HELP!!

[Jamie]

I just moved in about 3 1/2 weeks ago but for a little over 2 weeks now I've had a terrible cough and it feels like something is tickling my throat. I've noticed A LOT of dust in the apartment so I've been vacuuming 3 times a week and dusting daily because I am allergic to dust mite so I assumed this was the reason for the cough. I've had company over and they've noticed that when they come here they also feel a tickle in their throat and we end up spending the entire night all coughing. Does anyone else notice this in their units? We keep the windows open as frequently as possible to have air circulation throughout. Is it dust? Something else that I should be concerned about? Solutions? Suggestions? My cough is getting worse and it's starting to get to the point where I can barely sleep at night.

Help!!!!!!

 

[s&t]

Hi Jamie,
I agree with you about the dust. This is the dustiest place I have ever lived in, I think it comes from living so close the city and several big roads & parks around here e.g. Hoddle St.
But I actually don't really know.

Three times a week vacuuming is admirable but sounds like a lot of hard work! My worst area for dust is in the bedroom, it is plain to see on our shiny bed-head surface, even after a few days after wiping clean. I use the hand vacuum attachment and clean the surfaces that way. This needs doing probably three times a week but I just put up with the dust until I can clean it next.


re: Dust mite allergy and night time coughing - have you tried an anti-histamine? A good one is Cetrizine (Zytec and various generic brands), simply taken once a day, in the early evening. It is a non-drowsy anti-histamine but rarely it can cause some drowsiness (hence best in the evening). If the coughing is allergy related, this should help. The long term solution is to kill the dust mites. This works well -

You add it to the wash, when you do a bedding wash. There is a minimum "soak" time and it has a strong smell of Eucalyptus oil, but it is safe. It is not expensive and you can get it from Coles on Bridge Rd.
Hope this helps!