A bit about me…

Greetings, gentle reader! 

My name is Ilene and I am a mother of 3 boys (David – 18, Mark – 14 and Steven – 14).  In answer to your next question, YES, Mark & Steven are twins – the fraternal kind.  So fraternal, in fact, that if you didn’t know they were brothers, you’d swear they weren’t related!

I grew up in NYC as an only child of devoted parents. Unfortunately for me, airborn pollutants effected me in such a way that I developed allergies to many things once I attended grade school.  At first it was only seasonal; pollen of almost any sort sent me into a sneezing fit.  Then, when I went to the house of a friend that had just adopted a new kitten, and, pursuant to my petting and handling the little darling furry thing, my eyes became sol red and swollen that I could barely see!  Add a cat allergy to that list! At that time, allergy testing was costly and allergy shots were thought by my pediatrician to be of limited effect.  So environment control and sleeping-inducing antihistamines were the rule of thumb.

                                             

When I got older and moved out on my own, I found that dust and mold were allergens I had to be wary of as well.  It was at this point that I developed Asthma, which gradually got worse over the years.  I went to an allergist who verified what I was allergic to; he gave me non-drowsy prescription antihistamine and an albuterol inhaler to treat asthma flair ups.  And, oh yes, I received allergy shots for a number of years! My asthma worsened eventually to where I needed a cortico-steroid in order to reduce the number of my asthma flare-ups.

That was years ago. Nowadays I take a daily 24-hour antihistamine and am totally off of all asthma medication.  No, I didn’t move to a dryer climate and I’m not writing this post from the inside of a sealed bubble!  I also have 2 guinea pigs and a dog – without any allergy symptoms.  That doesn’t mean that I never touch my pets – I hug and cuddle them all the time.

I don’t have any miracle cure to sell you either. I owe this success to the change in my frame of mind more than anything else.  Allergies and asthma, it seemed to me, was linked to my state of mind.  If I was worried or anxious, allergies and asthma effected me more.  If I was calm and focused, fewer situations triggered allergic or asthmatic responses.

I found lots of things I could (and couldn’t) do on a regular basis, seemingly regardless of what state of mind I was in – VACUUM the carpets! Now let’s get this straight – I am not, and never will be Suzy Homemaker.  I dislike household chores with a passion! Let’s hear it for cleaning services! A regular vacuum, upright or cannister, with a paper bag that collects the dirt for you, pulls in dirt by sucking air in with it. The air sucked in helps to deposit the dirt in the bag and then “breathes” out through the bag and back into the room again. One would hope that would mean that such air was clean; it was full of nasty dust particles and dust mite dander all ready to help me on the way to sever asthma attacks!

I’m a consumer, just like you are.  I’m interested in spending my hard-earned money in the most effective way possible with as little waste of it as I can manage. So I invented this Blog – to help consumers with their choices when it comes to allergies and vacuum cleaners!

I remain

Yours Truly,

Ilene L. Kramer