Make your home allergy-free

If you suffer from a skin complaint, the answer may not be in your genes but in your bed. Or your bath, carpet or favourite cuddly toy. A new report claims that most cases of childhood eczema are a direct result of using detergents and soap products - but it's not just bubble bath and shampoo that can cause skin irritations. Here's what you can do to reduce allergens in the home ...

IN THE BATH

The proportion of children with eczema has increased from three per cent in the Fifties to 20 per cent today. We buy six times as many bath and shower products as we did 20 years ago, many of which contain crude chemicals that break down the protective layer of fat which keeps the skin healthy, allowing allergens and irritants to pass into the skin.

Using less detergent and shampoo, and more emollients, helps most eczema sufferers - Diprobase, E45 or aqueous cream which can be used instead of soap - all do the job well. Even if your child's skin appears normal, many dermatologists recommend using an emollient wash rather than bubble bath.

IN THE BED

Dust-mites thrive in nice, warm houses with carpets and soft furnishings. They particularly like mattresses, which provide a ready supply of human skin scales and become moist and encrusted with mould, just what a dust-mite likes to eat. There are between two to three million mites in the average mattress and their allergen laden droppings are a trigger for conditions such as asthma, rhinitis and eczema. A child who sleeps in a lower bunk bed is effectively the filling in a dust-mite sandwich.

To minimise the mites wash bedding and toys regularly and zip mattresses into protective covers. "Use anti-allergy bedding," advises Muriel Simmons of Allergy UK. "If you can't afford an entire set of mattress liner, duvet-cover and pillowliner, do at least buy the pillow-liner because a pillow will double its weight in six months, and that will be because of dustmites. Duvets should be washed regularly at a temperature of more than 55 degrees."

Better still, call in experts who will zip up your bedding and soft furnishings in an inflatable tent, heat it up to 100 degrees, and scald the dust-mites out of existence. This method is approved by the British Allergy Foundation and uses no chemicals. It costs from £75. For details, call Servicemaster on 0116 236 4646.

The ultimate health-conscious luxury has to be Royal Auping's "climate-controlled" bed. This detects when you have got out in the morning and begins a three hour airing cycle, heating up the mattress to drive off humidity and creating a hostile environment for dust-mites. £5,600, from Royal Auping, W1, 020 7935 3774.

FREEZE SOFT TOYS REGULARLY

Dust-mites thrive in soft toys. "Put them in the freezer overnight, to kill the dust-mites," says Simmons, "and then put them in the washing machine, to get rid of the allergen residue."

FILTER THE AIR

Cleaner air can help control allergies. Electrostatic air filters are particularly effective where smoke is a problem and will remove dust, pollen, moulds and other airborne allergens. HEPA filters will remove these as well, but can be clogged by smoke. Activated carbon filters help to remove odours and chemicals in the air. A humidity monitor can help too (warmer air can hold more moisture than cold air, and the more moisture there is in the air, the more hospitable the environment becomes to dust-mites). For prices and details, visit www.healthyhouse.co.uk, or call 01453 752216.

COVER HOUSE PLANTS

Cover the soil of house plants with a layer of pea-shingle, so that it is less attractive to mould, which can trigger asthma. TURN DOWN THE CENTRAL HEATING