I bought a Duux air purifier which also has a hepa filter in it. I'm asthmatic and dust irritates me. I use it in my bedroom as it's designed for there (nice and quiet) and it also has a little well inside for essential oils so you can use a tea tree one as that is antibacterial and I think antifungal which may also help. The purifier was only about £50 on Amazon.
Save up and buy a robot hoover so that you can have it running permenantly picking up dust etc. I'd swap carpets for laminate/hardwood and tiles if you haven't already. Anti mite bedding, mattress and pillows. Would even be worth paying for a cleaner once a week or every two weeks for an hour or so to clean for you so your allergies aren't irritated by cleaning?
I know this all sounds a lot and expensive but if you do it gradually it will help.
I hope your meds from the doc help.

Is your sofa pushed against the wall? Have you checked for any mould or damp behind it?

Or has any thing fallen between/down the sides of the cushions and gone mouldy?

If this is a new problem and focused around the sofa maybe a detailed inspection in and around the sofa might find something.

Just an idea.

Good luck.

As a fellow sufferer and a severe one at that (under specialist care for 30 years) I would say don't panic

Your symptoms correlate time wise with mine, DS and DH and a few others I know for seasonal pollens

If you go on line and look tree pollens have already started at a low level due to the mildness of the winter and mould spores have not quite finished

In years like this I get very little down time from the rolling seasons of mould, tree and grass as they spread out and therefore overlap

I also have chronic rhinitis due to house dust mites but it's when the others overlay this that I get far worse

At the moment it's so bad with all 3 being present I've had to start taking antihistamine as well as my nose spray
Avamys is the gold standard nose spray currently prescribed are you using the max dose check with drs as you can actually take 3 squirts either side daily, consider adding in an antihistamine like loratidine while you're suffering

Hi everyone, thank you. Some great suggestions above, I really appreciate it, especially from those who are experienced with similar issues.

I've just bought an air purifier with a HEPA filter and I'm buying anti-mite bedding this afternoon. As a PP said it's all so expensive. When I saw the allergy clinic nurse about my dust allergy last year, she laughed and said "just buy the protective equipment and think of it as a chance to get someone else to do the dusting". Terrific advice, except I'm poor and live alone. yes I'm slightly bitter

I'm feeling a bit low and overwhelmed by it all today so thanks for the help and support. The wheezing really scares me.

User14... I particularly appreciate the encouragement not to panic.