Common dust mite allergy symptoms include sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes and itchy skin at night with the allergy often associated with asthma or eczema. For sufferers, the one place where they are most susceptible is the bed – as this is a favourite haunt of the dust mite.
The main causes of skin itching at night
Being too warm in bed: leaving the heating on, using a memory foam mattress and sleeping under synthetic bedding can all contribute to making your body overheat while you sleep.
The symptoms are typically worse at night and in the morning because dust mites tend to live in mattresses, pillows and bedding.
Allergen levels are at their highest between May and October, the peak breeding season of house dust mites. Most of the mites die during the winter, but the allergen-containing dust is stirred up by heating systems. This often causes the symptoms experienced by affected patients year-round to worsen during the winter.
They love to burrow in your fabric and feast on your skin cells. And, for this reason, your bed is the perfect place to make their home. Unlike bed bugs, mites don't pose any significant health risks. However, dust mite proteins can trigger congestion, a run nose, watery eyes, and other allergic reactions.
At night, the body releases more cytokines, which are immune system proteins that create inflammation. This can cause itching or make itching worse. At the same time, the body's production of corticosteroids, which tame inflammation, declines.
Mix one cup of baking soda with a few drops of essential oil of your choice. Then simply sprinkle baking soda on the mattress and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then vacuum it all off using the hose attachment to suck up all the baking soda fully. . This will suck up the dust mites along with the baking soda.
Dust mites can live in the bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture, carpets or curtains in your home. Dust mites are nearly everywhere; roughly four out of five homes in the United States have dust mite allergens in at least one bed.
Dust mites can be difficult to detect due to their small size. These microscopic arthropods are estimated to be only 1/4 to 1/3 millimeters long. You can only see them under a microscope, and even then, they only look like small white spider-like creatures.
Dust mites – sometimes called bed mites – are the most common cause of allergy from house dust. Dust mites live and multiply easily in warm, humid places. They prefer temperatures at or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity of 75 to 80 percent. They die when the humidity falls below 50 percent.
Unlike other members of the mite family, dust mites do not actually bite. Dust mites do not feed on the blood of humans as some other mites do. Although they may “hitchhike” on clothing, it is a myth that dust mites live on people. They feed primarily on dander, or flakes of dead skin that fall from humans and animals.
If your mattress is not encased in a dust mite-proof case and you suffer from allergic reactions, you should vacuum your mattress at least monthly to reduce the number of dust mites. If the mattress has a dust-proof cover that is cleaned frequently, then a twice-yearly cleaning should be all that is needed.
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Dust mites can infest all kinds of pillows -- feather, down, microfiber, or polyester foam. That means notone type is immune to them.
The best essential oils for getting rid of dust mites are clove, rosemary, and eucalyptus oil. Add 20 drops of oil to four ounces of witch hazel, and spray your mattress, couch, drapes, and other dust mite hangouts.
This special bedding (such as mattress covers) acts as a physical barrier that serves several roles: It keeps new dust mites from setting up residence in your mattress or pillow. It prevents dead skin cells from getting into your bedding to add to that yummy dust mite menu.
Vinegar is highly acidic and will kill just about any mite that crosses its path.
Other causes
Itchy skin could also be due to more serious medical conditions. Nerve conditions caused by diabetes, pinched nerves, and shingles can cause severe itching. The skin condition psoriasis causes changes to the skin that can also produce itching and discomfort. Chronic kidney disease can also cause itching.
In this study, it shows that unprocessed feathers contain dust-mite allergen that is removed by washing. It further shows that feather pillows, whether covered or not, do not internally accumulate dust-mite allergen when used in mite-infested bedrooms over a 3-month period.
If you have a dust mite problem in your home, bedding—sheets, blankets, and bed covers—should be washed at least weekly in hot water (130 to 140 F) to kill the mites.
These can come from both animals and humans, found in mattresses, carpeted areas, lounging areas and furniture. Numerous dust mites have a short life span of 10-30 days. But, depending on the environment and moisture conditions, females can live up to 70 days – and lay hundreds of eggs.
Dust mites are found in beds, couches, and rugs, and cause eyes to itch, noses to run, and skin to crawl.
Dust mites are hard to see because of their microscopic size. In contrast to their cousins, ticks and spiders, mites are not noticeable to the naked eye. A few assessments record them in the scopes of 0.2 to 0.3 mm long at most. So, you probably won't be able to see dust mites with only a human eye.