House dust allergy –
The advisor

A house dust allergy is an overreaction of the body to proteins in the mite droppings. Symptoms of house dust allergy include a stuffy nose, watery eyes or a strong urge to cough. A doctor can use a so-called prick test to determine whether a house dust allergy is present. In this guide you will learn what you can do about a house dust allergy, how exactly you can air cleaner can support you and also whether you can permanently and sustainably get rid of a house dust allergy.

House dust: our daily companion

House dust is part of every apartment – and with around 6 milligrams per square meter that accumulates daily in house dust, it is also quite abundant. House dust is the name for small and extremely small particles of organic and inorganic origin. In house dust, dander, fine dust and pollen meet mites, bacteria and viruses. Fibers from textiles and abrasion from furniture surfaces join the colorful dance that we only really perceive as fluff or “dust mice”. Dust is not dangerous per se, on the contrary: Dust is an elementary and unavoidable component of our air. House dust only becomes a problem when our body develops an allergy.

What is house dust allergy and is it a disease?

Anyone who suffers from a house dust allergy can get pretty bad. A scratchy throat, persistent cough, reddened, watery eyes, persistent tiredness or itching can indicate a house dust allergy – but they don’t have to! A visit to the doctor is therefore essential in order to determine a house dust allergy! A house dust allergy is not a disease, but rather an overreaction of the human body to proteins in the excrement of the house dust mite. Under certain circumstances, these proteins are classified as dangerous by the immune system and are fought against accordingly. When the body goes into defense mode, among other things, histamine is released in large quantities – a tissue hormone and neurotransmitter that, among other things, acts as a messenger substance in an inflammatory reaction, causing the tissue to swell. Histamine is also responsible for itching, pain and contractions of the so-called “smooth muscles” (e.g. in the bronchi). While the body fights the supposed enemy in the form of mite excrement proteins, the well-known symptoms of a house dust allergy occur.

How do you recognize a house dust allergy?

Possible indications of an existing house dust allergy can include:

• Season. It can be observed that most allergy sufferers complain of severe symptoms primarily in the cold season, from late autumn to winter. The reason: When it’s cold outside, we like to be in cozy, warm interiors. The warm air raises a lot of dust – the best conditions for a house dust allergy!
• Time of day. Not only we humans love our soft, cozy bed. The house dust mite also likes to settle in and on mattresses, pillows or duvets. Most symptoms show up during the night or after waking up in the morning. Of course, this is where the proximity to the mites and their legacies is simply the least.
• House work. House dust allergy symptoms are more common during house cleaning. When dust is mopped, floors vacuumed and beds made, a huge amount of dust particles are kicked up. If an allergy sufferer is now in this cloud – well, the result is known.

What are the symptoms of a house dust allergy?

The most common symptoms include reddened, itchy eyes, a stuffy nose, headache, and a deep-seated, persistent cough. Some allergy sufferers also experience rashes and / or severe itching. In severe cases, a house dust allergy can also lead to shortness of breath!

What can you do about a house dust allergy?

The bad news first: Once your body has “shot itself” at house dust as an allergy trigger, it is a real challenge to get rid of this allergy again. Sustained success can be achieved as part of a desensitization process – but usually combined with a treatment phase lasting several years. Therefore, with a house dust allergy, the following should always apply: prevention is better than cure!

The best preventive measures against house dust allergy include:

• Regular and thorough ventilation, preferably with the windows wide open in all rooms. In this way, the particle load, i.e. the number of dust particles in the air, can be significantly reduced.
• Modern air purifiers can also lower the particle load, and in most cases this is even better than with pure ventilation.
• The bed, any bed linen and of course the pillows can be equipped with special covers. These covers reliably prevent mites from settling at home in their sleep. No mites, no mite droppings – and finally a restful sleep again!
• Minimizing textile surfaces is not always possible, but it is still one of the best weapons in the fight against house dust! Carpets, fabric couches or curtains are just as loved by mites as the bed.
• Freeze and wash. Mites die at temperatures that are too low or too high. While temperatures that are too high are not advisable for textiles, no mite can survive a trip into the freezer. However, the mites die here – but their droppings remain. Textiles should therefore be washed regularly and also after the freezer to rinse mite particles from the fibers.

How does an air purifier help against house dust allergy?

A air cleaner is a technical device that can filter the entire room air in a very short time. The air purifier has a mostly slowly rotating fan that draws the outside air into the housing of the air purifier. There the air is filtered several times, irradiated with UV light or ionized, depending on the equipment of the air purifier. The minimum equipment for an air purifier against house dust allergy should be a HEPA filter. HEPA stands for “High Efficient Particulate Air”, which roughly translates as “Highly efficient particulate filter”. HEPA filters in an air purifier are made of glass fiber mats with an extremely small fiber diameter. Small and very small particles get caught in the close-meshed HEPA filters and can no longer get into the air. If not only house dust is to be combated with an air cleaner, but the air cleaner should also help against viruses and bacteria at the same time, additional activated carbon filters are suitable. These filters have a porous surface that can trap and hold even tiny particles. Finally, viruses and bacteria are also killed with a UV light device. And through ionization, particles can be weighed down in such a way that they no longer float in the air – but instead sink completely inactive to the ground. An air purifier is therefore highly recommended when it comes to removing house dust sustainably and permanently from your own four walls.