The Secret to Living with Allergies Part 7: For Allergy Relief, Learn How Dust Mites Cause Allergy Symptoms

If you have indoor allergies, your allergy symptoms are likely caused by dust mite allergens, mold allergens and pet dander. While it may be easy to understand how molds and pets contribute to allergy symptoms, dust and dust mite allergens may be more difficult. Although there are many components in house dust to which people may be allergic, the biggest culprit is the dust mite. Dust mites are microscopic and because they cannot be seen, you may not know how to combat this virtually invisible' allergen source. Many allergic people have dust mite allergies, and to find allergy relief, it is important to learn how dust mites cause allergy symptoms. With this edition of the Allergy Control Products series on The Secret to Living with Allergies, you'll find basic facts about dust mites in order to understand how they are affecting your health.

What are Dust Mites?

Dust mites are eight-legged arachnids and are relatives of spiders and ticks. The dust mite is microscopic and, unlike bed bugs, cannot be seen by the human eye. S `ince dust mites cannot be seen, it may be startling to learn that over one million dust mites can live in a single bed. Adult dust mites live for two to three months, during which time the female can lay 25 to 50 eggs every three weeks. Each dust mite produces approximately 20 waste particles a day, and more than 100,000 of these waste particles can be present in only a gram of dust.

To see a video of dust mites under microscope, visit the Allergy Learning Center at www.allergycontrol.com. Here, you have a rare opportunity to see these tiny allergy-causing mites up close.

What is Dust Mite Allergen?

Allergies are not caused by the dust mite being inhaled, but instead, allergy symptoms stem from a combination of waste particles from dust mites as well as their dead body fragments. These particles are called dust mite allergens, as they are the parts of the dust mite that actually cause allergy symptoms. To compound the allergy-causing ability of the dust mite, waste particles and dead body fragments remain allergenic even after the mite that produced them has died.

Where do Dust Mites Live in the Home?

Dust mites can live in even the cleanest homes and are present in nearly all homes in areas where the relative humidity is greater than 50% for some portion of the year. Dust mites are photophobic, which means that they thrive in dark, warm and humid environments. The largest source of dust mite allergen exposure comes from the bed, as it provides the perfect conditions for dust mite growth as well as their greatest food source, the shed scales of human skin. Large numbers of dust mites can live in your pillow, mattress, box spring, comforter and blanket. The second largest source of dust mites and dust mite allergens comes from the carpet, as the carpet provides another good living environment and dust mite allergens can build up over time. Other areas of the home that are prone to dust mite allergens are upholstered furniture, drapes, throw pillows and other areas with soft materials.

What is the First Area to Address for Dust Mite Allergy Relief?

While it is impossible to eliminate dust mites altogether, you can minimize your exposure to dust mite allergens and find allergy relief. Your allergy relief steps should be focused on the bedroom, as it is the room where you spend the most time in the day and have the highest exposure to dust mite allergens. Dust mite allergens are dispersed as we sleep in bed at night, fluff pillows or make the bed, walk or sit on the carpet, sit on stuffed furniture and come in contact with any soft, stuffed materials.

What Allergy Relief Steps Should Be Taken?

Don't despair over not being able to completely eliminate dust mites, as scientific studies have shown that taking allergen avoidance steps to minimize dust mite allergen exposure in the bedroom leads to a decrease in allergic symptoms and a decrease in medication requirements for people with dust mite allergies.

Important dust mite allergy relief steps include:

* Use allergy encasings to create a barrier between you and the allergens in the bed. * Wash linens, blankets and any un-encased bedding every week in hot water. * Remove or treat the carpet to eliminate a large allergen source. * If carpets cannot be removed, vacuum thoroughly with a HEPA vacuum cleaner or apply a carpet treatment to denature allergens. * Keep humidity levels below 50% and ideally between 35-40%, as dust mites thrive in high humidity. * Use HEPA filtration to capture allergens. HEPA filtration vacuum cleaners and air cleaners capture 99.97% of allergens down to 0.3 microns that pass through the filter. * Use central furnace filters to capture allergens in your vent system.

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