Sounds like you're living my life now...I've been in the house I grew up in for over 11 years now. The hardwood floors are something you do want to try to save, but with lung probs you might want to avoid any DIY salvage ops...I have not gone to the total refinishing process with the bigass rolling drum sander, which would require a complete application of floor varnish, but I did go with this; in our bedroom, we pulled up ugly Pepto pink carpet (that was prob the dustiest dirtiest part of the project), cleaned the wood with Murphy's, then went with the old yellow paste wax...I still have my mama's old Kenmore floor buffer to help with that (nearly impossible to find them anymore)...in the dining room I spot sanded with my random orbit palm sander to take down a few high spots & small stains (not altogther successfully), cleaned the dust as best I could, & touched up with a good floor Varnish (I recommend Minwax) followed by paste wax...nothing that would pass for showplace finish, but it don't look bad for a 50+ year house...also stratigic use of doormats & area rugs can cover the worst spots, & soften up the room a little...
Everything I did still involves a bit of dust & fumes, so you should invest in a good respirator mask whatever you decide to try...PM me if you wanna ask for more details, & best of luck...

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