Do You, or Your Family Members, Suffer from One or More of These Symptoms?
Recent
clinical studies indicate that the symptoms listed below prominently
appear directly after awakening from an expected good night's sleep, in
you're supposedly, comfortable and cozy bed! Dust mites have been known
to be associated with allergies since the 1960's and have in recent
years become a "focal point" due to their involvement with respiratory
ailments. The dust mite by itself is not harmful to humans...
BUT
dust mites produce a very potent allergen called "guanine" which is
harmful to EVERYONE'S health, to varying degrees. Dust mites live,
thrive, and breed, in the micro-habitat (visualize a little eco-system)
that we create while sleeping in our beds. They also thrive wherever we
spend our leisure time, such as lying on our upholstered sofas or
sitting on our upholstered chairs watching television, doing homework,
or entertaining. Dust mites do not bite or sting but constant contact
with the allergens they produce can trigger respiratory and
dermatological complaints in humans. There are other species of dust
mites such as the itch mite, as well as predatory mites that share the
same dusty environment.
Just some of the symptoms of dust mite allergens (DMA's) include:
- itchy skin (little bumps and rashes),
- stuffy nasal cavities,
- sneezing,
- puffy, swollen or discolored eyelids,
- irritated, watery, and reddish eyes,
- wheezing
- "tight" chest,
- head or sinus aches,
- a raspy voice,
- dry, unproductive cough,
- feelings of lethargy (no "get up and go"),
- mental fatigue,
- depression
The above symptoms are just the mild, temporary ill-health effects
(temporary, if you want to call the first few hours, of each morning of
your life...temporary!) associated with household dust, the #1 dominant
home indoor air pollutants. But, the long-term ill-health effects are
truly much worse and can result in permanent, life-long illnesses such
as:
- asthma,
- bronchitis,
- perennial rhinitis (hay fever),
- eczema,
- dermatitis,
- sinus infections
and other serious health issues, affecting millions of people.
House dust contains a mixture of approximately 28 allergenic components.
Typically, dust mite allergens account for the majority of the harmful
components of dust, more than any other single particulate.Due
to their microscopic size, (the fecal pellets are about 20 microns in
size and the ever disintegrating exoskeletons are even much smaller)
dust mite allergens can become airborne simply by walking across a room,
opening a door, "fluffing" a pillow as you attempt to fall asleep, or
rolling over in bed (an act that occurs on average 50 to 60 times per
night), and of course, during such activities as bed making. These are
just a few of the activities that cause dust mites and their associated
allergens to become and remain airborne for up to two hours at a time
before settling throughout the entire house. A single dust mite, due to
its heavier weight, can remain airborne for fifteen minutes. This
negates the effectiveness of costly dust mite-proof mattress covers and
bedding which attempts to solve the problem by simply "covering up" or
placing a "band-aid" over the problem as the dust and allergens that are
not inhaled, simply continue to "float about" the indoor air and
accumulate on your bedding, as well as everywhere else.
While
airborne, the allergens are easily inhaled and become attached to the
living cells that line the "walls" of your lungs. Once attached, they
suffocate and kill your healthy lung cells causing permanent damage.
Dust mites practice coprophagia, meaning, in lean times they will use
their own fecal pellets as a food source. Dust mite fecal pellets, which
contain "guanine" and their digestive enzymes, are a major cause of
allergies across the world. The powerful enzymes in the fecal pellets
break down hard-to-digest food for later nourishment. It is these
enzymes that cause and trigger allergies in humans by breaking down
delicate living tissue including healthy lung cells.
Dust mites
are living, thriving, and breeding by the millions, in your mattresses,
pillows, upholstered furniture, draperies, fluffy stuffed toys, and to a
lesser extent (only because, hopefully, it is frequently vacuumed)
carpeting. Pillows, alone, may gain 15-25% in weight over a two year
span, from the accumulation of dust mite allergens and a host of other
contaminants.
Children, especially those who breathe rapidly such
as newborns and those up to 5 years of age, are particularly susceptible
to the health hazards from inhaling the allergens (especially the
potent allergen "guanine") found in the fecal matter, secretions, shed
(molted) skins, and the exoskeletons of dead dust mites. The elderly,
chronically ill persons, and persons with a weak immune system (even if
just temporary) are also very susceptible to ill-health effects of dust
mite allergens and poor indoor air quality.
Dust mites are
nocturnal, dislike strong light and will take refuge in the seams,
ledges, cording and framework of furniture when exposed to light. A
single dust mite can produce up to 20 to 30 fecal pellets per day
(therefore, an average-sized colony of 2 million dust mites living
within a mattress will produce 40 to 60 million fecal pellets per day). A
single dust mite produces approximately 2000 to 3000 fecal pellets
during its active lifetime of up to 3 or 4 months (that equates to a
total of 4 trillion fecal pellets, in your mattress, produced by a
single generation of an average-sized dust mite colony). Your unhygienic
mattress, where you spend 1/3 of your life, is the nastiest, grungiest,
item in your home and contains huge amounts of dead skin, dust mites,
dust mite allergens, molds, mildew, pollens (transported inside from
outdoors), spores, pet dander, bacteria and viruses.
Have you
noticed how many corporations are touting their products for addressing
the problem caused by dust mites? However, the solutions they offer are
simply more "band-aids" to the problem and do not confront the problem
(source) "head-on", the micro-habitats found in mattresses, pillows, and
the "soft furnishings" in our homes. Should you choose to go the dust
mite-proof mattress pad route, ask the salesperson what they sell to
"protect" you from the dust mites in your upholstered sofa and chairs?
Mattress
covers, pharmcotherapy (medications), and immunotherapy (skin prick
tests, more testing and more meds) have been the usual methods of
addressing the symptomatic problems and each of these methods generate
huge sums of income. However, this is akin to placing a "band-aid" over a
festering wound and then selling you more "band-aids". Perhaps the huge
multi-billion dollar revenues generated by the aforementioned
industries, is the reason why American's have not been properly informed
and educated. But now, and unfortunately due to the annual increases in
asthma, asthma deaths (especially among children), allergenic rhinitis,
and other respiratory illnesses, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated a public awareness campaign
through public service announcements (PSA's) and their new website (www.noattacks.org) beginning in January 2007.
Should
you or any of your family members exhibit any of the aforementioned
symptoms, please seek the advice of your family physician, especially if
the symptoms are evident among children.
By
Tom Hefter