We asked the wonderful Kaytee Boyd from ecostore about what we can do to reduce our exposure to everyday products and substances that may cause allergic reactions. We found her advice incredibly practical and informative and we hope it helps you too!
Your incredible immune system has a very important job: to defend your insides from invaders such as bacteria and viruses that can harm you. But when it decides to go to war on substances it shouldn’t, that’s an allergy. ‘Allergens’ are things like dust mites, eggs, peanuts, fragrances, animal dander, or pollen.
Allergy means an immune system reaction to a substance, usually within an hour, with flushed skin, difficulty swallowing, nausea, hives, watery eyes, sneezing, wheezing, & shortness of breath
Sensitivity involves no immune response, but can still yield debilitating symptoms like fatigue, weight loss, runny nose, and a general feeling of being unwell.
Intolerance means the body lacks a chemical or enzyme needed to digest certain food. For example, ‘lactose intolerance’ is caused by a lack of the enzyme lactase, needed to digest milk.
All of the above can be quite serious, so it’s a good idea to see an integrative practitioner or your doctor about symptoms which appear to be linked to exposure to certain substances.
•Look after your gut health (it’s about 80% of your immune system)
•Don’t use antibacterial soaps and hand sanitisers unless absolutely necessary
•Vacuum carpets with a HEPA filter at least twice a week to reduce dust
•Avoid artificially fragranced products (that’s MOST on the market!)
•Aim for spray-free and organic food as much as possible
•Ventilate your home regularly, especially new homes or during winter
•Store items like newspapers and cardboard in dry areas to avoid mould
•Use fragrance-free cleaning products – like the ecostore Ultra Sensitive range
Ecostore’s Ultra Sensitive range provides fragrance-free home and body products for people with asthma, allergies or sensitive skin.
Typically, ecostore use essential oils and fractions in most of their products as they’re more sustainable than synthetic fragrances - and beautifully scented. But even natural scents can cause an allergic reaction in very sensitive people.
Because of this, ecostore decided to launch their Ultra Sensitive range, which is both gentle and fragrance free.
Made from the mildest plant and mineralbased ingredients, the Ultra Sensitive range is formulated to be gentle, yet effective all around the house and for every member of your household.
The complete Ultra Sensitive range is endorsed by the Sensitive Choice® programme, and have been dermatologically tested and proven to be a better choice for people with sensitivities.
The Ultra-Sensitive range can be found alongside the rest of the ecostore range both in-store and online at ecostore.com
