So, for the last month, Selam has been sniffling and coughing every night. She snores like crazy, and her voice is all nasal. I thought she had a cold.
Then I noticed that this really only happened when she went to bed. She was fine all day. She was fine in the evening. It was really only when she was sleeping.
So then I thought she had asthma.
Then the plot thickened. She is sniffly and coughing only in HER bed at night. When she crawls into bed with me (it’s getting later and later, but it still happens), the sniffling, snoring and coughing go away.
I think she’s allergic to dust.
And more specifically, I think she’s allergic to the dust mites being carried in her nearly 20 year old mattress.
It’s not as bad as it sounds. I got the mattress 18 years ago to use as a guest bed in a small bedroom. So it’s only been used for real for 3 years, and is in excellent shape.
Except I suspect that since it was relatively unused in a relatively unused and seldom dusted room, full of books, the dust mites are covering roughly 80% of the bed.
I could be wrong. Tell me I’m wrong. Please tell me I’m wrong.
I can’t swing a new mattress right now. First of all, financially, it’s Christmas, not a good time for purchases. Second, I haven’t figured out what I want to do with her room in the long run, bed-wise. It would be handy to have a double bed in there, but the only way that can happen is to take out the glider chair, and we still use that every single night. While that’s handy for when guests come, guests come approximately 4 nights a year, so probable not worth losing a much loved night-time tradition. A trundle bed would be ideal, but I haven’t found one that has a low enough profile to work with the windows in her room. (she has two enormous windows.) So basically, it’s not a good time to make a decision or afford a decision on a new mattress. I guess I could decide I definitely want a trundle bed, and buy just the mattress for now, but I still can’t see swinging that until February.
So, in the meantime, what works? I’m going to wash all her bedding in the hottest water possible, though I really doubt it’s the bedding. Do those zip around mattress covers really work? Is there a good chance that I’m wrong? Please tell me I’m wrong.
theskyislaughing 
I was allergic to dust mites as a kid. The zip-around mattress covers worked for me, and we now use them on my own kids’ beds. I would vacuum the mattress and box springs first (and steam clean it if you have one or can borrow one), then put the cover on. It’s definitely worth a try before investing a new mattress, in my opinion.
The zip around mattress covers DO work. Try to get a soft one so it doesn’t make noise. Or cover it with a regular mattress pad.
And use an anti-histamine. Zyrtec is the one my allergy doc recommends for my kids (you can get a generic.) At bedtime, benedryl is also a good option.
Washing her pillow can help, too. But they get all fluffed up in the dryer, so you and Selam might have to pounce on it to get it back down!
Yes – go with the zip around mattress covers. You can also try a plastic sheet – and put a new mattress pad over that.
Yep. Not to worry, the zip covers and steam cleaning really helped in my case. An inexpensive steam cleaner works as well as the other kind.
okay, well so far, I bought a good zip cover for her mattress and a cheapy for the box spring. When I took off her bedding (it’s going in to the wash as soon as Apt. 3C moves on), I realized taht she already had a cheapy zip around on her bed and that it was torn to smithereens. I suspect that the cheapy was helping her until it was trashed, and then it didn’t. And by trashed, I mean really, really trashed. We’ll see. If Apt. 3C gets done in time, I’ll try to wash all her sleeping stuffies too. She doesn’t use a pillow, just a pillow pet–which I will wash.
Don’t feel guilty for not getting a new mattress. Within two minutes of purchase, the new ones have dust mites as well. That’s just science.
i am very allergic to dust mites that is why i take antihistamines all the time.”
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