Dust Mites May Be Sharing Your Bed
Talking about bedtime, have you thought about who is sharing your bed tonight? I hope it’s not our least favourite bed mate, the dust mite.
Most of us know a little about them, maybe you’ve heard that they can cause allergies and asthma. Well, I’d like to tell you more, so read on for some info and helpful tips.
In many homes, work places and accommodation facilities, microscopic house dust mites can trigger runny, stuffy noses, red, itchy, watery eyes, coughing and sneezing, severe wheezing, shortness of breath and may bring on asthma symptoms.
To the naked eye, the dustmite looks like a speck of moving dust against a dark background, no more than one third of a millimetre in length when fully grown. See dust mites pictures.
So how does such a microscopic creature, invisible to the naked eye, cause so much discomfort and distress?
Because of their genetic makeup, some people become sensitized to the allergenic proteins which the dust mite produces in their bodies and faeces, and as a consequence, they can develop dust mites allergy and respiratory disorders such as asthma symptoms, rhinitis or eczema.
To the majority of people it causes no stress at all and most people live quite happily with them, unaware of their presence.
In fact, it is estimated that there are one in four Australians, nearly half a million New Zealands and around 100 million people world wide who are sensitive to house dust mite allergy. Look around, if you are sensitive to dust mites, you are certainly not alone.
Even in the cleanest of homes, dust mites inhabit mattresses, pillows, blankets, underblankets, quilts, carpets and all soft fabric covered furniture and windows.
