The Mattress Doctor - Specialist Mattress Cleaning for North London and North West London
 Mattresses
are the perfect environment for Dust Mites. Dust Mites are
tiny creatures that are members of the Arachnid (spider)
family. They thrive in temperatures of more than 20°C
(70°F) with a relative humidity of 60-80%. These are
the conditions found almost exclusively within the mattresses
you and your family sleep on every night.
Bacteria infested flakes of dry skin from you and your
pets offer Dust Mites a rich source of food. Their reproductive
rate is very high. Natural enemies, such as predatory mites,
are extinct. Up to 2,500 Dust Mites have been counted in
one gram of dust. That means there are up to two million
Dust Mites in one double size mattress! Each Dust Mite excretes
approximately 20 pellets of excrement a day which contain
allergens in the form of protease enzymes. These can attack
the protective lining of the nose, throat and lungs. Moving
around in bed makes the allergens airborne and easy to inhale.
This stimulates the body's immune system, triggering the
symptoms of asthma and rhinitis.
More and more scientific evidence points to the fact that
this Dust Mite excrement and the skeletons of dead Dust
Mites are a cause of allergies and related problems e.g.
asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, inflammation of the mucous
membranes, reddening of the eyes and itching. It can also
be a contributory factor to skin diseases including dermatitis
and eczema. Asthma in particular, is increasing at an alarming
rate among children worldwide and is causing widespread
concern. 85% of people with asthma have been found to have
an allergy to Dust Mites.
"Dust Mite proteins have been implicated as a predominant
cause of the current increase in asthma prevalence. Recent
advances in the understanding of these allergens have vastly
increased the potential for more effective treatment and
prophylaxis. In the absence of vaccines, environmental controls
aimed at allergen avoidance are currently the best defense
against the disease."
STEPHEN A. BRUNTON and RICHARD L. SAPHIR
In the United Kingdom, the National Asthma Campaign reported
that the number of Asthma sufferers in the UK increased
from 2.3 million in the year 2000 to 5.3 million by the
beginning of 2003! |
