Asthma and Allergies - The Hidden Cockroach Allergen in the Home By Susan M Lancaster

These tips are taken from Susan Lancaster's book Cockroach-Gone-Forever on the dangers of hidden cockroach allergens in the home - especially for children who have asthma - and how to get rid of them for good.

An article in the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences states that "one-in-five children in the United States have severe sensitivities to cockroach allergens, which increases the severity of asthma symptoms... (and that) these allergens are most commonly introduced through cockroach saliva, droppings, and the decomposing cockroach bodies."

This statistic is quite staggering, and yet it is not talked about as frequently as other asthma allergens like house dust, pollen, mold, and animal allergens. To battle cockroach allergens, parents usually clean up the obvious places in the home like the kitchen, bathroom and living areas.

One secret fact about cockroaches is that although they prefer carbohydrates to protein and fat, they will eat almost anything when they are hungry. This is why people find cockroaches in the strangest places like near exposed wallpaper paste, opened envelopes, and bars of soap.

What parents don't know is that new cockroaches can be unwittingly introduced by their children into the home as well. This can happen in the form of old library books, stationery like envelopes and paper taken from a friend's home, borrowed clothing, and the list goes on.

To make sure this doesn't happen, make it a point to turn out your children's bags once a week to empty out any cockroach dust, shells or droppings. For borrowed clothing, take them outside and given them a good shake before putting them in the washing machine.

If you find a mild infestation among your children's things, try a clever trick using carbon dioxide fumigation.

• Fill a heavy-duty plastic garbage bag loosely with the infected items, and insert the end of a vacuum hose into the bag to suck out as much air as possible.
• Tightly seal the bag using duct tape to reinforce all seams.
• Insert the hose from a CO2 canister (you can find this at any hardware store) into a small opening cut into the top side of the bag.
• Fill the bag with undiluted CO2 from the canister, remove the hose, and seal the hole with duct tape.
• Suffocate the cockroaches by leaving the bag sealed overnight.
• When the bag is opened, cockroaches will be dead or extremely sluggish and will die a short time later.
• For more information email: freediabetictips@gmail.com