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Dust Mite News
In an effort to keep our web site visitors informed about dust mites and other allergies that can affect you and your family, we have created this archive for previous news stories listed on Dust-Mites.org.
Make Your Bedroom Dust Mite Free for the Summer
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Follow these ten tips for cutting down on the number of dust mites in your bedroom this summer.
New Study Says Pillows are Breeding Ground for Dust Mites
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Wash or freeze pillows every three months to kill dust mites.
Three Major Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality
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Advanced filtration, UV light, and dehumidification can improve air quality.
Dust Mites Overlooked as Cause of Unclean Air in Cars
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Survey shows people unaware that dust plays role in air quality in taxi cabs.
'Mite' Be Time to Change Your Mattress
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The average bed plays host to 10,000 dust mites!
5 Ways to Improve Work Place Air Quality
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Vacuum regularly and use a dehumidifier to keep dust mites at bay.
Make Your Home More Allergen Free
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Healthy hints on how to make your home more free of allergens like dust mites.
Dust Mite Allergy Vaccine Could Cure Asthma
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A new vaccine could cure asthma triggered by dust mites.
Reduce Dust Mites With Good Housekeeping
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The Sun Herarld has some good tips, for reducing dust mites in your home, from a specialist in entomology. The tips include putting your rugs out intp the sunlight, use the vent fan in your bathroom after a shower to evacuate the moisture, and wash all bedding in HOT water.
Hypoallergenic Hotel Rooms For A Price?
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Very slowly, but surely hotels are learning to recognize travelers who suffer from allergies brought on mold, dust mites, and smoke. This recognition by hotel operators is good, but hypoallergenic hotel rooms will come at an increased price to travelers.
Dus Mites Don't Cause Asthma in Children?
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A new study conducted by the Imperial College School of Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute in London concludes, contrary to previous beliefs, that allergens have no significant impact in causing childhood asthma. The researchers did find that kids were more likely to suffer with asthma and other allergies if their biological father had inherited a predisposition to allergies or if the child is a first born.
Easy Steps to Keep Dust Mites at Bay
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Dr. Patrick Dean from the Mayo Foundation for Medi cal Education and Research offers from simple steps to keep dust mites away.
Those steps include controlling the environment, focusing on the bedroom, and cleaning with a difference.
IAQ Singapore Launches Dust Mite Detection Kit
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IAQ Singapore has launched a dust mites detection kit which allows you to check the level of dust mite allergen on a surface. This detection kit is reported to be easy to use and fast.
Meet the Dust Mites!
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iDenz.cz offers a somewhat scary and humorous viewpoint on dust mites that is totally true. The magazine reports that your scalp is a rich source of food because the dead skills cell fall to the floor.
The magazine also highlights another great place for dust mites to breed. That place is the pillow you lay your head upon.
Dust Mites Center recommends replacing down or feather pillows with pillows that contain synthetic material. Washing bed linens in "HOT" water to kill dust mites once a week should be a routine practice.
Is Mites Out! the Dust Mites Fix?
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A product available at Bed Bath and Beyond retail stores called Mites Out! claims to eliminate dust mite waste and kill them for up to one year.
Researchers may have found a drug that cures all allergies
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Scientists have discovered a protein that blocks the pathways that cause allergy symptoms such as sneezing and runny nose. Development of this drug will be a cure to allergy sufferers who react to inert substances in food, dust mites, and pollen. Hayfever and other allergy related diseases could be a thing of the past.
Carpet Vacuuming Might Not Remove Allergens
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Scientists in Australia found that vacuuming carpet, especially old carpets, may just redistribute dust mite allergens as opposed to removing them. The team of researchers also found that vacuums equipped with rotating heads were better at removing dust mite allergens from carpets if a suction component was attached.
Dust Mites Tops Allergy List
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The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology recented conducted a survey of about 11,000 allergy sufferers. They found out that dust mites top the list of sufferers allergy related concerns. The ACAAI also determined that as many as 90% of people with allergy induced asthma and 10% of the population are allergic to dust mites. The ACAAI recommends paying close attention to cleaning the bedroom and controlling the dust with dust mite encasing that zip around pillows and mattresses. The guidelines mentioned help relieve house dust allergy symptoms.
The Anti-Dust Mite pillow can help you sleep better
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It is well-known that dust mites live and propagate in bed linens. To make matters worse, dust mites and their feces build up in pillows which is why it's important to replace pillows every year. Carpenter Company has created the Protech(TM) Anti-Dust Mite pillow for people who no longer want to lay their head down on pillows filled with allergy causing substances such as dust mite feces. Carptenter Co. offers the only EPA registered fiber known to eliminate dust mite populations. The fiber in the pillow eliminates food sources for dust mites, and keeps dust mites from reproducing.
Your home could be making you sick
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Allergens, toxins, irritants could exist in every dark recess of your home. Those allergens are responsible for asthma, hayfever, and eczema.
The EPA lists some important information that the public should know about mold. A key piece of information, is to dry any area exposed to water from leaks and storms, immediately, to prevent mold growth. Anti-microbial sprays like Febreeze help control mold growth on fabrics.
Poor air quality inside homes can be attributed to dust mites and dust. When dust mite infestation levels become high, dust mite allergen can cause serious asthma attacks. It is suggested that you wash sheets and blankets weekly.
Pets can also exacerbate allergy problems, because children with asthma will have more frequent allergic reactions when pets leave behind saliva, urine, and pet danger that will be spread around the home. To make sure allergens don't get into hard to clean places, keep pets off fabric covered furniture.
Hawaii ranks 2nd in the nation for kid asthma sufferers
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About eleven percent of children from Hawaii have asthma, which is the 2nd highest percentage in the United States. The vog from the Big Island volcanoes have long been thought of as the asthma culprit, but research suggests that the problem lies with genetics and smoking. Other asthma triggers include dust mites and pet dander.
Dust Mites New Relationship With Eczema
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It has been long held that dust mites cause eczema, but recently new research sheds some new light on the relationship between eczema and house dust mites. According to the research, skin exposure to the mites causes water-loss which worsens dry skin or eczema. Doctors recommend a shielding lotion that locks in the skin's natural moisture to counteract the effects of the dust mite enzyme.
Sawmill workers are more prone to allergies
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A study done by a group researchers from Massey University in Wellington found that sawmill workers in New Zealand were more likely to have allergies. Their findings found that sawmill workers exposed to high levels of dust had a higher chance of developing asthma. Similarly, workers who inhaled green dust (dust freshly trees) had more of a chance for developing allergies.
Skin Water Loss Caused By Dust Mites
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Researchers at the Juntendo University School of Medicine located in Tokyo, Japan have said in a new study that dust mites cause skin to lose water. The enzyme that dust mites create breaks the barrier in skin that results in the water loss.
Dust mites and your skin
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A study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology shows evidence that dust mites disrupt the protective function of skin. The disruption leaves the skin vulnerable to other allergens. House dust mites and their dropings contain an enzyme that has been found to break the protective barrier of skin.
Peanut Allergies Fade Away
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Doctors did a study that was used to determine whether children could outgrow food allergies or not. Doctors tested 200 children who had an existing peanut allergy, then retested them 1.5 years later; the findings indicated the allergy faded with time. The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
A Honolulu city hall infested with dust mites
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An investigation at Honolulu Hale (the city hall for Holnolulu, Hawaii) discovered that there was a significant infestation of dust mites in 11 different spots in the building. The cause of the severe dust mite problem is blamed on poor maintanence of the building, but that was addressed. Workers removed old carpet and replaced it with vinyl flooring; they also cleaned chairs.
Reducing dust mites in the bed
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A study released by researchers in Barcelona, Spain shows that replacing old bed mattresses and increasing the amount of air circulation can reduce the dust mite infestation level in the bedroom.
