Asthma/ allergy advice

HI all-
I'm hoping I could get some advice/help from those who have kids with asthma or allergies. 

Since we've moved here almost 2 years ago my 2 kids have always seemed to have a runny nose/ cough.  DD usually is just stuffy and DS has actually been admitted to the hospital twice saying its a viral wheeze and has an inhaler now that he often needs once or twice a day.  He usually has a cough all the time too. 

Last month we went home to the US for about 6 weeks and within days of landing they both cleared up and within 24 hours of returning to the UK they both started again.  When I look back the same thing has happened with each trip but I've just though "hey they are kids they get colds when traveling"  but now I have a feeling their is something in our house triggering these symptoms.

I spoke to the GP yesterday and she said they couldn't be seen in an allergy clinic because it wasn't a life threatening type of reaction. 

Anyway- my question is what can I do better around the house to help decrease any dust, mold, dampness etc that could be causing this?  I try to hoover twice a week and dust once a week and stay on top of the mold in the bathroom.  Can anyone offer any other suggestions? is there anything I am missing or could do better?  We do have a dog but have had it their whole lives and also in the US they are around dogs a lot with no symptoms.  Same with carpet- they both slept on the floor for a month.

Thanks

I have dust allergies (I used to have LOADS of other allergies, but the good news is lots of us grow out of them! I now (in my 30's) am only stuck with dust). When I was younger, it was bad enough to trigger asthma attacks. Here's what I need to do to manage it:
1) Get an allergy cover for your mattress. It's basically an impermeable barrier that keeps the dust mites stuck inside the mattress. Buy hypoallergenic pillows. Even if the beds aren't really triggering that much, you spend so much time there that this can make a surprising difference.
2) Do you have leather couches or fabric? If they are fabric, and you can, wash the cushions if your kids spend time sleeping on them or lounging on them a lot. I can tell if I've spent too long on our couch, it actually gives me a headache after 90 minutes or so.
3) Any stuffed animals or toys on the beds? Washed or kept somewhere else. (I found that very upsetting as a child, but it really helps!).
4) A HEPA filter can be really useful. Stick it in the kid's room and close the door. Run it as much as you think you need to (we used to run mine all day). You can also buy HEPA quality filters for your vacuum cleaner that might help. Sometimes, even if they don't react to carpet in one place, the carpet in the house might be slightly different, enough to capture the dust mites and keep them there.

My allergies have actually been pretty bad this year (the last month or so). I think it was the super wet year we had, and then all of the sun, suddenly EVERYTHING is either blooming or dropping seeds/pollen everywhere and it is really setting my allergies into overdrive.

It has also taken me about four or five years to get back to my baseline response that I had in the US. Before that, my allergies were markedly worse in the UK, until my system got a better handle on everything. I think I've only had to use my inhaler once in the last year?

I'd keep hassling your GP or check out going private for the diagnosis at least. If you son needs an  inhaler twice a day, he probably could use a more managed programme. Good luck!

I'm an asthmatic with other respiratory problems and I tend to have constant colds. I have to use two inhalers, a preventative inhaler that I have to use daily to be able to function along with my other normal inhaler. A few words of advice:

1. It could be the air quality- I never used my inhaler in the states, but it's necessary here. Like your kids, once I get into the states (or even the English countryside!) everything clears up. My doctor told me years ago that the air quality in London (not sure where you live) is terrible and makes asthma worse. So it could be your environment.

2. You could have hidden mould- One summer I became extremely sick and had problems breathing even with my inhaler, which was obviously very frightening. It turns out that my closet, my housemates' room and parts of the front room were full of black mould, something that can be quite common in old, damp houses. The closet had to be dismantled, a lot of clothes had to be thrown away and once my housemates left everything had to be scrubbed down, bleached and repainted with an anti-fungal paint. The best thing that my landlord did was put in a dehumidifier into the ceiling (I'd tell you the name but I can't remember, sorry). We haven't had mould since, except for the bathroom, and the dampness is a distant memory, which has helped to keep my asthma under control. Now I hardly use my normal inhaler and just have to use my preventative inhaler.

3. It could be allergies- could you speak to another doctor, or go to another clinic? I have terrible hayfever in warmer weather. I constantly use over the counter hayfever pills and nasal spray, but if your kids are under age 12 they won't be able to use it. You should be allowed to know whether your kids have allergies so that it doesn't become life threatening in the future. If your kid is using an inhaler that frequently then something is wrong and they need to have a closer look.

Thanks for the advice.  Its been a bit of a learning process with this and this recent trip really opened my eyes.  I called the health visitor after reading your posts and found out there was a children's drop in asthma clinic running this afternoon so ran over and talked about it.  She's getting him an antihistamine and also another preventative inhaler and has booked us in to see her again in a few weeks. 

A bit more background- DS is 3 and DD is 5 and we are in Manchester.  DS has no stuffed animals really and just a couple sheets so will work on washing those more often, his bed is also 2 years old.  DD does have few animals on her bed so will work on that and get her a bed cover.  We have leather sofas and such.  Its all year round and we have a pretty open plan house so no closets or anything but I will work on cleaning more.

Thanks again for the help

A correction to my previous post: The husband tells me it's not a dehumidifier, it's called an EnviroVent:
http://www.envirovent.com/

Do you have private health cover by any chance?  When DD was an infant she needed to see an pediatric allergist due to a peanut allergy and I used our private cover, because even for peanuts the wait was going to be crazy.  We were based in London and knew a friend's brother who was a top specialist in the field, so we wanted to see him.  Got right in with the private insurance.  He told us there just aren't very many pediatric specialists in the UK right now, so that is why waits for the NHS are so long and why your Dr, probably wrongfully, told you they only look at "life threatening" cases. If you don't have private insurance...keep pushing the GP.  

Here is a link to the Dr we saw.  The site might be able to point you in the direction of a Dr closer to Manchester. http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/privatespecialists/find-a-doctor/paediatrician/adam-fox/