Why Does Vacuuming Make Me Sick? Anyone Else?

[Tammy]

Okay, so on a rare occasion, as in there's no one else to do it and the carpet in our livingroom is starting to have another layer of fuzz (due to our fluffy American Eskimo dog), I try to vacuum it myself. Well it's only a 12x14 area and every single time I do try to do this, I'm left feeling horrible... I get extremely weak and nauseous about 5 minutes into it and end up having to stop and lay down. I've been laying down now for about 15 minutes and am still feeling so yucky. Anyone have an idea as to why this happens? It also happens when I try to scrub something, like a big cooking pan or bending forward in the tub to clean it. Since being sick, my house cleaning ability is basically none existant and I feel so helpless... so I just live with it not quite as clean as it use to be, but it still frustrates me to no end !

- Tammy

[pastordari]

Tammy,

I don't understand it, but I can certainly relate.

Vacuuming and cleaning the bathtub are the worst for me . . . oh, and mopping.

I am so exhausted from cleaning that I, like you, just let the dog hair accumulate until I absolutely cannot stand it.

I kind of understand the bathtub because we are leaning over upside down, but the vacuuming and moppng, not so much.

Sorry I don't have any answers, but maybe this thread will lead to some.

Some ideas for doing things differently would be great.

I am single and cannot afford "help" so the cleaning is up to me.

Dari

[Ernie]

Hi,

I can't do any housecleaning at all due to syncope.

[pat57]

standing still - doing dishes can be a problem for me. Its the standing in one place that does it. (blood pooling)

Are you moving furniture when you vacuum? Maybe your vacuum is very heavy?

[morgan617]

For me, I think it's the whiny noise of the vaccuum, all the movement, and just the exertion. I finally gave up and just ask the old man if he will do it periodically.

I think my house could be condemned at this point....

[lalalisa]

Hello,

You're not the only one. I was just sitting here thinking about how messy my house is. Thankfully my husband does all of the swiffering and vacuuming, etc. Household chores are some of my biggest challenges for sure.

It's too bad dust bunnies don't seem to make very good friends!

Lisa

[ladyt]

hi..

had to give up cleaning . At one time it could take me a week to hover a very small room.. I ust had to realize my limitasion.. That means I have to live in a very dirty house also.. My partner is gone for long periods of time, and when his home, well housework isa not his favorite thing to do..

I wish the dust bunnies would go out the front door by them self..=) but all they seem to do is dublicate..

[lthomas521]

It's not just the standing, it's the bending over!

The worst thing for me is what I call the Japanese drinking bird maneuver:

http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCESoft/CCA/C.../BIRD/BIRDB.HTM

But there is something you can do about the dog fur while sitting down. Just make sure you do it outside!:

http://www.furminator.com/

[Tammy]

Hi everybody,

thanks for all the replies, and just knowing I'm not the only one who has the same difficulty helps me feel better! This is the best support site ever!!

Take care,

Tammy

[shannon]

I hear ya! This totally happens to me. I have lots of trouble vacuuming, and bending over to clean the bath-tub is impossible for me. I think it has to do with the way our bodies adjust (or fail to...) to gravity. Bending over and using our arms while standing can be exhausting. Very frustrating, huh?!

Shannon

[preacherswife]

The noise of the vacuum gets to me, as does noise from a hairdryer, electric can opener, etc. I don't know if that's related in any way to my POTS though. It may just be a weird quirk.

I have a hard time with the bathtub too. (bending over) Not just cleaning it, but giving my kids baths.... I end up short of breath and with my heart rate through the roof. (STUPID POTS!)

Does anybody else have trouble drying their hair? Anything with my arms up is hard. (Hair drying, hanging out clothes...)

[Rachel]

Valerie,

Yep, noise sensitivity can be a dysautonomia symptom. When the house is being vacuumed I have to lock myself away in the bedroom. The sound of the vacuum is just way too much stimulation for my ANS to handle!

There was a recent topic on drying hair that you might find helpful. Here's the link: http://dinet.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtop...971&hl=hair Many of us find drying our hair to be difficult if not impossible. You're not alone!

Rachel

[flop]

Cleaning the bath is an absolute no-no for me. I have an enamel bath and have fainted into it on numerous occasions - not forgiving when you land on metal! Taking a seated shower seams to create less mess in the bath. I also use a spray on, rinse off shower cleaner - I can manage that whilst sitting on a chair next to the bath. Every few weeks I get my sister to give it a proper clean for me.

A good if rather expensive way of cleaning the bath is to fill it with hot water and mix in loads of dishwasher powder or laundry powder and leave it to soak, then you just have to clean the tidemark off the top (wearing rubber gloves of course).

I can't remember the last time I vacuumed my bedroom - not good for my asthma but I just can't manage to vacuum.

Flop

[MomtoGiuliana]

Leaning over while exercising/exerting myself is still hard for me. When I was worse, I would sit on the floor to mop, rather than stand.

[preacherswife]

Oh, about the vacuuming... I just bought this thing called a Shark. You can get it at Wal-Mart. It's a cross between a vacuum and a carpet sweeper. It's really light and pretty quiet, so it doesn't make me sick, and although it won't do a deep cleaning by any means, it at least makes the floor LOOK clean. (both carpeted and not) It was worth the $29.88 it cost. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[thejohnsongang]

I think the vacuum or house cleaning is hard for us because of the exertion. Anytime I exert my self in anyway I end up either feeling like crap or on the floor. I haven't been able to clean house in years. My husband and kids help. We moved in Feb to a single level house and my mother and uncle are down stairs in an apt. We have hardwood floors which helps a lot. We have 2 dogs and a cat so the pet hair can get out of control very quickly. I can dust mop the floor, but the bedrooms are carpet and the kids vacuum it for me. My husband cleans the bathrooms when he can't get the kids to do it and mops the floors for me. He also does the laundry. I can't handle it at all. We have been teaching our kids to take care of themselves. They are responsible for their own rooms and cloths. They must dust, vacuum and windex their own rooms as well as do their own laundry. They take turns vacuuming our bedroom and helping with the bathrooms. After diner, one has to put the food away and empty the dishwasher and the other loads it. The next night they switch. They are also learning to cook to help out as much as possible. It's a little hard for my daughter sometimes as she also has POTS and has bad days once in a while. But we all learn to manage. Since my husband does all the yard work,I hate asking him to clean anything. The laundry is enough. I can dust mop and once in awhile dust the living room furniture. But any cleaners, chemicals or exertion and I'm done for. I've learned to let it go a little and my house is clean, but lived in. Once I had a cousin that came to visit and he complained that their was dust on the furniture and even ran his finger through it to prove it to me. So I handed him the rag and furniture polish and made him dust it all. He has never since said a word to me about the dust or anything else when he comes to visit.

[pastordari]

Hey! I have a shark too. I use it most of the time until I'm really brave or have time to recoop from really vacuuming with the Rainbow.

Most of my floors are hardwood, thankfully so vacuuming is less an issue. However, I have two dogs who shed much moe than I ever imagined. I feel so dirty because there is always dog hair on my floor. I vacuum and then it reappears in just a few minutes. Very frustrating. I have gotten better at letting the hair lay (lie?). It is embarassing when people drop by unannounced though.

I'm looking for bathtub cleaning suggestions. The posture gets me as well as the chemicals. i'm pretty much done in after cleaning the tub. My bath is in a constant state of being cleaned because I can only seem to do one thing every day or two - the vanity, toilet, tub, mirror, floor. It is never the sparkling clean bath I prefer.

What cleaning supplies do you guys use? Are there some "less toxic" or reactive? i have to leave the house after mopping with pine sol or mr. clean. Of course, it is a rare thing that I actually mop! But I might do it more frequently if it weren't such a detriment to my well-being.

[Michelle Sawicki]

Vacuuming does me in too. I've wondered if vacuuming somehow results in compression that decreases the return blood supply to the heart.

We got rid of our carpet and put in hardwood floors a couple years ago. I've used a shop vac since then, and it doesn't give me any problems. I breed canaries and have 3 furry dogs, so I have to at least vacuum around the bird cages almost every day.

My sister has a cleaner thingy that hangs in her shower (wish I could remember the name!). She pushes a button and it sprays down the shower. She says it really works. I've been thinking of getting one. Cleaning the shower is hard for me too.

Michelle

[MomtoGiuliana]

Yes--cleaning the shower or the bath tub is the worst, I agree. Fortunately my husband is willing to do it most of the time!

[willows]

Yep , I to have problems with the old hoover , not only do I feel sick after a few minutes but I sweat so badly that I drip water all over the bits I've just cleaned. and I get hotter and hotter and hotter , even after 2 mins of doing a bit of housework .

Hubby now does 95% of it , especially if we have people round or by the time I've done the lounge I have to go and lay down for a couple of hours to get myself back to upright and my sort of normal, no we dont live in a place that huge , its just a little semi cottage with a lounge about 18 X 18 .

And something else that a killer , now this is a strange one .

When I go clothes shopping and am looking at say dresses or coats in a store , 9 times out of 10 they are on hangers on a rail which is about a foot over my head , so in order to see them you have to reach up slightly and push the dresses apart one at a time .

OMG this just wipes me out every single time , first my arms and hands will feel heavy and start to ache and shake , then my back hurts , then I sweat and go pale , hubby's always with me and watching me when we are out , just in case he has to catch me if I get to the point I'm gonna 'kiss the floor' .

Looking at things like this just wipes me out , cant think why , it just doesn't make any sense to me at all .

So now hubby tried to get the things I want from the rail and hold them in front of me to see them , anything I want to see , try on or whatever , he makes sure I dont have to move or push things at all.

Most strange .................willows.

[preacherswife]

I have a hard time shopping when the racks are tall, too. (Doesn't help that I'm only 5'2".) POTS patients usually have a hard time with the whole arms-up thing. I have problems with hair drying, hanging clothes on the clothesline, putting dishes in the cabinets, hanging curtains, painting, etc.

Makes complete and total sense to me.

[pastordari]

Arms over the head . . . very challenging.

When I lift my arms up it feels as if all the blood immediately drains out.

I'm with the rest of you - hair drying is tough, painting (althought I love it!), yoga . . . I feel like such a wuss at times.

The simplist things are so hard at times and you know, I DO NOT LOOK SICK!

:)Dari

[ArmyMom46]

The shower cleaner is AutomaticShowerCleaner by Scrubbing Bubbles. To help with cleaning the bathtub, you might try the Mr. Clean bathtub cleaner/scourer. It has an extendable handle so you don't have to bend over to scour the tub. My husband uses both to keep our tub cleaned.

[ajw4790]

Yeah, vacuuming makes me feel crappy. So, it doesn't get done often! The up and down, reaching, and bending over with cleaning is also hard and causes symptoms for me. Cleaning is exhausting!

[thejohnsongang]

I can't stand the chemicals when our house is cleaned. Usually hubby and kids do 99% of it. I do try once in a while. I try to do things that don't involve stretching or reaching. Like the bathroom sinks and the kitchen sink. For my bathroom I switched cleaners years ago because because the chemical smells would make me so sick, almost to the point of going to the ER with breathing problems. We now use a Magic Eraser. It get the soap scum up very easily and doesn't have any smell at all. The kids and hubby like using it also. They said it is easier to clean with. Works great on the fridge, dishwasher, stove and microwave also. It cleans all the little creases without a lot of effort.

I'll have to check into the shark. I can dust mop our hardwood floors, but it takes me most of the day. We also have 2 dogs and a cat and I can understand the pet hair issue. That's why we got rid of most of the carpet in our house. If anyone has any advice on the pet hair..I would love to hear it. We have even talked about shaving our dogs in the spring to cut down on the hair, but I haven't got the nerve to do it to the poor things yet. They are beagle/terrier mix and would look silly shaved, but when they blow their coats...it's truly a mess.