Information on Dust Mites and Dust Mite Allergy All you need to know about dust mites and the symptoms of dust mite allergy The dust mite
Symptoms of dust mite allergy
Dust mites are tiny microscopic little creatures that live in huge numbers in modern homes. Contrary to popular belief, they do not bite and it is not the body of the dust mite that causes problems but its droppings that contain a potent allergen called DerP1.
Dust mite allergy can develop at any age. Symptoms include: • nasal symptoms - sneezing, runny nose, rhinitis, sinusitis, with related headaches and ear blockages • breathing symptoms - wheezing, dry persistent cough, tightness of breath and asthma • eczema and dermatitis • joint pain, swelling of tissues, and muscle aches
The droppings are 4-20 microns in size, but they can crumble into fragments of 1-3 microns, and the tiniest bits are only 0.5 microns across. During their three month life span each dust mite lays 20-40 eggs and produces up to 2000 droppings. This causes the concentration of dust mite allergen to increase very rapidly. “Up to 1,000 individual mites can be counted in just one gram of dust (and there are approx. 28 grams in an ounce). This means that the average bed contains more than 10,000 dust mites and perhaps in excess of two million faecal pellets.
Where do dust mites live? Although you can’t actually see them, they live alongside us in our beds, upholstered furniture, carpets and soft furnishings. Dust mites love warm and humid conditions - in fact the very conditions that we tend to live in. They reproduce very rapidly so that within 4 to 6 months a new mattress will be colonised with dust mites. They live in mattresses, bedding and carpets and any nice warm, dark, damp place where food is plentiful. Dust mites live on shed skin scales from humans and animals, but only if the scales have been broken down by mould first. This is why humid conditions suit the dust mite so well. The other reason why mites need high humidity levels is that they do not drink, but absorb water from the air. When the relative humidity falls below 50 per cent, the mites gradually dry out and are killed. Therefore creating a dry atmosphere within the home will gradually make the environment intolerable for dust mites. Dust mites are not more common in dirty houses and there is certainly no stigma connected to the presence of dust mites. In fact a relatively dusty house may be completely free of dust mites if the atmosphere is not conducive to their habitation; in other words, if it is not warm enough or moist enough for them to live. Dust mites are also destroyed by heat and sunlight so a well ventilated bed under a bright window may have low dust mite levels. Refs: The Allergy Bible, Linda Gamlin; Allergy-Free Living, Dr Peter Howarth and Anita Reid; Asthma, The Complete Guide, Professor Jonathan Brostoff and Linda Gamlin; The Allergy Survival Guide, Jane Houlton.
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Allison’s Story Allison came to work for The Healthy House almost two years ago and through what she has learned about allergies she has quite transformed her son’s condition. John had pneumonia at age 5, followed by bronchitis when he was 7. It was after this that he started to become wheezy and she took him to the doctor who prescribed an inhaler. He also suggested steroid tablets, which Allison decided against using. From this time on John used to sniff and snort in the mornings waking everyone up and sometimes he would wake in the night coughing. When he was still at primary school he used to compete in cross country running and Allison would always be at the side of the field cheering him on, inhaler in her hand for him to use immediately after the race. After working with us for a period of time she decided to try a dust mite proof case on John’s mattress, and some dust mite proof pillows and a dust mite proof duvet. She was amazed at the almost instant transformation. No more sniffing and snorting He now wakes up with a clear head and feeling rested. Not only that, he now no longer needs to use his inhaler on a daily basis.
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The important message is that Allison had no idea that dust mites were a problem or even that they had dust mites in their house. She had just got used to the fact that her child was stuffed up each morning. She also said that it would not have occurred to her to investigate why her son woke up sneezing. Now that she is aware of the dust mite problem she has made the use of HomeCleanse and AirCleanse (now the nillergen range) a routine in her cleaning, realising that the elimination of dust mites in the furniture and furnishings and clearing of dust mite allergen in the air are also important.
Please see the next page to find out what you can do to relieve your symptoms of dust mite allergy.
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