5 Tips for Coping With Dust Mite Allergies Naturally

I'm allergic to a lot of things: grass, weeds, trees, mold, cats...but I think my allergy to dust mites affects me the most. Everything else is either seasonable or mostly avoidable, but there's always always always dust floating around everywhere. Here are the strategies that have helped me cope with my dust mite allergy--naturally and without medication!

Get Rid of as Much Carpet as Possible

This isn't going to be feasible for everyone, at least not right away. Growing up the house I lived in was mostly carpeted and so was the apartment where my husband and I lived when we first got married. When we moved into our current house, which is exclusively hardwood or tile on the main floor, with carpet tiles in the basement, I could not believe the difference it made with my allergies. I would definitely recommend either choosing a home with very little carpet or trying to replace your existing carpet with hard flooring if you have dust mite allergies.

Use Allergy Covers!

image via katyrennerforeverlivingproducts.blogspot.com

We spend around a third of our time sleeping. And our mattresses, pillows, and comforters provide a great breeding ground for dust mites. (They like warm, moist environments and they feed on dead skin among other things--ew!) There are a couple of things you can do to help with this problem. One is to replace your comforter with blankets and wash your blankets and sheets often in hot water. The other is to purchase good-quality allergy covers for your mattress, pillows, and comforter. 

I use blankets year-round and an extra comforter with an allergy cover on it in the winter when I can't stay warm without it. Altogether, I have covers on my mattress, pillows, comforter, and body pillows. I can tell a difference in one or two nights when I'm away from home and sleeping somewhere without these covers--they really do help!

The ones I use are from Mission: Allergy. I've had my mattress cover and standard pillow covers for probably 12-15 years now and they're still in fantastic shape. When I recently needed to start using body pillows to sleep comfortably while pregnant, my mom was nice enough to purchase covers for those as well. What I love about Mission:Allergy's products is that they're very soft on the outside, just like regular sheets. They make absolutely no rustling sounds. They wash well and hold up beautifully. They're definitely worth the investment! (Note: Mission: Allergy has no idea who I am, I just really like their products.) 

Dust and Vacuum Regularly

Obviously you should do this anyway, but it's absolutely vital if you have a dust mite allergy. And again, because we spend so much time sleeping, I think it's especially important to keep your bedroom as dust-free as possible. I made a decision when we moved into our house to forego using the storage space under our bed so that I could easily vacuum under it and avoid giving dust bunnies and mites a place to live. If you must use the space under your bed for storage, try to use plastic containers and pull them out regularly to vacuum and clean under there.

Change Your Furnace Filter Regularly

Again, this is something you should do anyway, but I think it's even more important when you're dealing with allergies. My husband is really good about checking our filters regularly and changing them out when they get dirty. Sometimes I can actually tell he's changed them just by how I feel!

Use a Neti-Pot

Neti-Pots are a great way to deal with any kind of allergy or cold in a natural way. You can purchase them at Wal-Mart, Target, and other local stores pretty easily now and they even sell pre-mixed packets for making a solution that won't sting your sinuses. (I use this Neti-Pots and these packets.) Because I follow all of my tips from above, I generally only need to do this when seasonal allergies are affecting me or when I get a cold. Make sure you read and follow the directions in the instructions carefully and only use distilled or filtered water, never tap!

Conclusions

Thanks to these strategies for coping with my dust mite allergies, the only times I really suffer are for a few weeks here and there when my seasonal allergies kick up. And then I use my neti-pot and I can usually tough it out pretty well. I took allergy medications for years and never would have believed I could go for years without them--and I actually feel so much better now than I did while I was taking them. I hope these tips are helpful to you as well!

Anybody else out there suffer from allergies? I'd love to hear any tips you have for coping with them!

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this blog post is not intended to be medical advice. You should always consult your physician or a medical professional before starting or stopping any medication or course of treatment.