Reducing Allergies: Stuffed Animals

Video Transcript

"Every child has a favorite stuffed animal, or a buddy that they like to sleep with. But you wouldn't think that it would be harmful for them. My children suffer from environmental allergies, dust mites being a big one, and what happens is, their stuffed animals become full of dust mites. So this animals they're snuggling with and hugging while they're sleeping, and having the face burrowed in, is actually going to cause them to have possibly a reaction, and have some congestion, some sneezing, and have some allergies to it. A lot of animals are not washable in the washing machine, so one thing you can do is use a steam cleaner to steam them to at least get surface dust mites off. It's a great idea to get stuffed animals that are washable, that you can throw in the washing machine once a week to clean off. What I do with my children is I don't let them sleep with stuffed animals. Having too many in the bedroom, having one that they snuggle with, just isn't a good idea especially if your child suffers from asthma in addition to dust mites, because having one allergy can trigger an asthma attack in a child or an adult."