House Dust Mite Avoidance

Disclaimer

It’s official! The World Health Organisation has formally declared that the humble house dust mite is a universal health problem! It causes trouble for patients with asthma, rhinitis, and eczema. The mite is a tiny relative of spiders and ticks. It lives in bedding, carpets, upholstery, Teddy bears, and the like. It lives off the skin flakes we shed, and shed them we do. It prefers a temperature range between 22 and 26 degrees centigrade, and a relative humidity greater than 55 per cent. Thus, the tight buildings we have
developed in the Western world greatly favour the mite. Wall to wall carpets, central heating, double glazed windows, and luxurious bedding all provide the domestic mite with an ideal environment in which to thrive. Actually, it’s not the mite itself that causes trouble; it’s the droppings they leave behind. Specifically, it’s the digestive enzymes on the faecal pellet which cause the allergy.

There may be several pounds’ weight of dust mite faeces in a single mattress! These pellets are microscopic and easily become airborne. Vacuum cleaning, for example, throws the allergen into the air, and leaves it suspended there for several hours. Reducing your exposure to the mite allergen will
result in a reduction of symptoms. In fact, asthma symptoms may be reduced by up to 50 per cent in this way. Eczema and rhinitis will also improve. Obviously, there is no point in going to the expense of avoidance measures if you are not allergic to the mite, so get a skin test before adopting the following:

- Concentrate on the bedroom, you spend a third of your life there!
- Sleep with the window open and consider the use of an air filter
- Use an allergen exclusion bedding system. This will prevent the dust mite from travelling in and out of your mattress, duvet, and pillow.
- Air the bedding well each day.
- Wash bedding at over 55 degrees centigrade. This kills the mite.
- Use an anti-dust mite spray (from your pharmacy)
- Use smooth flooring, such as vinyl or wood. Carpets are a rich source of dust mites, and they are hard to clean. A smooth floor can be damp dusted.
- Damp dust regularly; do not use dry dusters
- Light curtains are preferred, they are easier to wash and should be washed at regular intervals
- Minimum amounts of books, knick-knacks, and plants. They are dust (and mould) traps.
- Use a vacuum cleaner which has a special filter, or fit a filter to your existing cleaner if you can. The filter should state ‘blocks 99.95% of particles greater than 0.1 microns’. This will allow you to vacuum without fear of throwing too much allergen into the air.