Have you just learned that someone in your family has an allergy? Or are you finally trying to make the home environment that you’ve always known will be better for you or your child’s allergies? These steps from Dr. Summit Shah will help you to create a safe and healthy space, no matter what kind of allergy you are dealing with.
Step One: Make Sure That Everyone Is On The Same Page
Many people share their homes with others. Do you live with a husband, wife, children, or roommates? The first step is to hold a meeting. This can be as informal as a chat at the dinner table, or as formal as a scheduled pow-wow.
Talk to your care providers before holding your meeting so that you know what exactly is on the table. Specific allergies will call for specific actions. A person who is allergic to eggs, for example, might have a reaction to even the slightest egg residue on a pan. Providers like Dr. Summit Shah are available to help with this step.
Be intentional about holding a meeting that will get everyone on-board with your plan for creating an allergy proof home. Everyone in your home has to understand why you are allergy proofing the home, and what that will look like. All members of the household should agree to follow the rules that you come up with as a team.
This might mean that your husband doesn’t get to bring eggs home from the market for his favorite breakfast dish. Instead, he can stop for a breakfast burrito on his way to work, or come up with an alternative to cook at home! These minor tweaks are worth it as you work towards creating an allergen-free space.
Step Two: Change It Up
The next step is to take action and make the changes you have discussed. This might mean purging the kitchen of all things with your allergen listed on the ingredients, or it could mean getting rid of old carpeting or curtains. Start clearing your space of anything and everything that triggers the allergies that you want to prevent.
Step Three: Buy The Equipment
Now that you’ve purged, purchase the resources that you need. If your allergens are environmental and you live in a hot location, you might need to pick up an air conditioner. This could be little things too, like buying egg-replacer for your baking projects, or a new kind of nut-butter for the kid’s sandwiches. Get the supplies that you need so that the changes you have made don’t feel like losses. Your home will be different, and could even be better.
Step Four: Maintain A Healthy Environment
The last step is to keep your space healthy. Once you have made the big and necessary changes, this might feel easy. If you’ve gotten rid of carpeting and curtains to cut down on dust or mold, be sure to regularly clean your new hardwood floors. Remind children to wash their hands every time they enter the house. Guard your space so that the allergy proofing you have done can pay off.