The developed world is becoming hypersensitive to a variety of harmless foreign bodies such as pollen, mold, dust mite excretion and animal danders. At present 55% of Americans test positive for one or more allergies. Only 2% of this figure suffers from food allergies. The rest are allergies caused by the body wrongly producing antibodies to fight pollen etc. that in turn releases the chemical histamine that produces a swelling of the upper respiratory tract. The result is allergic rhinitis or the common symptoms of a runny nose, irritated eyes and hives.
The strangest thing about this situation is that people in the developing world who are often exposed to much higher pollen levels have a much lower rate of allergy sufferers. This would seem to suggest that pollen in itself is not sufficient to make half the population develop allergies. Scientists are becoming increasingly suspicious that it is diesel fumes, formaldehyde and pesticide residues that are somehow triggering allergic rhinitis. It seems that modern living is making many people sick, especially modern industrial and urban living.
One vitally important thing you can do to reduce allergens such as mold and dust mites is to get rid of any carpeting in your house. Mold develops on carpet and if a carpet has been sprayed to prevent it getting moldy it is just as unhealthy for you. Dust mites are microscopic animals that feed on dead human skin and live in bedding, furniture and carpets. On the other hand, hardwood flooring, strand woven bamboo flooring and cork flooring are natural alternatives to carpets that provide no place for dust mites to breed. Of these three flooring types, hardwood flooring is the least environmentally friendly because hardwood trees are valuable oxygen and habitat providers that are needed in forests to preserve the world’s ecosystem. It is to renewable resources such as bamboo and cork we should be turning to for our flooring needs. Bamboo can be harvested every 5 years and cork every 9 years. Strand woven bamboo flooring has a beautiful grain like hardwood flooring and is as hard and durable as hardwood. And best of all, it is not only easy to keep free of dust mites it is also mold resistant and anti-microbial.
So if you want to help your allergies and help the environment then a smart move is to install allergen free strand woven bamboo flooring. Not only is it elegant and long lasting but it is also healthier for you and the environment.