Our Bedroom Redesign | Allergen-Friendly

This post is in regards to my ongoing adaptation to life with asthma and an attempt to rid myself of dependency on steroid inhalers. I speak more about my journey with asthma here.

It’s been a few months since my trip to the allergist and pulmonologist. And if you know me, you know that I don’t like being dependent on medicine, at all. But given the pandemic we are in right now, and the fact that it is a respiratory virus, I am not messing around. So while my lungs are still acting up, I am on 4 puffs of my inhaler a day. And since were home, I’ve been granted ample time to research how I can improve my current situation.

Rewinding a bit, there were a few recommendations that my allergist made a few months back that I haven’t implemented yet — like protecting my bedroom from dust mites (sounds gross, I know). Dust mites were one of two things I was pretty allergic to, ragweed being the other. So in attempts to keep allergens as low as possible in my home, I’d invested in an air purifier and found reason to bring even more plants into our home (great indoor air purifiers), but I had yet to address the easily overlooked area that was causing me problems— pillows and blankets.

It had become pretty apparent to me that any time I curled up onto the couch or in bed with blankets, I started coughing. And, as I said before, it was the bedroom that my doctor had put the most emphasis on improving. So rather than continuing to drag my feet about it, I took it as an opportunity to bring in some sustainable and non-toxic items to the bedroom.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I started researching and stumbled across the information that I needed. Who knew that pillows should be replaced every two years? Not me. I also learned that there are certain materials that harbor dust mites better, and for someone who is pretty allergic, it would be the smart choice for me to avoid the materials that they like. Preferred materials are latex, wool, hemp, cotton and kapok.

Parachute Home

I purchased the Cloud Cotton Quilt to replace my ever-so-dreamy down comforter. Given I really only seem to have reactions at night, when I am surrounded by feathery things, coupled with some articles about fungal and dust mites propensity to feathers, I decided to be done all together. Cotton seemed to be a more breathable material for me.

Avocado Green Mattress

I purchased their Avocado Green Pillow — which is made from organic latex, kapok and cotton.

Sustainability was pretty important to me while on this search. The more I bring into my home, the more I consider how it will eventually leave my home. Is it compostable? Is it easy to dispose of? Can I easily clean it? Can I repair it, if needed? The Avocado Green Pillow checked off a lot of these boxes for me, along with being an allergen and earth-friendly pillow.

I’ve been pretty interested and committed to keeping my house as ‘clean’ (low-tox) as possible over the years. I’ve switched out cleaning products, laundry detergent, our food, etc. Never once did I think about what I rested my head on each night and what I could potentially be breathing in — which is especially important for someone dealing with asthma, like me.

I’m currently still looking into some bed and pillow covers but, as an update, I can personally say that the Parachute quilt is very comfortable. The pillows haven’t come in yet, but with COVID-19, I have no idea when they will and I wanted to post my bedding now, because, well, it’s really comfortable and pretty.

I am really hoping that I will see some differences here over the next few weeks as we enter allergy season and I wean myself off of my inhaler, once again.

Stay safe and comfortable friends XO

Why I Went Low-Tox

I could take this story in many different directions because I don’t think one persons journey is ever very straight. I fell into the ‘non-toxic’ and natural world a few years back, when I was attempting to regain consistency with my period after years of absent or irregular cycles. It was during that challenge that I learned a lot. I really had no idea how my hormones could be affected by my environment, but I was open to learning.

There are so many reasons for hormonal imbalance in women, which is part of the reason it can be so challenging to overcome. But I was determined to find answers and began experimenting on myself. The more I learned, the more I realized that what I was putting on my body mattered just as much as what I was putting in my body. I was shocked to learn that many of the products I used daily contained endocrine disruptors, some of the biggest culprits you may be familiar with — triclosan, parabens, BPA, fragrance and phthalates. Endocrine disruptors function in a way that can interfere with the body’s natural hormones, which can often lead to over or underproduction while also interfering with production, release and elimination of the body’s natural hormones. And when you are trying to regulate your own hormones, you really don’t want anything unnecessary messing with them — especially when it is 100% avoidable.

Many of these ingredients are added to products, not for therapeutic or personal benefits, but rather to contribute to some of the ‘consumer traits’ we typically look for. For example, SLS is added to soaps as a foaming agent. Phalates are added to products to improve their consistency. Petroleum is added as a moisturizer. I don’t know about you, but if I were making a moisturizer at home, I definitely wouldn’t feel inclined to head on down to the gas station to stock up on DIY ingredients. The moral of the story being, we need to take ownership of what we bring into our homes because the FDA does not require safety testing nor do they require approvals before products hit the shelves. What’s important to remember here is that our skin is absorptive — meaning, whatever we put on it will most likely get absorbed into our bloodstream, very quickly. And if I wanted to bring my body back to balance, an overwhelming amount of chemicals getting absorbed into my bloodstream would not be helpful.

So I needed to detox. I switched the things that were the easiest to change first. I re-evaluated my laundry detergent, my body wash, shampoo and conditioner, lotions, sunscreen. Pretty much anything that came into direct contact with my skin. I also thought about the things I was breathing in— so household cleaners, candles, air fresheners. This may sound overwhelming, but when you don’t feel good and you have a lot on the table (hormones are no joke), it really doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice.

I find it nearly impossible to pinpoint my success in regulating my hormones to a specific change or a specific habit. It’s all cumulative. The more you begin to change, the quicker your body will begin to heal. I certainly cannot credit non-toxic living solely to balanced hormones, but it definitely played a role. And I’m still not perfect. But I don’t think that should be the goal. It’s unreasonable and it prevents you from making any changes at all if you believe it’s too much to tackle all at once. It’s baby steps, all the way, until you realize all of your baby steps led you miles and miles down the road.

And speaking from my current state of being, I’ve recently found another reason to re-evaluate my home and the products I use within it. In September, I landed myself in the hospital after having some rather severe asthma attacks. While the experience left me feeling incredibly grateful to be breathing, I couldn’t help but wonder what caused this reaction in the first place.

After getting allergy tested this year, I can be pretty sure that the asthma was triggered by ragweed, which I am allergic to. My second highest allergen was dust mites. And while both of these things are pretty hard to avoid, I at least feel inspired to figure out how to lower my allergic or asthmatic threshold. I have a lot to learn in this area, but I know that breathing in inflammatory chemicals should be the first things to go. So back to investigator status I go— trying to determine anything and everything in my home that could be causing inflammation in my lungs.

Here are a few quick facts related to asthma…

• Companies do not need to list their fragrance ingredients in the label

• 12,500 ingredients fall under the umbrella called “fragrance” on a label

• Fragrance are common triggers of asthma, migraines, allergies and sinus problems

• Fragrance can be found in our every day products such as perfume, cleaners, candles, body wash

These changes can happen as fast or as slow as you want them to. I am personally a slow learner, but I try to always make progress and move in a forward direction.

The good news is that time will be moving anyways, so we might as well make some good use out of it and just start.

I choose to see setbacks as an opportunity to learn. I’d much rather feel empowered to learn and make changes than to feel like I have no control over my situation. Maybe this speaks to my controlling tendencies (lol), but it’s the truth. I’d much rather experiment to see if it makes a difference than never know.

Disclaimer: it made a difference.