How I Avoid Those Pesky Dust Mites And Have My Hobby

Have allergic asthma like me? Then there’s a good probability you’re allergic to dust mites like me. Those little critters live among the dust in your home. And they so happen to be one of the most prevalent allergens inside homes. They are hard, almost impossible, to avoid. Here’s how I do it.

Dust mites

Sigh!

How do you avoid thee?

The answer: It’s not easy. You can have the cleanest house in the world, and dust mites will still find there way in. They feed on flakes of human skin. So, basically, anything touched by humans can become infected by these little critters.

Sad, they even cover my old baseball cards. I love my cards. So, in order to handle them, I took all my favorite cards and put them in top loaders.

Of course, in the process of doing this, I felt symptoms. But, it was worth it. Today, I can handle those cards any time I want without having to inhale mites. The rest of my favorite cards got put into plastic sheets in three-ring-binders.

I do avoid stored boxes like the plague

Well, I kind of lied there. I love to look through old boxes. I love history. Like, I love looking through old pictures and papers and stuff. About a month ago I was cleaning my house and I came across a box. I opened it to see what was inside. It was papers from when I was a kid. I took my time going through them. As you might imagine, this backfired. My asthma flared up.

So, I’m reminded, for the 350th time, I need to be careful with such things. But, it didn’t stop me. Last weekend I visited mom’s house. I was looking through an antique cabinet. The cabinet has lots of drawers. In one drawer were old stamps. I remembered the episode from a month earlier. But, it wasn’t enough to satiate my curiosity. Instead, I decided to work quickly.

My curiosity was rewarded. I shuffled through the old stamps, and at the bottom of the drawer was a yellowed envelope. It was to my grandpa who died in 1970. The letter was written in Polish. Mom said it was from his sister in Poland. Cool!

My allergies don’t stop me from enjoying life

That sentence is very true. But, I have learned to be careful. And, it does slow me down quite a bit. Like, I could look through that box of stamps all in one day. But, considering my dust mite allergy, it will take me days, and maybe even weeks or months.

But, once I get things sorted out, I’m done. My baseball cards are stored in plastic sheets. I do the same with my old papers. They are also stored in plastic sheets and put in three-ring-binders. If I want to see them, I can do so without inhaling dust mites.

Trust me, this really does help. You can enjoy your family history without the sniffles, sneezes, and wheezes. You can enjoy your old baseball cards. You can enjoy fill in the blank.