My five year-old son seems to have allergies to something in our home.  At night he becomes congested, often times sneezing during the night and upon waking has a drippy nose for the first hour or so after. We have switched laundry detergent for his bedding, wash his bedding frequently, put anti-microbial pillow cases and mattress covers on his bed.  Occasionally he will have mild drippage during the day as well.  Do you have suggestions for what we should be looking for or doing to remove whatever he is allergic to?-Christian, Alaska 

 

            What you describe are classical allergy symptoms.  What is notable is that the symptoms are worse at night.  This suggests that the allergens he may be responding to are more concentrated in the bedroom or that as he is spending more time in the bedroom at night his exposure is greater.  Both of these may in fact be true.

            The mitigation measures you have taken are typically recommended by allergists when patients test positive to dust mites.  Dust mites are very small insect-like critters that are often abundant in bedrooms because they live on decomposing human skin scales.  They are typically abundant in areas of relatively high humidity.

            If your son’s problems are due to exposures to dust mite allergens, the use of antimicrobial pillow cases will not work as these are designed to control either bacteria or fungi and some cases both.  They will not control dust mites.

            Dust mites biocides have been developed and are widely used in European countries.  Though available from allergy stores on the internet (trade name Acarosan) they have not been approved for use in the U.S.  They are based on benzoic acid esters which appear to be relatively non-toxic to humans.  They are available in powder form and are recommended for application on upholstery, carpeting, etc.  These biocides kill and control dust mites.  They do not destroy/prevent exposure to existing allergen which may still be in abundance and active 6-12 months after the biocide has affectively controlled dust mites.  As a consequence dust mite biocidal formulations may also contain substances which denature allergen problems (such as tannic acid) or cause them to be bound to surfaces to prevent them from becoming airborne and cause inhalation exposures.

            Of course dust mites are not the only thing that can cause allergenic responses in sensitive individuals such as your son.  Other potential causes include exposures to one or mold species, pet danders, cockroach waste products, rodent waste products, etc.

            You had not indicated whether your son has been allergy tested or not.  If not he should be to determine what he is sensitive to.  If he is not sensitive to dust mites, then your mitigation measures are not likely to work.

            I recommend that you inspect your son’s bedroom to identify potential sources of allergen as well as other parts of your house.

 

October28, 2004