What do we need to know about dust mites?

August 5 2021

What are mites and where do they most often live? Why is the presence of mites not recommended in our environment and why do we need to protect our youngest children from them? What symptoms gives dust mite allergy? Is it possible mite biteand if so, then what it looks like? Read our text and dispel any doubts about the mites.

Although visible only under a microscope, dust mites - especially those found in the home - can make life very difficult for both us and our children. We explain what they are, where they are most numerous and what health problems they cause.

What are dust mites?

Dust mites belong to arachnids - they are closely related to spiders and ticks. Invisible to the naked eye, their size ranges from several hundred micrometers to 1 mm - so mites can only be seen under a microscope. They reproduce rapidly - in a month, the female is able to lay about 300 eggs, therefore, under favorable conditions, they can be added very quickly. There is a group of house mites, we call them house dust mites.

It is assumed that 1 gram of dust can contain about 3. individuals. The mites feed mainly on human and animal exfoliated epidermis. The amount of epidermis that a person naturally loses each day provides enough opportunities for the free development of mites in our homes.

Where and when are the most dust mites?

Dust mites like bedrooms, mattresses, bedding, pillows, blankets, upholstered furniture, thick curtains, carpets, stuffed animals and stuffed animals. They have perfect living conditions there. The best air temperature for their development is around 23 degrees. C but fine can cope with temperatures from 17 to 30 degrees C, and humidity above 60%. Outside the house, mites prefer the vicinity of lakes and ponds, so if we are allergic to them, it will not be a good vacation destination. There are fewer of them in the higher elevated areas. There are 45-46 thousand known. mite species.

Most mites appear in the period from May to August. On the other hand the arrival of a colder season and the beginning of the heating season, which dries the air, makes the allergens derived from them float in the airwhich may adversely affect those who are allergic.

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Aleksandra Swiebod

Head of the Department of Assessment and Development of Cooperation at the Institute of Mother and Child

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Dust mite allergy: symptoms

Mites, and more specifically the proteins found in their droppings, can cause severe allergies the symptoms are as follows:

a runny nose
bouts of sneezing
itchy / scratchy throat
attacks of dry cough
dyspnoea,
wheezing
redness of the conjunctiva and watery eyes,
chronic drowsiness, fatigue,
headaches,
skin problems, e.g. itching, rash

Dust mites can also be the cause asthma and atopic dermatitis.

Alice Karney

Specialist pediatrician, Deputy Director for clinical matters, Head of the One-Day Hospitalization Department and Admission Room, Institute of Mother and Child

The expert advises:

Dust mite allergens are among the inhaled allergens that enter the body through the inhaled air. Therefore, you can be allergic to dust all year round, although it is most troublesome in autumn and winter, when radiators heat up. Symptoms of mite allergy, especially at night and in the morning, are relatively easy to confuse with symptoms of a common cold, as the most common symptoms are in the nose and throat. Mite allergens may aggravate atopic dermatitis skin lesions and symptoms of bronchial asthma. With prolonged high exposure, symptoms such as drowsiness, headaches and fatigue can also occur.

If you want to know what to do to avoid mite problems in your home, take a look here.

Mite bite: is it possible?

There is a misconception that allergies and related negative health effects are caused by mite bites. Not only that, some people try to find out what a mite bite looks like on the skin, without apparently realizing that the mites themselves are too small to be seen except under a microscope.

The truth is, however, that mites do not bite us - their food is only dead skin, which peels off and separates from our skin in a continuous process of cell renewal. And changes on the skin are not caused by a bite, but are one of the symptoms of allergy to mites.