Summertime is fast approaching, and in addition to barbeques and picnics and swimming and no school and all that other fun stuff, it also means the re-emergence of those buzzing, blood-sucking little pests, mosquitoes.

I've always been one of those lucky people whom "mosquitoes don't like," and I could stand outside in the muggiest weather at sunset without a problem while everyone around me was getting eaten alive.

Recently, though, I learned that the itchiness accompanying bug bites is not necessarily something that occurs with every bite. Actually, the itchiness results from an allergic reaction to the mosquitoes' saliva, as this Washington Post article mentions. So, apparently, I may be getting bitten just as often; I'm just less allergic to mosquito saliva.

Allergic reactions to mosquito saliva can increase with increased exposure, so even those who, like me, aren't that bothered by mosquitoes now should consider taking precautions against getting bitten.

Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, doing what you can to make sure mosquitoes don't bite in the first place is the surest way to keep mosquito bites from spoiling your summer fun.

The problem is that many mosquito repellents contain harsh chemicals that can irritate those with chemical sensitivities or sensitive skin. Before slathering on mainstream repellents that might give you another kind of itch, check out Herbal Armor DEET Free Insect Repellent, an allergy-friendly alternative.

When bites still occur despite your best efforts, allergy medicine, such as Benadryl, may be taken orally or applied topically through products like Caladryl. Diphenhydramine is the active ingredient, so make sure any generic brands you buy contain it.

Does anyone have any other allergy-friendly mosquito repellent or bite treatment tips?

The Dyson DC23 Motorhead Canister vacuum is the only canister vacuum that does not lose suction. Unlike some canister vacuums, the powerful hose and wand wrap around the compact canister for easy storage. The DC23 is great for an apartment and it works very well for cleaning hard surfaces like wood floors and tile.

The two best features of this Dyson are its motorized brushbar and its maneuverability. The powerful bristles on the brushbar can remove dirt and pet hair from carpets. The DC23 Motorhead is so easy to use that it almost propels itself around your apartment. The vacuum has an impressive 21 foot cord and a maximum reach of 33 feet. You can clean stairs, bookcases, ceiling corners, and fans with the wand extension. With the vacuum attachments, the DC23 weighs in at almost 24 pounds.

Dyson is known for its cutting edge technology and engineering prowess, but this canister reaches a new level in futuristic design. When the hose is wrapped around the canister, the vacuum looks like it might have come from outer space. The powerful suction is impressive and the handheld wand is shaped to fit your hand for easy operation.

One of the questions that our customer service representatives field at least once per day from our readers is, “How can I get rid of mold?” The presence of mold in a home is a serious concern, because mold can cause health problems and can damage home building materials.

One member of our team is studiously researching information to do some restoration work to his older home. He subscribes to a magazine called the Old House Journal. In this magazine, he came across a great article by writer Noelle Lord about mold and some of the steps that must be taken to get rid of a mold problem.

One of the areas that our company has improved this year in the fight against mold is in our offering of dehumidifiers. We now have a dehumidifier for almost any application or need that a person could have. We even have added a whole house dehumidifier that is made by Aprilaire to our web site.

To get rid of mold, Ms. Lord’s magazine article talks about using HEPA vacuum cleaners and air conditioners. Additionally, it talks about ventilation in some of the most humid places of your home. Basements, crawlspaces, and attics are areas that are susceptible to mold spores. We recommend using a dehumidifier in these areas. If you are concerned about mold, there are other quality recommendations in the article for anyone to try in their home.

Posted by Jamie on Thursday, May 21, 2009

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The New York Times article Clearing the Air explores the issue of indoor air pollution and how to combat the problem.

Knowing that "anything released indoors is about 1,000 times more likely to be breathed in than something released outdoors" is enough to prompt most people to think about purifying the air in their homes.

While it is important, particularly for allergy sufferers, to maintain clean indoor air through air purification,it's also important to use the right equipment - and the first step in doing this is to be educated about what you're getting.

As the artilce discusses, knowing a unit's clean air delivery rate (CADR) and making sure your air purifier is equipped with a HEPA filter are two items to check for. In addition, if you are attempting to deal with a specific pollution issue in your home, such as smoke, make sure that your unit is equipped to deal with it. For instance, smoke and other chemical pollutants are only trapped by units fitted with carbon filters.

Another way to help purify the air in your home is to use your air conditioning unit as a kind of air cleaner. But to do this, you need to use allergen-reduction filters in your HVAC system. Vacuuming, while it gets your carpeting and upholstery cleaned, can also help clean your air. Again, make sure you use a HEPA vacuum cleaner to avoid blowing polluted, allergen-ridden air back into your home even as you're vacuuming it up.

One of the most critical steps to take in keeping your home's indoor air clean is to prevent pollutants from entering your indoor air environment in the first place. Common household items such as air fresheners, cleaning supplies, and candles, while they may mask odors, create a host of problems themselves.

Look for allergy-friendly alternatives for odor control and cleaning, and avoid any unneccessary combustion in the home - from candles or from using a fireplace, for example - whenever possible. As Dr. Kirk Smith, a professor of global environmental health at UC Berkeley puts it, "The best way to not have polluted air is to not have sources of pollution in the house."

After originating in Sweden, Blueair air purifiers quickly earned a reputation for top-notch performance, technological innovation, and quality design. Blueair’s focus always has been to design and manufacture the best air purification system available for allergy and asthma sufferers.

In keeping with their company mission, Blueair has totally redesigned their air purifier offering. The Blueair 01 air purifier series has been upgraded to the 03 series. In conjunction with Blueair’s changes, we have redesigned our Blueair web pages. Additionally, we also have bridged the room coverage gap in our selection by now offering our readers and fans the new Blueair 303 and Blueair 270E.

The new 03 series models have newly designed motors and fans, as well as new filter media that makes them more efficient than the older models. The changes have been made to upgrade performance to match the electronic series that Blueair produced in 2008.

The better performance is most apparent in the 650E model that now achieves the highest score that an air purifier can in the CADR test while maintaining the quiet operation that Blueair Air Purifiers are known for. The 650E tested at 100% efficiency in the smoke, dust, and pollen areas of the CADR test.

A recent article in the New York Times entitled Telling Food Allergies From False Alarms chronicles a Houston family's struggle to cope with the diagnosis of the children's multiple food allergies.

The Keeling children's allergist banned them from eating nuts, eggs, wheat, beef, peas, and rice. However, in-depth testing at a major allergy center uncovered that they were not in fact allergic to many of these foods.

It seems that the reason for such over-diagnosis, which has been on the rise, is the use of blood tests for antibodies that may or may not indicate a reaction to certain foods. While these tests are quick and convenient, they yield a high rate of false positives.

These false positives pose two major problems: firstly, the challenge of avoiding so many foods. When the Keeling family discovered that the diagnosis of a wheat allergy was actually false, Mrs. Keeling said, "Wheat is in everything, so [the fact that my children aren't allergic to it] makes life a whole lot easier." In addition to the difficulty of finding foods without the offending components, nonallergenic supplements can be quite costly.

Secondly, avoiding too many foods can often lead to nourishment deficiencies: "In extreme cases, misdiagnosed allergies have put children at risk for malnutrition," the article states.

Another interesting question also emerges: similar to the theory put forth in the hygiene hypothesis, it's possible that avoiding foods that children aren't allergic to may make them sensitive to these foods later on.

So what are allergic individuals, or their parents, to do? First, know that while blood tests can help doctors find potentially allergenic foods, they correlate with actual food allergies in less than half the cases. As David Felischer puts it, "The only true test of whether you’re allergic to a food or not is whether you can eat it and not react to it."

In most cases, blood tests should be followed up by an experienced allergist who performs medically supervised food challenge testing.

Food allergies should never be taken lightly. While it's crucial to know about the existence of food allergies, over-diagnosing them can be problematic as well. Going to reputable allergists and following all the way through with testing and treatment is a good way to guard against false diagnoses of food allergies and their attendant difficulties.

Each year the Asthma and Allergy Found of America declares that May is "National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month." May is a perfect month for increased awareness of these conditions, because of the increase in allergens, pollen, and other triggers in the air we breathe.

May is also the beginning of the summer travel season and that means increased amounts of smog and air pollution. The month of May is a great time to educate family, friends, co-workers, and others about the dangers of allergies and asthma.

Check out this press release from the AAFA. There is great information on recent asthma and allergy news, as well as, an entire section with information about the recent Swine Flu outbreak.

Posted by Jamie on Monday, May 11, 2009

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In the Asthma and Allergy Foundation 2009 rankings of the 100 most challenging cities to live in with asthma, St. Louis ranked number 1. Atlanta, our beloved city and the headquarters of AchooAllergy.com, showed up in the top 10 with a 9th place ranking.

More than 20 million children and adults live with asthma all over the U.S., making it one of the most common and costly diseases. Experts agree that people can not move away to help their asthma, because every city in America has different risk factors.

Instead, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation recommends that people should work with an asthma specialist to develop a good asthma management plan.

These rankings were based on a number of factors with regard to air quality including higher than average pollen scores, continued poor air quality, access to asthma specialists, medication usage, and a lack of local "100% smoke-free" laws.

See the other top 10 cities and the full report here.

During the past two weeks, our customer service representatives have been bombarded by callers who have questions about whether or not a protective mask will protect them against Swine Flu. The flu scare has increased demand for face masks and respirators all over the United States (Check out this article by a writer for the Chicago Tribune.)

To provide information to people and to answer some questions about their masks, Respro, one of our partners in the battle against allergens, has issued a press release and posted it to their web site. The company talks mainly about prevention and they describe a couple of characteristics that are essential for a mask to be effective. Respro also provides some technical information on masks that protect against mold, hydrocarbons, Avian Flu, pollen, and other airborne particles.

We have an entire section of information and choices for someone in need of a protective mask. Check out these masks that we still have available.