Dust allergy: how to cut the reactions at home

Dust allergy is a reaction to what lives inside house dust, mostly mite waste, not to dust itself. Lowering the dose you breathe is the treatment; medicines only cover the symptoms.

What you are reacting to

House dust is a mixture. The allergic part is usually the protein in the waste of microscopic mites that live in it, and in many homes also cockroach debris, pet dander and mould spores.

The typical picture is a run of sneezes in the morning, an itchy or blocked nose, watery or itchy eyes, throat clearing, and a cough that is worst on lying down. Sinus pressure and a feeling of fullness in the ears come with it.

It is not an infection and it is not catching. It is the lining of the nose and eye overreacting to something it meets every day.

Where it lives in your home

• The mattress and pillows. This is the largest single reservoir, and you breathe it all night with your face centimetres away.
• Bedding, blankets and quilts that are washed monthly instead of weekly.
• Soft toys on the bed, cushions, upholstered headboards and sofas.
• Carpets, rugs and heavy curtains, especially in the bedroom.
• Bookshelves, piles of paper and stored clothes.
• Ceiling fan blades, the tops of wardrobes and air-conditioner filters that have not been cleaned.
• Dry sweeping and feather dusters, which lift the whole dose into the air you then breathe.

The bedroom is where the treatment is

Do these in order, and expect four to six weeks before judging.

• Encase the mattress and both pillows in allergen-proof zip covers. This is the single most effective step.
• Wash bedding once a week in the hottest water the fabric allows, and dry it fully in sun or a dryer.
• Remove soft toys from the bed, or wash them hot weekly.
• Take carpets and heavy curtains out of the bedroom. A washable rug or bare floor is enough.
• Dust with a damp cloth, never a dry duster, and clean the fan blades and the tops of furniture monthly.
• Wash or replace the AC filter every fortnight in the season it runs.
• Air the bed and the room for an hour in morning sun; sunlight and drying reduce mites.
• Keep humidity down. Mites thrive in a closed, damp room, so ventilate rather than keep everything shut.
• Vacuum with a HEPA filter, or wet-mop. A ordinary vacuum blows the finest fraction out of its back.

Daily habits that reduce the dose

• Rinse the nose with saline once or twice a day, especially before bed. It washes out what has settled on the lining and is the cheapest thing on this page.
• Shower and change clothes after sweeping, gardening, moving stored goods or any dusty work, and do not sit on the bed afterwards.
• Keep windows shut on windy, high-dust evenings, and ventilate in the quiet early hours instead.
• Wear a mask while cleaning, sweeping or dusting the fan, or let someone else do it.
• Do not dry-sweep at night. Clean with a damp mop, or when you can leave the room afterwards.
• Keep pets out of the bedroom and off the bed if dander is part of the picture.
• Do not smoke inside, and do not burn agarbatti in a closed bedroom for sleep.

What medicines do and do not do

• Antihistamines cover the sneezing and the itch. They do not change how much you are exposed to, so they are a layer on top of the routine, not a replacement for it.
• Steroid nasal sprays reduce the inflammation in the nose and work better taken daily through the season than as required. They need a doctor's instruction on which spray, how to aim it and for how long.
• Decongestant nose drops from the chemist must not run beyond three days. They cause rebound blockage that is worse than the original problem, and this is a very common trap.
• Steam and warm fluids ease the pressure and the throat, and are worth doing on a bad day.

When it needs a doctor

• Wheezing, chest tightness or breathlessness, or a cough that wakes you at night with an effort to breathe. Dust allergy and asthma travel together and asthma is treated differently.
• Fever with thick yellow-green nasal discharge and facial pain lasting more than a week, which suggests a sinus infection.
• One-sided blockage, or blood-streaked discharge from one side.
• Repeated ear fullness or hearing changes, especially in a child.
• A child breathing through the mouth, snoring every night, or with dark circles and a constant runny nose.
• Eczema flares, hives, or swelling of lips or eyes with the allergy.
• Symptoms that keep you from sleeping despite two months of the routine above.

The honest expectation

Exposure reduction works slowly and then keeps working. Most people feel the difference in four to six weeks of a properly maintained bedroom, and lose it within a fortnight of letting the covers, the washing and the damp-cloth routine slide. Long-term desensitisation is a specialist decision made on tested allergens, not a home measure.

An Aksa physician takes the pattern — which hours are worst, what the bedroom is made of, whether the chest is involved, what has already been tried — and treats the digestion, sleep and the season alongside it. Both Delhi clinics see this in person, and the video consultation is free.

Every individual is different. This page is general education, not a prescription for you, and it cannot replace an examination.