Dust mite allergy

Dust mite allergy is the appearance of symptoms of an allergic reaction of the body to the inhalation of these small animals and their waste products.

Dust mites like to settle in house dust, and by now about one hundred and fifty species of mites have been identified. Another name for dust mites is dermatophagoid. Dust mites are microscopic in size, from one tenth of a millimeter to one fourth of a millimeter. They cannot be seen with the naked eye. Dust mites feed on dead cells of humans and domestic animals. Mite allergens are excreted with the fecal balls of mites, which are very small - from ten to forty microns. Each mite can produce about twenty balls per day. If you dry clean your home, dust mites may not settle on the surface of furniture for ten to twenty minutes. But if you inhale them at this moment, they remain on the surface of the human mucous membranes.

Read also: Dust allergy: symptoms, treatment

Most people do not react to the presence of dust mites in the house. But for some individuals, the presence of this animal is a source of severe suffering, manifested in the form of allergic reactions. Such people are allergy sufferers and asthmatics, as well as individuals sensitive to these mites. Children and the elderly are especially susceptible to allergic reactions. In the autumn and winter, manifestations of dust mite allergies increase due to the fact that living quarters are rarely ventilated due to the cold. This contributes to an increase in the concentration of dust mites in homes.

Dust mites love warmth and moisture, so their favorite places to "live" are bed linen, pillows, mattresses, carpets, upholstered furniture, and soft toys. A regular mattress can contain tens of thousands of these animals, and if you pay attention to a carpet, about one hundred thousand mites can live in its square meter. It is estimated that ten percent of the weight of a natural down pillow can be mites and their waste products. Hard and clean surfaces that are free of dust are not a place for mites to "live".

The best conditions for the reproduction and development of mites are created at air humidity of about seventy-five to eighty percent and at a temperature of twenty-four to twenty-five degrees. The lifespan of each mite is approximately four months, and this animal produces two hundred times more feces than it weighs. A dust mite lays up to three hundred eggs during its entire life.

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Causes of Dust Mite Allergy

Dust mites settle in those rooms where there is insufficient ventilation, accompanied by high humidity and high temperature (over twenty degrees). Additional comfortable conditions for the spread of dust mites are polluted indoor air, for example, cigarette smoke or car exhaust gases.

Allergic reactions are caused by the waste products of the tick – its feces. The excrement of this animal contains a substance that causes allergic reactions. This happens when these substances are inhaled and enter the human respiratory system. Allergens can also be particles of dead ticks that accumulate in house dust, and when it circulates in the air, they enter the respiratory system of sensitive individuals and cause allergic reactions.

The causes of dust mite allergy are, first of all, the presence of individual intolerance in humans to certain components of this animal and its waste products. At the same time, it should be noted that the dust mite is an absolutely safe creature for humans and a constant companion of their life in the house.

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Symptoms of Dust Mite Allergy

Symptoms of dust mite allergy include the following:

• The appearance of nasal congestion and abundant discharge from it, as well as frequent and repeated sneezing. At the same time, these manifestations are accompanied by severe and constant itching of the nasal mucosa, its swelling. In children, dust mite allergy manifests itself in severe itching of the tip of the nose.
• The appearance of constant breathing through the mouth due to the fact that the nose is constantly blocked. This unnatural type of breathing causes oxygen starvation of the brain, which leads to constant and severe headaches, causes general weakness of the body and decreased performance.
• The appearance of redness of the eyes and irritation of their mucous membrane, accompanied by severe itching and severe lacrimation; swelling of the eyes.
• The appearance of severe itching in the palate area.
• The development of a dry, persistent cough.
• The appearance of wheezing in the chest area.
• The presence of difficulty breathing and aggravation of respiratory processes, which manifest themselves in the form of severe shortness of breath (inability to take a breath) and suffocation. At the same time, frequent awakenings are possible at night, caused by these breathing problems.
• The appearance of skin irritation in the form of redness, peeling, itching and burning of the skin, rashes, hives and childhood eczema.
• The occurrence of conjunctivitis.
• The appearance of symptoms of bronchial asthma.

A strong allergic reaction to tick waste products can cause Quincke's edema in particularly sensitive people, which in some cases leads to hypoxia and even death.

Diagnosis of dust mite allergy

Diagnosis of dust mite allergy is done by examination by an immunologist. During the examination, special tests are performed, that is, allergen extracts are introduced into the patient's body in special doses, and then the appearance or absence of a reaction to them is observed. As a result of these tests, it is possible to find out whether the allergy was a response to the vital activity of dust mites or not.

The main substances causing allergic reactions are the dust mite proteins Der p 1 and Der p 2. The Der p 1 protein weighs 25 kDa and belongs to the first group of dust mite allergens. The Der p 2 protein belongs to the second group of dust mite allergens and weighs 14 kDa. At the same time, this allergen is resistant to heating and changes in the acid-base balance of the environment.

There are special preparations for immunological examination in the form of molecular diagnostics, with the help of which it is possible to detect the presence of an allergic reaction to any of these proteins. To date, modern medicine has identified twenty-three allergens present in house dust mites.

A clear understanding of which allergen caused the allergic reaction is important for successful treatment of the patient, as well as for carrying out the correct desensitization procedure.

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Treatment for Dust Mite Allergy

Treatment for dust mite allergy involves following these steps:

1. Eliminate all possible places where ticks “live” as quickly as possible, that is, eliminate contact with the allergen.
2. Use medications prescribed by your doctor to relieve allergy symptoms.
3. Take care of desensitization methods, that is, reducing the sensitivity of the human body to the waste products of dust mites.

Read also: Effective sprays against dust mites

Let's take a closer look at each of the above treatment methods:

1. You can eliminate contact with the allergen using certain preventive methods, which will be discussed in the relevant section.
2. Treatment of dust mite allergy symptoms is carried out with the help of antihistamines, corticosteroids and nasal preparations, which are prescribed by the attending physician during the consultation. At the first symptoms of allergy, it is necessary to contact an allergist, who can refer you for examination to an immunologist for testing. With the help of these tests, it is possible to confirm or refute the presence of allergic reactions specifically to the components of the dust mite contained in house dust. These tests also improve the quality of treatment, since the allergist can prescribe for therapy exactly those drugs that help eliminate the symptoms of this type of allergy. At the same time, patients need to remember that drugs do not remove the root cause of the disease, but only eliminate its manifestations.

As a rule, allergic reactions to such allergens are treated with the use of the following antihistamines:

• Telfast is available in tablet form and is prescribed to patients over six years of age.
• Erius is a drug available in two forms: tablets and syrup; the drug is prescribed to patients over one year of age.
• Suprastin is available in the form of tablets and liquid for injection; it is prescribed to patients from six years of age.
• Edem is a drug available in the form of tablets and syrup, which can be used by patients starting from two years of age.
• Agistam is a medicinal product produced in the form of tablets and syrup; it is indicated for use by patients over two years of age.
• Lomilan is available in tablet and suspension form; the drug can be prescribed to patients aged two years and over.

Aleron is a drug produced in the form of tablets and is prescribed to patients over six years of age.

Nasal medications used to treat allergic reactions include the following:

• Aquamaris is available in the form of a spray and nasal drops; the drug can be used even for infants due to the safety of its composition.
• Atomer Propolis is a drug produced in the form of a nasal spray and is indicated for use by patients over one year of age.

3. Desensitization occurs by introducing an allergen extract into the human body. The drugs are injected under the patient's skin. At first, this occurs in small doses, but then, as the patient gets used to it, the amount of allergen is increased. This leads to the allergy sufferer's body getting used to the allergen and no longer reacting violently to its entry into the respiratory system. Standardized extracts of dust mite particles are used for these purposes. The desensitization procedure has another name - ASIT, that is, allergen-specific immunotherapy, and allows you to get rid of allergic reactions to dust mites forever.

Preventing Dust Mite Allergies

• First of all, it is necessary to frequently wet clean the entire house at least three times a week. Since the dust mite is "afraid" of cleanliness and the absence of dust. The main condition is to clean with water and a rag, since a vacuum cleaner is an ineffective means of combating mites.
• Regarding the use of a vacuum cleaner, it can be said that this unit allows mites to spray throughout the entire home. The exception is vacuum cleaners equipped with special filters against mites. But this practice is not widespread enough, since these models are quite expensive. In conventional vacuum cleaners, the size of the filter cells is always larger than the size of the mites and their waste products. Therefore, the air that enters the vacuum cleaner is sprayed throughout the room, and then gets into the lungs and causes allergies. The correct, albeit expensive, measure to prevent dust mite allergies is to buy a special anti-mite filter for the vacuum cleaner.
• Remove excess carpets, rugs and carpeting from the house. In some cases of severe allergies, it is necessary to completely eliminate these coverings from the living space. A large number of mites accumulate in natural products, especially wool. Mites live in synthetic coverings, but in much smaller quantities.
• Having iron furniture helps to get rid of ticks in an apartment. Since ticks like to settle on wooden furniture together with the dust that has settled after the last wet cleaning. Dust does not settle on forged furniture in such quantities, which means that dust mites cannot settle there in large numbers. Wardrobes should be hermetically sealed, like sliding wardrobes, and they need to be constantly wiped not only from the outside, but also from the inside.
• Upholstered furniture should be replaced with leather or leatherette, as mites like to settle in fabric furniture.
• Unfortunately, you will have to part with such home decoration as soft toys. They are home to a large number of mites that cause allergies. Also, you should not use decorative fur pillows and bedspreads for the same reason.
• Frequent washing of bed linen and night clothes at a temperature of at least sixty degrees will help get rid of ticks. Since these animals love warmth, humidity and human skin residue, which our bed is rich in, frequent changing of bed linen, pajamas and nightgowns will help get rid of them.
• There are special bed linens on sale for allergy sufferers - dust mites cannot live in them.
• Instead of regular mattress covers, you should use hypoallergenic ones in your bed. Dust mites have nowhere to “catch on” to hypoallergenic mattress covers, so they prevent allergies.
• Living spaces must be ventilated at least once a day.
• It is necessary to reduce the temperature in the rooms to twenty-two degrees and at the same time reduce the humidity in the room.
• Special air purifiers have been created that can clean indoor air from dust mites along with their excrement and dust particles. They should be used constantly in residential areas in accordance with the instructions.
• There are also special products for combating dust mites. They are added to the water when washing clothes, and they are also used to treat furniture and other surfaces.

Dust Mite Allergy Prognosis

The prognosis for dust mite allergy in the case of drug therapy in the form of antihistamines, nasal agents and corticosteroids is not positive, since these drugs only relieve the symptoms of the disease. The patient gets rid of the manifestations of the allergy for some time, but soon he is forced to consult a doctor again for a new course of therapy.

If left untreated, dust mite allergy symptoms will bother patients constantly, especially in the autumn-winter period. In this case, not only the symptoms of an allergic disease will be observed, but also a general deterioration in the patient's condition, which will affect his or her performance, quality of life, and emotional and psychological state.

A positive result in the treatment of dust mite allergy is given by the desensitization procedure or allergen-specific immunotherapy. The use of this method allows you to get rid of allergic reactions in one hundred percent of cases. In this case, the result is guaranteed throughout the life of the former patient, since there are no relapses in the manifestation of the disease.