Dust Mites
You will not be going to bed alone tonight. Thats right. You will be sharing it with around 2 million dust mites. A warm and cosy environment is ideal for dust mites. It isn’t widely known, but the house dust mite is one of the most common causes of Allergy in the UK. Dust mites thrive because there is an abundance of food for them. The average person sheds about 1.5kg of skin per year! These little critters (about 0.3mm in length and almost transparent) travel around by clinging on to material such as feathers, fur, hair, or anything that will give them a place to hide.
House mites cause itchy and runny noses, sneezes, wheezing, tight chests and shortness of breath. This also leads to poor sleep, poor concentration and headaches. This is especially harmful to young people when they are studying or taking exams. It is not the mites themselves that cause the allergic reactions; it is their faeces that case allergic reactions.
What can you do? One of the easiest things to do is to reduce indoor humiditiy. Other things you can do is de-clutter your house, use barrier covers for mattresses (gore tex sheets are one of the best, however they are expensive), and vacuum regularly. When you wash your bed clothes, make sure that the temperature is around 60 degrees C.
