How to combat winter allergies

Winter months can be brutal for people sensitive to mold spores and dust mites, but help is at hand.

Dr. William Reisacher, director of The Allergy Center in the Department of Otolaryngology (head and neck surgery) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Dr. Rachel Miller, director of allergy and immunology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, have offered ten simple tricks to keep mold and dust mites at bay and make the winter months more bearable for indoor allergy sufferers:


1.Turn on the exhaust fan when showering or cooking to remove excess humidity and odours.

2. Clean your carpets with a HEPA vacuum to decrease dust mites and pet allergen levels.

3. Wash your hands after playing with the family pet and avoid touching your face to decrease exposure to common winter viruses.

4. Launder your bed linens and pajamas in hot water (above 130 degrees) to kill dust mites.

5. Treat your bedroom as the allergy "safe haven" of your home because this is where you may spend most of your time. Your bedroom should have the fewest allergy triggers so keep pets, carpets, rugs and plants out of this room to avoid dust mites and mold from decaying plants. You may also want to place an allergenic barrier around your pillows and mattress to create a barrier between dust mites and your nose.

6. Spray your live Christmas tree with a garden hose before setting it up and remove all dust from your holiday decorations.

7.Install high-efficiency furnace filters: they capture 30 times more allergens, and make sure your furnace fan is always on.

8. Keep your indoor humidity level between 30-40 percent, with the help of a humidifier or dehumidifier, to help prevent the growth of mold and mites.

9. Change the water and filters in your humidifier according to manufacturer recommendations to avoid contamination by mold and bacteria.

10. Perform an indoor and outdoor survey of the house every month to look for visible mold and identify areas that are at high-risk for mold formation, such as a pile of firewood close to the house or an area of the basement with a musty odor.