Hi all,

Ever since giving up smoking a year ago, my girlfriend's asthma has flarred up a bit. Normally she is fine but occasionally she will wake up several times in the night, coughing and weezing. She went for an allergy check and it turns out she is allergic to dust mites. Trouble is we are having trouble keeping this allergy in check and on the odd occasion she will have a bad night where due to the coughing/asthma attacks she will only get about 3/4 hours sleep (and that means I only get 3/4 hours sleep too :p).

I was reading some of the advice given and a lot of these seem quite impractical to be able to do (vacuum every day, air bed clothes outside everyday). Some of the advice I could follow though is to either get an air purifier or get some anti-allergy bed covers.

I was wondering which one people would recommend as the best way to go. Both solutions are quite expensive (£50 for a good air filter, £120 for a complete set of anti-allergy bed clothes) so I can really only afford to go for one of them.

Any advice is appreciated,

One very tired member...

Do both, get a good air system, and also get the bed protectors, actually I guess I am in a preachy mood, the bed protector should have been first on the doctors list to do the next day after she was told she has it.

I have environmental allergies - many of them - and I had to bte the bullet and invest in a GOOD air purifier, do all the cleaning (yes, every day), do every recommended and take the allergy shots. That started in 1992 and here it is, 2006, and I have yet to have a serious health issue with my allergies since. I suffer from the seasonal hay fever/pollen type things but over the counter meds take care of that and no misery. It was worth all the effort.

Cleaning the sheets for the bed weekly. Also you can get a plastic cover for the mattress which will protect her from the dust mites. I have asthma and have severe allergies to certain things. Have they given her anything like clariton for relief. You only take one pill and it will help ease the reaction.

Joe