HayMax

How to Get the Millions of Mites Living in Your Home to Bite The Dust!

by Airborne Allergens Expert, Max Wiseberg

Get ready – this bit is not going to be pleasant! We can be spending a third of our lives in bed with between 100,000 to 10 million dust mites, according to Environment, Health & Safety Online[1], with almost 100,000 in just onesquare-metre of carpet! Dust allergies are caused by dust mites and these tiny critters love humid, warm places where humans shed their skin cells and sweat, so your home provides the perfect environment. It doesn’t matter how clean and spotless you keep it either, they are present in every house. Spending more time inside during the winter months increases contact with these allergens, causing symptoms to flare up and become difficult to manage.

And now it gets worse: a dust mite allergy is in fact a reaction to proteins in the excretion of the dust mites. Yes, you’re

allergic to poo!

All homes in the UK have dust mites, and they are so tiny they are pretty much invisible to the naked eye. But don’t worry – unless you have a dust mite allergy, they are harmless.

When the allergenic proteins are breathed in or make contact with the skin of an allergic person, they experience an allergic reaction. This is an overreaction of the body’s immune system to an otherwise harmless substance. The body produces excess histamines – which can cause wheezing, sneezing, runny nose or soreness and redness of the skin or eyes – very similar to the more well-known hay fever symptoms.

The cold like symptoms such as a runny nose and sinus pain mean that many people believe they have a ‘winter cold’ when their symptoms are in fact a result of spending more time inside amongst dust allergens than in the summer. This may actually be the first time someone realises that they have an allergy.

Prevention is key with all allergies. No home is 100% allergen free, but there are some simple ways to minimise the allergens around you. Here are some simple, easy to implement tips:

Dust mites thrive in warm humid environments, our beds being one of their favourite spots. We spend about a third of our day in bed, shedding skin cells and creating moisture with our breath and bodies which the microscopic mites need to live on.

So it’s a good idea to change and wash bedding regularly and use allergy friendly mattress covers and bedding. Keep cuddly toys and blankets in a cupboard to prevent the build-up of allergens on them. Vacuum the house regularly, especially beds and fabrics to remove dust allergens, and damp dust surfaces so that allergens are not redistributed into the air.

Use an allergen barrier balm around the nostrils and eyes to trap dust allergens. HayMax organic drug-free allergen barrier balm has been proven in university studies to trap dust allergens before they enter the body. And it’s suitable for children and breast-feeding women.

It may also be beneficial to install “Allergy Friendly” flooring and to consider using an air filter/purifier with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Arresting) filter to capture the dust particles. Dust mites thrive in moist environments, so keep the humidity in your house between 40% and 20% to control allergens.

Create your own dust allergy first aid kit, consisting of one or more natural product, one antihistamine, one nasal spray and eye drops. The interesting thing about this is that many of these remedies can be complementary to each other. So if one helps, but doesn’t do the whole job, you may be able to try other remedies at the same time and get a better result. But there are rules: never take two antihistamines together, never take two steroid nasal sprays together, and consult your pharmacist or doctor if you are already taking any other medication.