Kids aren’t the only ones who will be enjoying Halloween celebrations this month. Over the years, the holiday has increasingly tempted adults to get into the spirit. We now spend more on Halloween than any other holiday, except Christmas. Here at AirMD, our indoor air quality tests, mold inspections and our allergy testing – from Austin to West Palm Beach – are firmly rooted in science, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with Halloween with its myths and superstitions.

If you’re among the many who will be decorating your home or office for Halloween, there’s a good chance that the image of a black cat might pop up somewhere. According to the Billings Animal Family Hospital, “In the Middle Ages, it was a commonly held belief that witches could disguise themselves as black cats and these dark felines became associated with witchcraft.”

Black Cats Are Nothing to Sneeze At

The truth is that you don’t need to be afraid of black cats – unless you’re allergic to cats. And if that’s the case, it doesn’t matter if they’re black, orange or polka dotted, you should avoid our furry feline friends. According to WebMD, “About 10% of the U.S. population has pet allergies and cats are among the most common culprits. Cat allergies are twice as common as dog allergies.”

Cat Allergy Symptoms

The health experts at WebMD report that the symptoms of cat allergies can include:

• coughing and wheezing
• hives or a rash on the chest and face
• red, itchy eyes
• redness of the skin where a cat has scratched, bitten, or licked you
• runny, itchy, stuffy nose
• sneezing

If your home is feline-free but you or a member of your family is still bothered by these symptoms on a frequent basis, there may be some other allergy involved. Pollen, dust mites and mold are the most common allergy triggers. But having allergies doesn’t mean you are cursed to suffer forever. Call the allergy-busters at AirMD! Our pros can perform home allergen tests that can help you get to the bottom of any mysteries. We are also experts in residential mold inspections and mold removal.

The post Black Cats Can Be Scary – but only if you have allergies! appeared first on Air Quality Testing by AirMD Since 2007.

For a while, AirMD’s headquarters in Boca Raton – as well as the homes and families of our air quality experts throughout Palm Beach County – were squarely within the projected path of Hurricane Dorian.

As you probably know, Hurricane Dorian ravaged the Bahamas. Dorian was a Category 5 storm, that means it had sustained winds of 157 mph or higher (sustained winds, not wind gusts), and it sat on top of the northern Bahamas for an unusually long time. Normally, hurricanes move through in an area at a rate of 10 to 35 mph. Dorian was parked on top of Grand Bahama and Abaco Island for 20 hours.

Not surprisingly, the storm inflected catastrophic damage on those two islands. You’ve probably seen the devastating images of homes and businesses flattened and heard the harrowing stories of survivors.

Hurricane Dorian is no longer in the headlines, but it’s going to take a very long time for The Bahamas to recover. And it’s going to take a lot of help.

How You Can Help

It was a close call, but once again, Florida was spared the wrath of a major storm. Maybe because it was such a close call – it’s less than 90 miles from West Palm Beach to Freeport in Grand Bahama – South Floridians are responding to the crisis with generosity and care.

There are so many needs and so many agencies involved, it can be hard to know where to donate your money or volunteer your time. If you would like to contribute to the relief efforts but aren’t sure where to give, Charity Navigator, which evaluates and rates nonprofit organizations, has put together a list of relief organizations that will be helping with the recovery efforts.

The highly rated organizations included in their list have pre-positioned resources to deliver food, emergency shelter, medical care, and other critical items to people in the Bahamas impacted by Hurricane Dorian. Charity Navigator has confirmed these charities’ efforts on the ground, so that you can support any of the 3- or 4-star charities they feature with confidence.

We are extremely grateful that all of our residential and commercial IAQ customers as well as the mold removal experts, asbestos inspectors, volatile organic compound specialists and all of the team members at our environmental testing company’s headquarters in Boca Raton did not have to experience the horrific damage we’re seeing in the Bahamas. We hope you and your family are safe and well, too. If there is anything we can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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