Page 63 - Municipality Magazine

WELLBEING
Issue No. 526 - 2021 - Ras Al Khaimah Municipality Magazine

Preventive Strategies:
Wash all bedding and blankets once a week in hot water
and get rid of all types of fabric that mites love and that you
cannot easily wash regularly in hot water,
Cover mattresses and pillows in zippered dust-proof cov-
ers. These covers are made of a material with pores too
small to let dust mites and their waste product through,
Avoid wall-to-wall carpeting, curtains and upholstered
furniture,
Put roll-type shades on your windows instead of curtains,
Keep the humidity in your home less than 50 percent,
Wear a mask while vacuuming.
Molds are fungi that can be found both indoors and out-
doors, Molds grow best in warm, damp, and humid condi-
tions, and spread and reproduce by making spores
Most outdoor molds become inactive during the winter.
In the spring they grow on plants killed by the cold. In- In people who are sensitive to these proteins,
doors, fungi grow in damp areas. They can often be found touching or inhaling animal allergens causes the
in the bathroom, kitchen or basement. immune system to overreact and release chemical
called histamine, leading to an allergic reaction.
you can reduce your exposure to pets allergens
by Remove from home if possible or at least out of
bedrooms and confined to areas without carpets or
upholstered furniture, bathe pets weekly to reduce
the amount of allergens and wash hands and clean
clothes after prolonged exposure with an animal to
remove pet allergens.
A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune
system sees a certain food as harmful and reacts by
causing allergic symptoms.
The most common food that cause allergy
are these eight foods:, Milk, Eggm Peanutm Tree
Nut, Soy, Wheat, Fish, Shellfish (crustaceans)

If you suspect that certain foods are asthma trigger for
you, discuss this with your doctor, you should not come
Reduce Your Exposure to Mold Spores Outside by Limit-
ing your outdoor activities when mold counts are high and into contact with the food you are allergic to. Therefore, it
wearing a dust mask when cutting grass, digging around is important to always read food labels.
plants, picking up leaves and disturbing other plant materials.

Reduce Your Exposure to Mold Spores Inside by:
Use central air conditioning with a HEPA filter attach- About the author:
ment. This can help trap mold spores from your entire Dr. Dania Chawki Ka-
home. mal, Pharmacist gradu-
If you have to use a humidifier, clean the fluid reservoir ated from Dubai Pharmacy
at least twice a week to prevent mold growth. Air condi- College, worked as health
tioners and dehumidifiers can also be a source of mold. coach mainly for asthma
Pay close attention to mold in bathrooms, basements and
laundry areas by maintaining all surfaces dry and reducing and diabetes disease, al-
dampness. ways seeks to increase
Animals and pets: The allergens in animals are public health awareness
actually proteins found in their flakes of skin (dan- and to implant healthy life-
der) and are harmless for most people. style changes in society.

20 munrakae