Gill South: Don't let the bed bugs bite

It may be necessary to look past food as the culprit to a new season of allergies. Photo / Thinkstock

Winter aches are not always related to diet. Instead, look in your bedroom for the culprit, writes Gill South.

What a difference a conversation with a sensible expert makes. I was contemplating going on one of those grim gluten-free diets after various readers of this column suggested the first thing I should do was go off pasta, rice, bread, grains, etc.

But I love my curries and my Vogel's toast and, let's face it, my cake, so I wasn't too happy about this. Also, my response to this well-meant advice is that I don't suffer from the aches in summer. Surely I would if it were a food allergy, because I eat like this all year round?

This week, in a bid to avoid going off my favourite foods, I had a swift but meaningful chat with Dr Vincent Crump from the Auckland Allergy Clinic. What a wonderful, no-nonsense chap. I explained my predicament and in a matter of seconds he had me sorted. He says a lot of people are diagnosing themselves and putting themselves on stringent food diets. In other words: "Don't you be another Charlie."

His point was, the winter aches are far more likely to be due to an allergy to dust mites rather than to a food group. And it all came rushing back. A few years ago I had some blood tests done to check allergies and it came back positive on dust mites.

Dust mites are apparently spider-like creatures, invisible to the human eye, which live on dead skin. If you wake up suffering from asthma or allergic rhinitis (hayfever to you and me) you may have a dust mite allergy.

Dust mites love winter, they snuggle up in your bed and when you take out your favourite woolly jumpers for the season, they come along with them. Dr Crump advises me next winter to wash all clothes that have been sitting in a box over summer in hot water and get rid of those varmints at the beginning of the season.

He suggested I contact the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation about protective mattress covers. I immediately did this and was put on to Air Flow Products (air-flow.co.nz). They produce cotton and polyester mattress covers, starting from $100 for a double bed-size polyester cover. Air Flow recommended a cotton cover for my pillows, and for my husband's at some stage, because the dust mites will leap from pillow to pillow. Nice.

Dr Crump says Nasal sprays can also help dust mite allergy symptoms, but I like the practical solution of the mattress and pillow covers, so I'll see how that goes first.

Air Flow also recommended washing duvet covers in hot water, preferably weekly. That'll teach me for being a slovenly housekeeper. And the best place to dry it is on the line in the hot, dry sun.

Roll on summer ...

Next week

I have begun to have allergic reactions to certain red wines and to gin and tonic. Is this the end of my cosy summer relationship with the clear citrus drink? When my 3-year-old was asked a few years ago what a lemon was, he answered: "Gin and tonic!"Need I say more?