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Dust allergy: symptoms, treatment
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
[ Why does dust allergy occur?
The notorious dust mites, about which a lot of information has been collected to date, but which continue to live side by side with humans, still pose a threat to both long-term allergy sufferers and people who still do not know what dust allergy and allergy in general are. Since dust itself is not a natural substance, but consists of many components, it is worth studying the information about it in more detail. Dust can safely be called a microcosm, since it sometimes lives its own life, independent of humans, and consists of many thousands of components. By type, dust is divided into natural, household and industrial, in a word, wherever a person is, he will be surrounded by dust in any case. Dust can also be organic, inorganic and combined - mixed. All dust particles carry a microcharge of electricity, some of the dust elements are toxic and even capable of burning. It is estimated that the amount of household dust in a standard three-room apartment, where three or four people live, reaches forty kilograms per year. This is provided that the home is cleaned periodically and basic hygiene rules are observed. The most concentrated dust collects at a height of just over a meter, therefore, children are most exposed to dust attacks due to their small stature. The list of dust components is worthy of a separate article, and perhaps a book. But we will focus on the most serious enemy in terms of provoking allergies - the dust mite.
Dust allergy is usually an unnoticeable invasion of a dust mite into the human body. The mite is almost everywhere - in linen, carpets, pillows, books. They are invisible to the eye, but dangerous in their numbers and unique ability to resist any general cleaning and chemical treatment. Its name Dermatophagoides speaks for itself - destroying, damaging the skin. In principle, the tenacity of mites is understandable, because they are saprophytes, that is, our companions along with bacteria, including intestinal ones, which are even considered useful. And mites do not attack human skin in order to feed on it, on the contrary, a person "drops" up to one gram of dead skin every day, which is food for Dermatophagoides.
A fair question, why do dust mites cause allergies? Dust allergy associated with dust mites occurs precisely at the time when a person has the longest contact with an allergic antigen, that is, when sleeping. Most dust mites are found in mattresses, blankets, and there are especially many of them in feather linens. A person sleeps, and the skin, which is a breeding ground for dust mites, settles on the linen. It is absolutely logical that the bed is the best place for dust mites to live and feed. Although soft children's toys, carpets, and so on can be no less popular "homes" for these dust enemies of humanity. Dust mites love humidity, and a humidity level of less than 50% is uncomfortable for them.
Symptoms of Dust Allergy
The danger of ticks for the human body is hidden in their structure, it is extremely similar to the protein structure of parasites known to the immune system. As soon as a tick enters the body through the respiratory tract, the immune response occurs instantly, the system does not differentiate whether it is a tick or, for example, a toxic microhelminth. It is good if it is a simple sneeze as a reflex release from dust. It is worse when the allergic reaction increases and becomes chronic. Asthmatic symptoms and the development of the disease up to bronchial asthma are also possible.
How to prevent dust allergy?
Dust allergy is determined quite accurately using skin tests. And to neutralize the symptoms, it is sometimes enough to regularly carry out wet cleaning, this is especially relevant if an allergy sufferer lives in the house. Although, even if the allergy has not yet visited your home, you should not wait for it to appear.
As you know, any disease is easier to foresee and prevent. In the case of dust allergy, this is quite easy to do. The recommendations are as follows: do not accumulate unnecessary things, get rid of feather products if possible or constantly clean and disinfect them, ventilate the room more often and treat hard-to-reach places in the house with harmless chemicals. Then dust allergy will be just a phrase, and not a habitual reaction that threatens health.