If you think you live in a healthy home, this may shock you. The tiny Dust Mites are pocket sized bugs (up to 0.3 mm in size) related to ticks and spiders. These nasties are turtle like things with eight legs and are too small to be seen with the human eye. They feed on the discarded dead skin flakes in house dust – skin that we shed everyday just walking around. There is almost not a house in the USA or Europe without them.
The strange thing is the incidence can vary wildly between houses in the same block, some containing huge numbers and others hardly any. The Mites' survival depends, not on the amount of dust, but rather on how humid the house is. They can only survive in conditions of high humidity.
When the have these optimum conditions, the Mites can to survive for anywhere between 3-4 months. With females laying as many as 25 to 50 eggs, with a new generation produced every three weeks!
Strangely, it is not the Mite itself that we become allergic to. It is their droppings that are the problem. They need help (a chemical method) to break down the discarded skin before it can be digested. This is the problem (or rather what happens when the digestion is completed). The chemical along with the digested skin passes into the droppings.
Bear in mind that the mite is so microscopic and its droppings will be much smaller yet. Each mite will produce approximately 20 or so droppings per day. Any of these droppings holds something like 10-12 bundles of sub pellets roughly about 2-10 micron in size and contain their left over enzymes. Once disturbed, by a gust of wind or someone walking through a room, these droppings become airborne. They are so light that they can stay up in the air for ages.
The trouble is, this is right where your nostrils are pulling in their air from.As we breathe, we also inhale the mite droppings. Unfortunately, these contain the powerful protein enzymes that digest our skin. The trouble is that these enzymes cannot differentiate between live or dead skin.
So they go to work on the linings of your nose and bronchial tubes (what you use to breath and stay alive!
Over a period of time this goes on unnoticed until you become "sensitised". By this time the linings have become inflamed and reduced in size. You are about to have an attack. These can be triggered by various things such as… pollen, pollution, car fumes, paint, VOCs (volatile organic compounds). This is when the body decides it has had enough and throws up an allergic reaction. What can we do to stop it?
Bear in mind, they can only survive in relatively high humidity. Make sure your house is well ventilated. Open the windows whenever you can. Keep you house as clean and dust free as you can. Make sure your vacuum cleaner has clean filters and if appropriate, change the bag when it is less than half full.
If you can, use a water filter vacuum cleaner. They pass the dust over a container full of water. Dust and debris gets captured by the water which stops it being thrown back into the air as it is with some systems. Get your carpets cleaned by a professional. A good pro will thoroughly clean them and (more importantly) have them dry quickly. If a "cowboy" leaves them wet and soggy they will become the perfect breeding ground for mites. Ask the cleaner about anti mite treatment (you can buy carpet protector with this built in. The anti mite treatment stays in place and works away night and day). This way you'll have year round protection.
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