Hypoallergenic Hotel Rooms

Hotels offering an optional upgrade of Hypoallergenic Rooms!

I recently stayed in a Hilton Hotel in Phoenix, AZ. One of the optional upgrade on the room was Hypoallergenic.  I was like, "What?"
Not I, nor my teens, knowingly suffer from allergies. With that said, we may have minor to moderate allergies and simply attribute the symptoms to other things.

Allergy-Friendly, Hypoallergenic, Allergen Clean... Rooms? What exactly does this mean?

PureRoom.com put together a list of the 7 Step Process involved in providing an Allergy Friendly Room.

1. Deep Clean Air-Handling Unit. This refers to the heating and air conditioning system. These units removed dust and allergens from the flow of air in the room.
2. PURE Tea Tree Oil Cartridge.  A cartridge of this tea tree oil, a natural antimicrobial and disinfectant is installed in the air-handling unit to maintain sanitized conditions.
3. Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning. A PURE cleaning solution should be used to remove dirt, as well as bacteria and mold from all soft surfaces.
4. One Time Shock Treatment. An advanced shock treatment destroys nearly all of the mold and bacteria from a room and all its contents.
5. PURE Shield. This bacteriostatic barrier is applied to all room surfaces to repel microorganisms.
6. Air Purification System. PURE’s air purifier is 24-hour defense against airborne irritants. 
7. Allergy-Friendly Bedding. PURE uses only micro-fiber, mono-filament mattress and pillow encasements for lesser risks of allergy at home. 

This is the process offered by one company to help purify a living space. I'm sure there are others.
Another service offered on The Pure Site is a Find a Room. The site asks for booking information and helps you locate hotels/rooms that meet their 7 step criteria.

I think the allergy friendly trend will catch on to the point that all motels/hotels will offer some if not all of their rooms this way.

Allergies and the Immune System

Our Immune System is responsible for defending against Allergies.

The technical description of how the Immune System defends against allergies is exactly that technical. A great article discussing allergies is at How Stuff Works.  The high points of the article are:

1. Things that cause trouble in our bodies are called "antigens"
2. Some white blood cells (lymphocytes) work to defend against antigens
3. White blood cells are formed in our bones (bone morrow)
4. T Cell (a type of lymphocyte) attacks body cells that have been infected or damaged by antigens 
5. B Cell (a type of lymphocyte) tell immune organs (like lymph nodes) to produce a protein called antibodies.
6. Antibodies are specifically created to defeat antigens, like a lock and key
7. Each allergen is seen by our body as a different antigen, and requires a different antibody
8. Histamines are the memory response of your immune system to reoccurring antigens/allergens
9. This specific process against allergies is called the allergic inflammatory response.  

To pause... I remember hearing on Allergy Medication commercials that they are "histamine blockers." That means they stop your body's attempt to respond to the antigens. 

    

The truth is that anyone who has allergies is miserable during their specific allergy season. The focus should be to improve your bodies strength and resilience to these antigens. Just like we take vitamins to prevent sickness, there is an option to encourage and strengthen our bodies immune response to allergens. 

Allergena - try the Zone specific to you.

Allergy Skin Test

An Allergy Skin Test is an effective way to find out what you're actually allergic to. 

I remember stories about getting allergy skin tests that involved shot and needles, poking and prodding. Currently doctors and specialists can offer much less evasive options. 

WebMD.com

Scratch test, also known as a puncture or prick test: First, your doctor or nurse will look at the skin on your forearm or back and clean it with alcohol. They'll mark and label areas on your skin with a pen. Then they'll place a drop of a potential allergen on each of those spots. Next, they'll prick the outer layer of your skin to let the allergen in. (It's not a shot, and it won't make you bleed.)

Intradermal test: After they look at and clean your skin, the doctor or nurse will inject a small amount of allergen just under your skin, similar to a tuberculosis test.

Patch test: Your doctor could put an allergen on a patch and then stick that on your arm or back.

Learn more about what you need to prepare for an allergy test.

The Mayo Clinic says, "In general, allergy skin tests are most reliable for diagnosing allergies to airborne substances, such as pollen, pet dander and dust mites. Skin testing may help diagnose food allergies. But because food allergies can be complex, you may need additional tests or procedures."

Before deciding on an Allergy Medication be sure to learn what your specific allergies are. You may be surprised, and the results of medication or allergy therapy will be more effective.