Indoor plant allergy-help please

s.1985.g · December 2020

Hi
I have a number of indoor plants and was careful to understand the toxicity levels of the plants if consumed but I didn’t think to check which ones may cause allergies. We all have stuffy noses including our cat and I’m wondering if you could take a look at my plant list and tell me which ones are likely to be the culprit so I can remove them from our Indoor environment. Other causes within our house have been explored and the plants are the last resort, I can also confirm none of the plants have mould present on the soil. I have done research online but not much is known about some of them in respect of causing allergies so I thought I would reach out to people with experience as you may have encountered the same problems or know more about some of the plants in particular which could rule certain ones out.

Thanks

Plant List
*Spider plant
* Aspidistra Elatior (x3)
*Kentia Palm *Areca palm
*Pachira Aquatica(X5)
*Calathea Orbifolia
*Calathea Peacock
*Dichorisandra Pendula
*Peperomia plants (x3)
*Hoya Australis
*Stag horn fern
*Boston fern
*Streptocarpus
*Phalaenopsis orchid

Dovefromabove · December 2020

Hi @s.1985.g and welcome to the forum 😊

Some people react to the spores on the back of some fern leaves. Folk particularly sensitive to pollen might react to the small flowers on spider plants, but these can be snipped off. Some folk find the perfume of Hoya flowers can exacerbate asthmatic conditions.

However I often have a ‘head cold’ at this time of year ... I have one now with a drippy nose and stuffy sinuses. We have virtually no houseplants and I’ve kept away from people for months and wear a mask 😷 if I’m out so I’ve not caught a cold ... we put it down to a bit of house dust 😒 and a dry atmosphere caused by central heating ... it seems better when I’m outside.

It doesn’t make me ill so I just accept it as part of ‘life’ and ignore it.

My OH suffers the same symptoms but much worse, giving him asthma, if there’s a cat in the house.

Hope that helps 😊

rachelQrtJHBjb · December 2020

I found this article which may prove useful in your search for an answer.https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/can-you-be-allergic-to-houseplants.htm

Nanny Beach · December 2020

If you look up "Grow your own fresh air", Nasa, did reports a lot of those plants actually clean toxins and allergens out of the air. My grandson has allergies, gets croup, and asthma, never any problem when in my house, which is full of plants. Assume you have done the dust mite, bedding stuff. I am old school windows open, it's 0.7c outside the bedroom windows are wide open, when the grandkids stay here they get taken out fresh air, because we have dogs. Dove is correct stuffy indoors, central heating.

fidgetbones · December 2020

My husband is allergic to cats. Strangely he also has the same Birthday as Mr Dove as I remember. The plants most likely to cause nasal stuffiness will be flowering and producing pollen. Euphorbia family including poinsettia often cause dermatitis when handled, exacerbated by sunshine, which can turn a mild rash into something similar to a bad scald. I suggest you remove all flowering plants to start with, and see if that helps. If it does, re introduce one at a time to find the culprit. If that doesn't work, remove all plants. If that doesn't work, I suspect the cat. For some reason, bengals seem to be less allergy causing than common moggies.

B3 · December 2020

Ivy pollen coming in the window does it for me.

Nanny Beach · December 2020

Yes, cat dander sets a lot of people off, I have had cats with my grandson, I have 2 long hair dogs they don't cause any problems. Unusual to get hay fever at this time of the year.There is perennial rhinitus, which is basically a stuffy nose.

Cambridgerose12 · December 2020

Dovefromabove said:

Hi @s.1985.g and welcome to the forum 😊

I often have a ‘head cold’ at this time of year ... I have one now with a drippy nose and stuffy sinuses. We have virtually no houseplants and I’ve kept away from people for months and wear a mask 😷 if I’m out so I’ve not caught a cold ...

Masks only protect other people from you, not vice versa... it's still possible to catch a cold.

Dovefromabove · December 2020

Cambridgerose12 said:

Dovefromabove said:

Hi @s.1985.g and welcome to the forum 😊

I often have a ‘head cold’ at this time of year ... I have one now with a drippy nose and stuffy sinuses. We have virtually no houseplants and I’ve kept away from people for months and wear a mask 😷 if I’m out so I’ve not caught a cold ...

Masks only protect other people from you, not vice versa... it's still possible to catch a cold.

Very true 👍 ... but I’m also keeping well over a 2m distance when out for my walks and I’ve not been in a shop since March other than to get my flu jab.

I did notice during the summer that when we had the front windows open the smell of the buddleja made my nose itch and run.

s.1985.g · December 2020

Thanks all for your input, I appreciate the time you have taken to reply to me.

Just to clarify my house has been cleaned from top down, everything that could be steam cleaned has been and it all gets done regularly. I have to keep on top of dust as my cat has allergies to dust. I even thought it was our washing powder or the softener as I had to change both due to people panic buying (let’s not get into that though) I couldn’t get my normal things. I’ve been slowly reversing things that have changed to see if they were the triggers and nothing has improved things. I keep windows open for air circulation hence why the plants were the last things to consider and I have added quite a lot of plants and on reflection I should have done this more slowly....we live and learn!

I will see if I can find temporary homes for the groups of plants, starting with the ferns due to the spores and see if that changes things.

Thanks again, wishing you all a much improved 2021!

Indoor plant allergy-help please

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