I was diagnosed with a dust mite allergy as well as many others (trees, grass, mold, mildew, etc) and my allergist handed me a printout with instructions and then threw back his head and laughed. It's completely impractical to do what is suggested for dust allergies (especially at the time, when I was a new first-time mother as well as worked full time outside the home) and he knew it.
I did allergy shots. That provided almost 100% relief. I was down to once a month shots and then got off schedule and didn't go back. These days, I use a nasal steroid during high pollen season and sometimes also Claritin (Zyrtec didn't work well for me), and the rest of the year I don't need anything.
The usual strategy is to keep one's bedroom as dust free as possible, since that is where one spends the majority of time at home. Damp mopping my bedroom every night? Not going to happen. I do not have my mattresses or pillows incased in anything, and I do have carpet, but I don't air dry any washables and I don't have house plants. And if I have been outside for any length of time I make sure I wash my hair before bed.
Of course, in true "mom" fashion, I would probably put forth much more effort if it were one of my kids instead of me.
So I guess you could say that for the most part, I cope by just living my life as usual, with medications. I could make it a full time job keeping just my bedroom dust free but I honestly don't want to make that my priority, know what I mean?
I'm sure you've already read that pet dander makes up a significant portion of dust. Not sure if you have pets.
Good luck, whatever you choose (or not!) to do.
Lol - I'm severely allergic to the entire arm prick panel, and ds12 and ds8 are almost as bad as I am. We take allergy medication year-round, have a box of tissues in every room (except the dining room), and I really should get them shots (I got them for about 10 years when I was a kid). As long as there isn't a cat in the house, we survive. Sure, I need to blow my nose every 15 minutes, but I'm used to it. Just carry tissues.
