Tag Archives: asthma

What The Heck Are Dust Mites?

I cant begin to tell you how often I get this question? We all know they are bad and that we dont want them but most of us remain fairly uneducated about what dust mites are and how to combat them.

Simply put dust mites are microscope bugs that primarily live on dead skin cells regularly shed from humans and their animal pets. Dust mites are generally harmless to most people. They don’t carry diseases, but they can cause allergic reactions in asthmatics and others who are allergic to their feces. People sometimes confuse dust mites with bed bugs.

Most of us forget that the average human “sheds” off 1/3 ounce (10 grams) of dead skin a week! That gives dust mites a lot to eat. Cats and dogs create far more dander for dust mites to eat. So any place where a person or an animal lounges a great deal becomes a dust mite “buffet” of sorts. Thats why we see so many on couches and mattresses.

Its not uncommon for the typical mattress to contain tens of thousands of dust mites. 100,000 mites can live in one square yard. A single dust mite produces about 20 waste droppings each day. As gross as it sounds (and is) it is a protein in this waste that cause many allergic reactions ranging from itchy eyes to asthma attacks.

So how can you recognize the symptoms to dust mites?

The protein in the dust mite waste produces antibodies in humans who are allergic when these are inhaled or touch the skin. These antibodies cause the release of histamines which causes to nasal congestion, swelling and irritation of the upper respiratory passages. The Mayo Clinic, WebMD and many others collectively provide this list of typical symptoms of an allergy to dust mites;

Always Sick? 10 Warning Signs of Immune Deficiencies For Adults

Even in todays day of innovative medicine many are unaware of the importance of understanding their immunology. In fact many doctors never even look at this fundamental building block in properly assessing their patients issues. The fact is that most of all symptoms can be tracked back to issues with our your immune system.

There are many types of immune deficiencies and the quicker you can identify that you are suffering from one of them the faster you can move on to true solutions and not just treating the symptoms.

Here are 10 warning signs that you might have an immune deficiency.

10 warning signs of primary immune deficiency for adults:

1. Two or more new ear infections within 1 year.
2. Two or more serious sinus infections within 1 year, in absence of an
allergy.
3. One pneumonia per year for 1 year.
4. Chronic diarrhea with weight loss.
5. Recurrent viral infections (colds, herpes, warts, condyloma)
6. Recurrent need for intravenous antibiotics to clear infections.
7. Recurrent, deep abscesses of the skin or internal organs.
8. Persistent thrush or fungal infection on skin or elsewhere.
9. Infection with normally harmless tuberculosis-like bacteria.
10. A family history of PI.

Most Americans are caught in an endless loop of identifying symptoms, treating those symptoms but never recovering. If you identify with ANY of these above mentioned warning signs please see an Immunologist and get busy solving the cause!

 

Here are some excellent resources for more research!

http://www.jmfworld.com/

http://primaryimmune.org/

http://www.geneticalliance.org/organization/immune-deficiency-foundation

http://www.pia.org.uk/