Is it possible to be allergic to potting mediums?

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

I have heard of ppl who have had cats when they were young, only to get a cat a few years later, and have developed an allergy to them. Allergies can change w/ age... I used to be lactose intolerant, and have grown out of it at this point... But, my allergies (reg. "hay fever" tree pollen/cut grass) have continued over from spring, they r just now settling down, w/ exception to my (ever-present) grass allergy.

Oh, I'm allergic to my cats. But it has been something that has just made my nose stuffy since I was a small kid. It's possible that my allergy to them has gotten worse...but they're like my children so I'd happily blow my nose and sneeze the rest of my life before I get rid of them. o_O; Also, if it grows on the eastern seaboard, I'm allergic to it. Grass, pine, moss, mold, dust, dust mites, cat fur, dog fur, oak trees, pine trees, pollen, etc., etc., etc....

I guess my mom didn't eat enough vitamins while I was in the womb, lol.

I'll just ultra vacuum my house and see if that fixes it.

[Discus]

Does your vacuum have a HEPA filter in it? If not, vacuuming may make things worse by sucking a whole ton of allergens into the air (and mopping, if your flooring is compatible may be better). I was eventually told that mowing the lawn should not be a thing I did when I was a teenager (I quite enjoyed it, aside from the after-effects, as we had a lawnmower we'd imported from the USA that basically dragged itself along so it was easy work).

You can also buy stand-alone HEPA filters that will "clean" the air in a room, but they can be pricey (but then so can sitting around taking antihistamines every day). It's probably worthwhile attempting to get your cats to stay out of your bedroom and filtering that.

You may also like to carefully check the property for mould growth - the spores are a bugger for allergies. The mould in a place my sister rented in Texas was so bad she was hospitalised with asthma as a result.

It's plausible that a growing medium could be allergenic, but the question is what is in fact causing the allergens to get into the air - sitting there in a pot is unlikely to do that (you'd need wind or some sort of physical disturbance). And if it were from handling, you'd expect it to decrease soon after you stopped being exposed.

I am also allergic to virtually any common airbourne allergen (including pets - I get contact dermatitis from handling rats (which we have as pets), for example [sometimes even after taking an antihistamine; I suspect it's something in their urine]) but have not noticed anything from my plant collection. I can't remember the details of my skin prick test from the 1980s, aside from that a large number of them were positive :/ I'm highly allergic to cats (technically, their most likely to their saliva) but that doesn't stop me burying my face in a soft, warm kitty when the opportunity arises though, and I rather like them as creatures. We don't have any cats in our apartment though.

I vaguely recall there being some kind of fungus that can be carried in sphagnum that can infect you. (see: sporotrichosis)

If you're really worried about allergies, an inorganic potting (like LECA) medium could be an option. The orchids themselves are unlikely to be the allergens. I doubt pollinia drop pollen everywhere, which is what most people who are allergic to "plants" are struggling with.

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

One of the hypotheses about allergies-to-everything are that modern parenting (and living) is "too clean". Kids need to eat more dirt and have more parasites so the immune system can attack things that are useful to attack rather than panicking about every dust mote it comes across. There are also researchers who suspect at least some autoimmune diseases have similar root causes. I distinctly remember my parents being very averse to "GERMS".

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------

see e.g. Helminthic therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hygiene hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by Discus

Does your vacuum have a HEPA filter in it? If not, vacuuming may make things worse by sucking a whole ton of allergens into the air (and mopping, if your flooring is compatible may be better). I was eventually told that mowing the lawn should not be a thing I did when I was a teenager (I quite enjoyed it, aside from the after-effects, as we had a lawnmower we'd imported from the USA that basically dragged itself along so it was easy work).

You can also buy stand-alone HEPA filters that will "clean" the air in a room, but they can be pricey (but then so can sitting around taking antihistamines every day). It's probably worthwhile attempting to get your cats to stay out of your bedroom and filtering that.

You may also like to carefully check the property for mould growth - the spores are a bugger for allergies. The mould in a place my sister rented in Texas was so bad she was hospitalised with asthma as a result.

It's plausible that a growing medium could be allergenic, but the question is what is in fact causing the allergens to get into the air - sitting there in a pot is unlikely to do that (you'd need wind or some sort of physical disturbance). And if it were from handling, you'd expect it to decrease soon after you stopped being exposed.

I am also allergic to virtually any common airbourne allergen (including pets - I get contact dermatitis from handling rats (which we have as pets), for example [sometimes even after taking an antihistamine; I suspect it's something in their urine]) but have not noticed anything from my plant collection. I can't remember the details of my skin prick test from the 1980s, aside from that a large number of them were positive :/ I'm highly allergic to cats (technically, their most likely to their saliva) but that doesn't stop me burying my face in a soft, warm kitty when the opportunity arises though, and I rather like them as creatures. We don't have any cats in our apartment though.

I vaguely recall there being some kind of fungus that can be carried in sphagnum that can infect you. (see: sporotrichosis)

If you're really worried about allergies, an inorganic potting (like LECA) medium could be an option. The orchids themselves are unlikely to be the allergens. I doubt pollinia drop pollen everywhere, which is what most people who are allergic to "plants" are struggling with.

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

One of the hypotheses about allergies-to-everything are that modern parenting is too clean. Kids need to eat more dirt and have more parasites so the immune system can attack things that are useful to attack rather than panicking about every dust mote it comes across. There are also researchers who suspect at least some autoimmune diseases have similar root causes. I distinctly remember my parents being very averse to "GERMS".

Our vacuum does have a HEPA filter, my fiance didn't hold back when he bought the thing, lol. It doesn't seem like the sphag disease thing, it's literally allergens. I sneeze a lot at work too, so it's either something that I'm carrying with me on my clothes (you know, like cat hair), or it's something that is in both locations.

Ironically, I was totally fine while I was working outside at archaeological digs, lol. It's only in the controlled environments of my home and office. I will be checking and triple checking for mold, as I have had to leave a place due to remediation (it's sooo humid and soooo wet here, it's a big problem), and our place was built in the 1960s so it's highly plausible that drainage is incorrect around the foundation.

I will dust, also, just to make sure. As for allergens being spread, we do have a ceiling fan in the primary living area and a box fan in the bedroom, but the guys with sphag are in the main living area. My fiance said he checked the air vents and didn't see anything and couldn't find anything on the filter that wasn't dirt, so...it may just be my hyper-shedding creatures. Fiance wants to give the cats a lion cut, but...when I stipulated that he had to be the one to drop them off and pick them up so they wouldn't hate me and only hate him, he chickened out.

[Discus]

Seeing as you live in a developed country, you should be able to find allergen forecasts, sometimes down to particular allergenic things (like tree or grass x or y); It's worth having a look so you can work out what it is; if it's "following you around", it's possibly something you're bringing with you, however, I think it's perhaps more plausible/likely to be something occurring over a wider area, like trees and grasses. If it's wind pollinated, it's the enemy.
I also refuse to buy oil made of oilseed rape (aka "Canola") - the pollen of that kills me, and I don't want to encourage more of it to be planted. I see a yellow field, I expect my face to explode - this seems unlikely being insect pollinated, but wind + yellow fields == sad panda :/
Obviously, just one person not buying the stuff won't help, but hey, that's about all I can do to influence it :/ Ragweed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is also horrid.

---------- Post added at 02:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------

try sticking your ZIP code into this site for instance Allergy Forecast for AUSTIN, TX (73344) | Pollen.com

[lornaheath]

I got it! I am really sorry to say.

I know you are using the vacuum for all you're worth.

I know you are questioning the Orchid Mix, the coconuts, the bark etc.

I know you are concerned with the dust, the vents etc.

I know you are considering the rain and the weather etc.

I know there could be mildew and spores attached to the pots.

Have you not thought of the obvious??

Could it be . . . . .



Maybe you are allergic to your Fiancée?

He has to go!!!! Yikes!


Lorna
x x x

[Discus]

If you're interested, have access to a microscope and can be bothered, you can probably try and ID what might be the causal agent(s) yourself by examining some sticky tape traps (leaving some bits of double sided sticky tape in a frame in a gentle breeze around your home/office will soon pick up all the little bits of crap in the air you may be allergic to).

Introduction to Pollen Analysis

If you then branch your archaeology out into palynology, you'll be ahead of the game.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by lornaheath

I got it! I am really sorry to say.

I know you are using the vacuum for all you're worth.

I know you are questioning the Orchid Mix, the coconuts, the bark etc.

I know you are concerned with the dust, the vents etc.

I know you are considering the rain and the weather etc.

I know there could be mildew and spores attached to the pots.

Have you not thought of the obvious??

Could it be . . . . .



Maybe you are allergic to your Fiancée?

He has to go!!!! Yikes!


Lorna
x x x

That could be! But since it just started over the last week, I doubt it. If I haven't run away from him and felt better yet, I suppose he's off the hook. Besides, it wouldn't follow me to work, he's a good hour and change away from me during the day. I think we're good.

[Discus]

Incidentally, it may be your cats following you to work... BBC News - Cat allergy research offers new clues

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by Discus

Incidentally, it may be your cats following you to work... BBC News - Cat allergy research offers new clues

Lol, it probably is the little critters. Especially since I'm still bothered by it at work. Even though it's on my clothes, there are 3,000 other people in this building that may or may not have cats as well.

It has been better over the last couple of days, so I am hoping that if I go nuts vacuuming this weekend I'll feel a little better.