Health Topics A-Z

How Can I Prevent Allergies?

Respiratory allergies: Consider buying a large and quiet high-efficiency (HEPA) air cleaner for your bedroom to help remove airborne allergens; use an air conditioner in your home and car during warm seasons to keep pollen out and reduce indoor humidity (which encourages the growth of molds, mites, and roaches); if you can't fix the water leak, regularly clean damp areas with a dilute bleach solution to kill molds; always run the exhaust fans when showering and cooking; verify that your clothes dryer is vented to the outside. If you have become sensitized to dogs or cats, try to find them a new home; otherwise try to keep them outside as much as possible (and certainly out of your bedroom).

Food allergies: Instead of dairy products, try tofu-based foods. Always check food labels for additives that are known allergens, such as yellow food dye No. 5, "natural" red dye and gum arabic. When eliminating foods from your diet, be sure to find alternate sources of nutrients. For example, if you cannot eat dairy foods, choose other foods high in calcium or take calcium tablets.