ALPIMS • Surroundings
Surroundings & wellbeing
We use the NIH Your Healthiest Self: Environmental Wellness Toolkit as a starting point, then adapt its suggestions to your conditions, capacity and everyday needs.
Choose one change that makes your surroundings safer, more comfortable or easier to manage.
You do not need to follow every tip. Open the topic that matters today.
NIH starting points below are brief summaries, not the complete original checklists. ALPIMS adaptations are our additions.
Create a healthier home
NIH starting point
Reduce dust, address moisture, improve ventilation
and choose fragrance-free products.
ALPIMS adaptation
With pain, hypermobility, POTS or ME/CFS, make cleaning
smaller, seated or supported. With migraine or sensory
sensitivity, consider product smells and vacuum noise.
Explore practical guides
Reduce your allergies
NIH starting point
Reduce exposure to relevant allergens and discuss
treatment with your clinician.
ALPIMS adaptation
Target your actual allergens. Ask for help with bedding
and cleaning if energy is limited. Non-allergic rhinitis
can need different care; do not assume every smell
reaction is an allergy.
Explore practical guides
Stay safe during hot weather
NIH starting point
Plan around heat, use shade and sun protection,
and keep fluids accessible.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose cooling and clothing you tolerate. Follow
individual advice for POTS, dysautonomia or fluid
restrictions. Exercise suggestions need adaptation
for PEM; rest may be the appropriate choice.
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Guard against cold weather
NIH starting point
Keep warm with suitable indoor heating, layers
and protection outdoors.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose comfortable textures and easy-to-remove layers.
Avoid direct intense heat where sensation is reduced.
NIH temperatures and assistance programmes are
US-specific; use local guidance.
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Air quality and your health
NIH starting point
Reduce smoke exposure, check air quality,
ventilate appropriately and maintain filters.
ALPIMS adaptation
Balance ventilation with pollen, smoke, temperature
and noise. Consider tolerable air-cleaner noise and
maintenance help. Follow asthma or other breathing-care
plans; use Australian air-quality reports.
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Clear out toxins in your home
NIH starting point
Identify hazards such as lead, mould and radon,
and address moisture and damage.
ALPIMS adaptation
Use local hazard advice; NIH lead dates, screening
schedules and radon contacts are US-specific.
Delegate unsafe cleanup and seek qualified help.
Symptoms alone do not identify a toxin.
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Stay safe in the water
NIH starting point
Check local water warnings, practise hygiene
and avoid contaminated water.
ALPIMS adaptation
Consider dizziness, fatigue, sensory needs, safe entry
and exit, and any immune or wound-related precautions.
Do not swim alone if fainting or episodes affecting
awareness are possible. Follow local advice after rain.
Explore practical guides
ALPIMS uses these ideas to adapt general wellness advice to individual capacity and conditions. Benefits vary. Environmental changes can support comfort and function alongside medical care; they do not establish a shared cause for ALPIMS-related conditions or cure them.
Sources & care note
General information, not individual medical advice. Follow your care plan. ALPIMS adaptations are separate from NIH advice and are not endorsed by NIH.
NIH Environmental Wellness Toolkit ↗
NSW Health: mould ↗
NHS: supporting autistic people in everyday life ↗
