People with allergies tend to stay indoors when pollen and mold is high. However, there are also indoor allergens that can cause problems.

How to Control Indoor Allergens

It’s possible to control indoor allergens at home. This can be done through cleaning the most common sources of these allergens. This includes your:

• Pet
• Wall-to-wall carpet
• Stuffed toys
• Bedding
• Indoor plants
• Mattresses that are not covered with allergy covers
• Pillows
• Soft/cushiony furniture

Steps to Control the Indoor Allergens

The following steps can help protect yourself from indoor allergens:

• Keep surfaces of your home clean and uncluttered
• If possible, avoid wall-to-wall carpeting and opt for low-pile carpet instead. This reduces your chances of exposing yourself to dust mites, the most common indoor house allergen.

It also helps to use an air cleaner with a special high efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter. This helps remove some indoor allergens such as tobacco smoke (if someone’s smoking in the hose) and animal dander.

Make sure that windows and doors are closed

Keeping windows and doors closed can prevent pollen from getting inside.

When it’s warm, it helps to use air conditioning to control dust mites and reduce humidity, which supports mold growth.

Reduce moisture in the house

Your kitchen, bathroom, and other areas where there is a lot of water can support mold growth. You can prevent this by reducing moisture.

This can be done by using dehumidifiers, fixing all leaks, limiting house plants, and cleaning up any surface where you spot mold (make sure you wear proper protective equipment when doing this).

Pick a pet without fur or feathers

If you’re allergic to pet dander, it’s better not to have a pet with either fur or feathers.

However, if you end up owning one, you can reduce your allergy symptoms by keeping your pet out of the bedroom, washing your pet’s toys and furniture frequently, and getting your pet groomed regularly.

Control cockroaches

The body parts, saliva, and waste of cockroaches can trigger an allergic reaction. Even dead cockroaches can be serious allergens to some.

By controlling the roaches in your house, you can also reduce your allergy symptoms. You can do this by not leaving food or garbage uncovered and using baits instead of chemicals. Some pesticides can trigger an asthma attack or rhinitis.

See an ENT Specialist

If your allergy symptoms are keeping you from enjoying your life indoors, we can help. The expert Otolaryngologists at Greater Knoxville ENT have years of experience in diagnosing and treating allergies. To request an appointment with one our ENT specialists, please call (865) 244-4396.