Dust Mites and Why They Are the Enemy
If you are living an average life in an average house (or apartment); chances are that you have dust mites.
As a matter of fact, it is very possible that millions of them are running around your bed, carpet, floor, air ducts, kitchen table...
anywhere you have dust basically, which is everywhere.
Regardless of whether or not you see it, there is dust in your house and what's more, some of its constituents include dead skin cells, fecal matter particles and hair deposits, which make for a perfect breeding ground for these awful creatures.
So you have these creatures, but aren't really worse for the wear.
What exactly makes them the enemy? Well, as it happens numerous studies have demonstrated that house dust mites are one of the leading causes of asthma...
in the entire world.
The average dust mite lives from nineteen to thirty days, with the scary part being that a female can live 30 days longer, during which all she ever does is lay eggs.
As you can imagine, this can lead to some serious problems as their numbers can go into millions pretty fast...
but how do they hurt us exactly? How are they a leading cause of asthma attacks? As it happens, because house dust mites live in, well, dust, they are constantly surrounded by the pollution which we constantly try to eradicate.
More precisely, they have been noted to complicate asthma, conjunctivitis, rhinitis and dermatitis.
They also contain the DerP1 enzyme, a protein which causes allergic reactions in many people.
In other words, the mites become a source of numerous allergens and nefarious particles, and they will gladly share them with you at the first chance they get.
All right, so now that it has been established that house dust mites are the enemy and can contribute to you developing some nasty allergies, how exactly are you supposed to fight against them? After all, there are millions of them and they are microscopic.
Well, as was mentioned above, house dust mites survive mainly on what humans leave behind: fecal matter, skin and hair.
This means that the hygiene standards in your house will have to go up: you will need to vacuum your carpets more regularly with a HEPA filter, regular dusting of all surfaces, regular cleaning and sanitizing of beds, carpets and air ducts, using anti-allergen covers on mattresses and pillows, and lowering the overall humidity.
Unfortunately, it has to be said that as of now, there is no foolproof of way of totally eradicating dust mites and getting them out of your life.
There are simply too many of them, and it seems like we will never get rid of dust; we've been trying to do that forever.
In any case, while you can't completely exterminate them you can follow the steps above and basically try to keep your house as clean and dirt-free as possible.
It may not get them all, but it will surely reduce their numbers drastically, leaving too few of them to actually do any real harm to you.
As a matter of fact, it is very possible that millions of them are running around your bed, carpet, floor, air ducts, kitchen table...
anywhere you have dust basically, which is everywhere.
Regardless of whether or not you see it, there is dust in your house and what's more, some of its constituents include dead skin cells, fecal matter particles and hair deposits, which make for a perfect breeding ground for these awful creatures.
So you have these creatures, but aren't really worse for the wear.
What exactly makes them the enemy? Well, as it happens numerous studies have demonstrated that house dust mites are one of the leading causes of asthma...
in the entire world.
The average dust mite lives from nineteen to thirty days, with the scary part being that a female can live 30 days longer, during which all she ever does is lay eggs.
As you can imagine, this can lead to some serious problems as their numbers can go into millions pretty fast...
but how do they hurt us exactly? How are they a leading cause of asthma attacks? As it happens, because house dust mites live in, well, dust, they are constantly surrounded by the pollution which we constantly try to eradicate.
More precisely, they have been noted to complicate asthma, conjunctivitis, rhinitis and dermatitis.
They also contain the DerP1 enzyme, a protein which causes allergic reactions in many people.
In other words, the mites become a source of numerous allergens and nefarious particles, and they will gladly share them with you at the first chance they get.
All right, so now that it has been established that house dust mites are the enemy and can contribute to you developing some nasty allergies, how exactly are you supposed to fight against them? After all, there are millions of them and they are microscopic.
Well, as was mentioned above, house dust mites survive mainly on what humans leave behind: fecal matter, skin and hair.
This means that the hygiene standards in your house will have to go up: you will need to vacuum your carpets more regularly with a HEPA filter, regular dusting of all surfaces, regular cleaning and sanitizing of beds, carpets and air ducts, using anti-allergen covers on mattresses and pillows, and lowering the overall humidity.
Unfortunately, it has to be said that as of now, there is no foolproof of way of totally eradicating dust mites and getting them out of your life.
There are simply too many of them, and it seems like we will never get rid of dust; we've been trying to do that forever.
In any case, while you can't completely exterminate them you can follow the steps above and basically try to keep your house as clean and dirt-free as possible.
It may not get them all, but it will surely reduce their numbers drastically, leaving too few of them to actually do any real harm to you.
