National Allergy Supply

Full review
Full Disclosure--I am a Board Certified Allergist in private practice in Texas.

This is one of 3 or 4 top quality Allergy Supply places where I refer my own patients. Additionally, I purchase items here for my own home, as my wife and child both have allergies. Let's say you're allergic to dust mites. Your allergist will probably recommend encasing your pillows and mattress in allergy impermeable covers. Sure, you can buy "allergy proof covers" at Wal Mart, but you get what you pay for. The old fashioned covers were basically plastic on one side, and fabric on the other. They crinkled and crackled all night long, and felt hot! Most of my patients would rather suffer with allergies than keep them on their bed. Nowadays, places like National Allergy, Mission Allergy and Allergy Control have pure cotton covers where the cotton is woven so tightly that dust mite allergen can't get through. Notice I said dust mite allergen; not dust mites. Dust mites are relatively huge creatures. They are 300 microns in size(about 1/3 of a millimeter)--dust mite antigen is actually the fecal waste product from the dust mite--it's about 10 or 15 microns. That's tiny, but the covers that National Allergy sells are woven tightly enough that the allergen won't come through. Don't forget to do the "free" stuff to avoid dust mites, too. Make sure to wash your sheets in hot water. Wet heat kills dust mites (God, I hope the People for the Ethical Treatment of Dust Mites don't read this review). Also, keep the humidity of your home as low as you can tolerate it without giving yourself a nosebleed or dry skin. Dust mites thrive in high humidity, so don't do them any favors. Lastly, get rid of your bedroom carpet if you can. No vacuum can remove dust mites from carpeting...it's best to have a washable surface like wood or tile. See the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology's web site for more info www.aaaai.org , or see my web site for a more lighthearted approach www.allergyclinic.com

That's a lot of information about dust mites, but keep in mind that for allergen avoidance, more intervention is available for dust mites than for pollen, for instance. Still, there's not much you can buy to avoid grass pollen. As allergists, we will say, 1) Don't cut the grass yourself; if you do, buy one of the fancy 3M masks they sell on the site (enter keyword 'mask' on the search tool)--2) Avoid being around fresh cut grass. If you are out and about during grass season (March thru July in Texas), consider changing your clothes when you get home. Put them in a covered hamper till you wash them since they're covered with pollen. Consider washing your hair when you return home from a day at the park. Otherwise you might be spending the night with "Texas Big Hair" full of pollen--3)HEPA filters sold by National Allergy and other vendors are pretty good at filtering allergens that remain airborne long enough to be filtered. Grass allergen is carried on small particles that ARE small enough to be filtered, so I DO recommend HEPA filters as a component in allergen avoidance for my patients allergic to grass. Notice that I said "a component", and not "the panacea". The problem with any and all avoidance devices is that they can only do so much. Often, we need a combination of many tools to effect the desired decrease in allergy symptoms.

What about Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Filters?? Well they are air cleaners, but no study to date has proven that they are effective in decreasing a patient's symptoms. Or a patient's medication needs. Read my full comments on the bottom left hand part of the page here:
http://allergyclinic.com/_wsn/page12.html