Sometimes the body simply gets very sensitive to particles in the air. It's not exactly an allergic reaction, it's more like a tickle and irritation by something you breathe in. It's going to be very hard to eliminate everything in your house/bedroom that will set you off. Start with your bedroom and eliminate the things that may be harboring dust particles like drapes, fancy pillows, and duvets. Wipe down everything as best you can. Give it a couple of clean days and see if you sleep better. Use a damp mop on the floors if you don't have carpets. If it seems to help, and you have carpets, think about getting rid of them. For this first extra clean dust eliminating cleaning, if you can get someone to help you, it would be very good. It might even be worthwhile to get an air filtering system for your bedroom. If you can clean up where you sleep, then it will help ease things for you for the rest of the day. don't use perfumes, bath powders or soaps that have a fragrance. Be careful about what kind of detergent you use in the washer. No softening sheets either. No air fresheners. I'm sure that you have already thought about most of these things, but sometimes it's easy to forget a few things. Everything that you can eliminate, makes it easier to tolerate other things. You may never be able to completely eliminate everything, but you can make things much more bearable. Don't forget to change that filter on your air conditioner or furnace either. Keep your window and doors closed as much as possible. Fresh air is nice, but often it has air borne particles that will irritate. I hope this helps some. From my own personal experience, I am a terrible housekeeper.....and I pay for it by having to cough more than I should. We took up the carpets that were in the house when we bought it. That helped a lot!!! The previous owner loved poipourri, and I think the walls and carpets would coated with the stuff!

Ok this will kill the health food freaks, but oh well :oP You're warned... Hangover MacDonalds chocolate milkshake will cure it faster than anything. I used to work for a DR and he was a nut about health, but on occasion, I'd see him drive up in the AM with a MicD's drink glass. He didn't drink soda...I was thinking he was getting huge orange juices. One day while cleaning the office a bit (his desk was frightening LOL) I saw that the soda cup was actually milkshake. His medical explaination... Milk will aggrevate the acids in your system from the booze, likely curdling and coming back up. MacDonalds fake shakes actually aren't made from milk so much as chemicals, so they'll go down and sort of "Sit" on the acids and absorb them as well. The chocolate gives you the sugar boost you need until your body can bring itself back to normal (it's just temporary) and the cafeen will help with a perk up. I use it myself ever since :) I don't drink til I pass out daily LOL but on occasion, when entertaining wine collectors especially, I'll end with one taste too many (port always gets me LOL I can't say no). I also used to drink for a living (ok I was community relations, but in AK that means you spend quite a bit of time at a private club here that specializes in wine) and every once in a while, it would be hard to get up in the morning heh heh My staff knew if they saw me with a milkshake before 10, they should leave me be for an hour LOL

UPDATE: I'm now off prednisone and the asthma seems to be subsiding. I guess all the measures we've taken (steam-cleaning carpets, HEPA filter, allergen-neutralizing spray, washing walls, opening windows, etc.) must have reduced the cat dander to a level my body can handle. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice. At the same time I have to wonder why many people were so quick to insist on drastic solutions. (I should add that my husband agreed -- he was ready to rip out the carpets from day one.) To me it makes sense to tough it out for at least a couple of weeks, assuming there isn't a true health emergency. I suppose I have a reasonably high tolerance for living with low-level misery, as long as there's an end in sight. If things had taken a turn for the worse I would of course have taken appropriate action.

If it's baseboard heat you should be able to remove the fasteners and lower it.