Miele has upgraded one our top selling vacuums to make it even more attractive to vacuum cleaner fans. The immensely popular Miele Callisto canister vacuum has received an upgraded power brush.

The Callisto now comes with the new SEB-228 Electro Plus. The Electro Plus is a more powerful brush that is recommended for use on medium pile carpeting and some high pile carpeting. The Miele Callisto still comes with the SBB-300 Parquet Twister, so it also works great on area rugs and all smooth flooring.

The new Miele Electro Plus (SEB-228) features:

• Automatic brush shut-off in the event of blockage to prevent damage
• A 5-step height adjustment for a variety of carpet types and densities
• A 14” power brush width for a maximum cleaning radius

The upgraded Miele Callisto is heavier and has a wider cleaning radius. This should make the vacuum better at handling carpeting. There is no headlight or protective bumper on the Electro Plus.

No one can argue that a good night's sleep is paramount to good health and feeling good. As any allergy sufferer knows, nights plagued by sneezing, itchy eyes, and a stuffy nose are anything but restful.

While allergy relief bedding goes a long way in helping to alleviate the disturbed sleep caused by allergies, what many don't know is that what's beneath the bedding could be causing problems as well.

Mattresses actually may contain components that make it hard for some people to get a good night's sleep - and may even be making some people sick. Allergy sufferers are often sensitive to chemicals, and some may experience a condition known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (which can affect non-allergic individuals as well). Typical mattresses contain many synthetic materials and chemicals, such as fire retardants, that are toxic.

Enter Royal-Pedic Mattresses, custom-made the old fashioned way out of the finest natural ingredients, including natural latex and lamb's wool, which act as dust mite repellants. Not only are Royal-Pedic mattresses hypoallergenic, but they also offer superior orthopedic support.

Organic Mattresses are also an excellent choice for those with allergies or Multiple Chemical Sensitivities - or anyone who desires a safe, non-toxic bed. Free of chemicals, synthetic fabrics, and other potentially harmful materials present in mainstream mattresses, our NAOMI (National Association of Organic Mattress Industry)-compliant organic mattresses are sure to give you countless nights of healthy, comfortable sleep.

Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjorgen, who won the bronze medal in the women's 10-kilometer race this week, has something in common with a surprising number of people – she has exercise-induced asthma. As far as Olympians go, CNN.com reports, half of cross-country skiers and a quarter of aspiring Olympic athletes in general have exercise-induced asthma, according to a 2000 study of 170 athletes conducted by the United States Olympic Committee.

But exercise-induced asthma isn't triggered only by such extreme athleticism. Any exercise in cold weather can trigger an asthma attack. As Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City puts it, "Any [exercise] outdoors on a mountaintop is a culprit, but just jogging in Central Park will do it as well.

Why does the combination of cold air and exercise trigger attacks? "Both cold air and exercise in and of themselves can trigger asthma symptoms, but doing them together is more likely to trigger an exacerbation," explains Dr. Thomas M. Leath, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Dr. Horovitz adds, "The evaporative loss and cooling of the airways triggers the process of bronchial constriction. One sport you don't see exercise-induced asthma in so much is swimming. The humidity at water level is such that there isn't as much evaporation as in running or winter sports."

Exercise-induced asthma is characterized by bronchospams, which cause the victim to wheeze and have chest tightness, among other symptoms. The symptoms usually begin several minutes after exercise begins, but may start as late as after the exercise routine is completed. Though it's clear that brochospasms are responsible for the onset of exercise-induced asthma, it isn't certain why they occur. Some believe that increased blood flow caused by exertion forces the blood vessels in the airways to expand, leading to airway constriction. Others think that cold air activates inflammatory cells in the airways.

Fortunately, as many famous athletes have demonstrated, exercise-induced asthma doesn't have to slow you down. Bronchodilators, administered through inhalers, are effective at fighting symptoms by relaxing the muscles that line the airways to the lungs. Aside from inhalers, warming up for a few minutes before getting into full exercise mode, breathing through your nose, or wearing a scarf or mask around your mouth can go a long way in preventing symptoms.

For more information about asthma and cold weather, see our article Coping With Asthma During Winter.

Save 20% on all bedding during our annual "Winter White" sale! We do this every year during the month of February to give our loyal AchooAllergy.com fans the opportunity to purchase allergy bedding at a fraction of the normal cost.

The best part of this sale is that many of our most popular products rarely are on sale during the rest of the year. You have the opportunity to save on PrimaLoft bedding, Ogallala hypodown pillows, Royal-Pedic mattresses, and much more. You have less than three weeks to take advantage of this great opportunity.

We have all heard about how allergies are on the rise, but a new population-based study offers some insight into just how allergies and asthma develop during childhood. As reported by ScienceDaily, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found that 40 percent of nearly 5,000 two-year-olds had at least one allergy-related disorder.

Wheezing, the most common symptom, was reported in 26 percent of the children. However, it’s important to know that not all children who wheeze at the age of two will grow up with asthma. Ingeborg Smidesang, PhD candidate and primary author of the study, says, “One of the challenges here is that we don’t know which wheezers will develop asthma.”

The study is one of the first to demonstrate the scope of allergy-related problems in young children – a situation which parents of allergic children are all too familiar with. Smidesang points out, “If you think about something like moderate atopic eczema, which can involve quite a few doctor’s visits, and a lot of work on the part of the parents, it is quite a big deal.”

Published in an online version of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, the study also found that children may be receiving false positive diagnoses for allergies: One thousand of the 5,000 children in the study, or 21 percent, had been tested for allergies. Of these, about 60 percent had had a positive allergy test. However, the researchers’ sample showed that only 8 percent tested positive. Additionally, boys were more likely than girls to have an allergy-related disorder.

The study is part of a the Prevention of Allergy among Children in Trondheim (PACT), which began in 2000 to attempt to better understand how allergy-related symptoms develop in children as well as how effective various interventions, such as increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake, are.

With more research about allergies in children, we can only hope that one day we will understand not only how to treat them, but maybe even how to keep them from developing in the first place.