This house is making me sick

This house is killing me.

Okay, that might be overly dramatic, but when I can't breathe, my eyes are all red and I can't sit still because I'm itchy from head to toe, it feels like I might rather die.

I never used to have allergies, but when I hit my twenties I started to notice my nose was always runny and things got progressively worse. It's now normal for me to go through at least one box of Kleenex a week (thankfully they're compostable!).

Since moving into the tta, it's become unbearable.

I recently got tested and was not at all surprised by the results.

Culprit #1: the cat
We've never let her into the bedroom, but Simone still manages to shed her hair and dandruff onto every surface in our apartment. I'm also allergic to the rats but they're so much smaller and contained it wasn't a big problem when I only had them to deal with.


Culprit #2: the carpet
When we were apartment hunting I knew I didn't want carpet, but this place seemed to have everything else going for it so we decided to compromise. Little did I know that it would soon become my nemesis, harbouring an army of dust mites bent on making me wheeze and scratch.

Culprit #3: the central heating & air conditioning
We share our heating system with our neighbours and all their pets below. Despite whatever filters must be in place, the airborne allergens downstairs inevitably make their way into our living space.

Simone isn't going anywhere, so it looks like I'm just going to have to focus on evicting the dust mites.

Comments

ginger said…
Ah, the air quality in Ottawa also sucks hard. Did you grow up here or move here as an adult??

I have an air filter (hepa!) that I use in my bedroom during allergy season. I love it dearly, it is my BFF. It can filter a room in under twenty minutes. In a couple of hours, it can filter the whole apartment. Highly suggest it!
RealGrouchy said…
Culprit #4: seasonal allergies. As a longtime allergy sufferer, mine have been killing me the last couple weeks, what with all the flowers and trees in bloom. And I don't have ANY pets OR carpets!

Culprit #5: traffic. You live close to the 417 and a major artery, and the particular matter in the air probably doesn't help. Not just tailpipe emissions, but also rubber dust from tires eroding.

I'll also have to check out a better air filter than the cheap old one I have.

- RG>
Allison said…
Seasonal allergies were actually tested on the other arm and I didn't get a single reaction.

Good news: I'm not allergic to the flowers and trees; Bad news: my allergies aren't going to get any better in a month or two

That being said, I'm pretty sure the downtown Ottawa air isn't helping my situation. I'm going to need to take Ginger's advice and get myself a good air filter.
RealGrouchy said…
Either I'm wrong, or that allergy doctor wasn't thorough enough, and one of those is not very likely. You should get them to test it on the other arm; maybe you're only allergic on one side.

- RG>
Andrea said…
Have you tried the Febreeze Allergen reducer? It won't take them away completely, but maybe it would help reduce the amount of cat dander and dust mites.

It would also have the added bonus of making your home smelling clean and fresh! :-)

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