Volta Vacuum Cleaner, Pullman Vacuum Cleaner, Cleaner Vacuum Wertheim, Melbourne, Australia

The major cause of allergic reactions such as runny or stuffy nose, itchy, watery eyes and sneezing is house dust. Dust can also trigger asthma attacks of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. Dust mites and mite faeces are also a problem.

A study in England showed 10% of the population and 90% of allergic asthmatics test positive to mites. Recent studies in the U.S. suggest at least 45% of young asthmatics are allergic to mites.

House dust may contain fabric fibres, skin scales, animal dander, bacteria, mould spores, food particles or other organic and synthetic materials. A dust allergy is not a sign of a dirty house. Although, a dusty house can worsen the allergic person's health.

It is important not to let dust accumulate on surfaces. Getting rid of house dust is complicated, especially for an allergic person. It would be best for the cleaning to be done while the dust-sensitive person is out of the house. However, if the dust-sensitive person must do the cleaning, he or she should wear a dust mask.

Dust Mites are related to ticks and spiders, and are part of the house dust. One gram of dust can house up to 500 mites. A 6 year-old pillow can get one-tenth of its weight from mites, dead mites and mite droppings.

The dust mite feeds on dead skin scales that people shed every day. The dust mite will eat an average of 50 million skin scales that people shed every day.

The average mattress can gain five pounds a year from human body ash. The average mite produces about 20 highly allergic fecal pellets per day, which is enough to equal their weight in just a few days.

For dust mites to breed, they require a habitat that has three things: food, heat and humidity. While you are sleeping, your body perspires 75 millilitres of fluid while simultaneously shedding millions of dead skin flakes on which dust mites feed. Unfortunately these conditions make your pillow and mattress perfect environments for dustmites to breed and spread. In fact, the average mattress has aproximately 10 million dust mites living in it. 10 Per cent of your pillow's weight could actually be made of dust and dust mites! While a dust mite only lives for approximately 6 weeks, a new generation of mites is produced every three weeks with each female laying 25 to 50 eggs each time. They thrive in the dark and humid environment of your bed.

In its short lifetime, a dust mite produces 200 times its own body weight in waste droppings. It is the allergen contained in the mite's faeces which cause allergic responses. Each time you turn in your sleep (roughly 60 to 70 times during one night), the faeces pellets containing the allergen are projected into the air where they can linger for up to 24 hours. These allergens trigger off allergic reactions when they are inhaled into the lung. With this knowledge in mind, perhaps the thought of spending one third of your life in bed isn't so pleasant after all!!!

However, dust mites aren't the only causes of allergy sufferers. Allergic reactions are caused by any number of things - exposure to smoke, pollutants, viral infection and allergens like grasses, moulds and pollen. But in terms of a single allergen, the dust mite is probably the most prominent.

• Persistently stuffy nose and ears.
• Repeated sneezing on awakening.
• Itchy, watery eyes
• Worsening of symptoms when beds are made.
• Improving symptoms outside the house.

Allergists recommend that levels of dust mites in the home be reduced and insist that prevention, such as avoiding allergy triggers, is the best medicine. Everyday in the home, people are breathing in the same recirculated air. Combine this with the house dust and dust mites and you have a recipe for triggering allergies and asthma. The following suggestion will help those who have allergy sufferers in their homes reduce their exposure to household allergens.

• Focus efforts on the bedroom. It is important to have at least one room in which the dust is optimally controlled.
• Encase pillows, mattresses, and box springs in mite-proof encasings and use antimicrobial pillows.
• Non-carpeted floors and bare windows are best.
• Clean the room thoroughly, ceiling to floor. Dust thoroughly using a moistened cloth and mop rather than sweep. Don't forge the closet; it's a very dusty place.
• Store only frequently used clothing in your bedroom closet.
• Don't use your room as a storeroom. The more things in a room, the more dust will accumulate. Get rid of all those magazines and books.
• Double bag your vacuum cleaner or use a HEPA filtration system vacuum.
• Allergy sufferers should let someone else do the cleaning and then they should stay out of the room for at least an hour until the dust settles.
• Install an electrostatic air filter. Many allergists recommend replacing the inefficient disposable fibreglass filters with a permanent and highly efficient electrostatic air filter. The electrostatic method of filtration filters out finer airborne particles.