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 Genus |
| Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus
and Dermatophagoides farinae, are
commonly known as house dust mites. Microscopic, eight
legged creatures, 0.3mm in length, and invisible to the human eye, they are arachnids relatives of spiders, not insects. |
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Fact
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| A gram of house dust (approximately half of a teaspoon)
contains as many as 1,000 dust mites. That same gram of
dust can hold 250,000 of their fecal pellets. A dust
mite will produce 20 fecal pellets per day, that is 200
times its own body weight in feces during its short lifetime.
With millions of dust mites living in one bed this means
there are vast amounts of droppings there. These levels
mean that virtually all dust mite sensitive people will
experience problems as a direct result of the dust mites
and their droppings in their mattress, pillow and duvet. |
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Development
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| The development of the house
dust mite from an egg to an adult takes just three to
four weeks. Adults live for about six weeks, during which
time the females produce forty to eighty eggs. |
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Sustenance
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| Dust mites survive by eating dead skin cells,
which make up to 80% of house dust. They also live off
water vapor, which we provide for them through perspiring
and breathing, approximately one pint per person per night. |
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Infestation
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House dust mites are found in virtually
all homes, no matter how clean. They live in the dust
that accumulates in carpets, fabrics, furniture and bedding.
A Primary source of dust mite exposure in the home is
in the bedroom, which provides the best conditions of
warmth, humidity, and food for their growth. The average
bedroom can be infested by millions
of microscopic dust mites.
We spend around one third
of our lives in the bedroom so we are in close and prolonged
contact with dust mites. They are present in mattresses,
pillows, blankets, carpets, upholstered furniture, curtains,
and similar fabrics. |
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| Research |
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Asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis are the three
main allergic diseases where the cause of most attacks
has been linked to the house dust mite allergen (Der
p1).
It is not only the dust mite that causes the problem.
The allergen which causes asthma attacks, allergies
and eczema is actually a protein found in their droppings
and their carcasses.
Research shows that during one nights sleep most people
toss and turn up to 60 or 70 times meaning the dust
mite droppings are frequently expelled into the air
from bedding. Researchers have also discovered that
the allergens can then stay in the air for up to 2 hours.
Once airborne, dried dust mite droppings are easily
inhaled into our airways thus causing allergic reactions
in asthmatics. These allergens can cause wheezing, coughs,
itchy eyes, sniffles and, in more serious cases, asthma,
eczema, and allergic rhinitis.
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