Dust mites are unwelcome insect-like critters that make themselves at home in your house. They’re practically invisible to the naked eye, but they can create quite the allergy flare-up.
Dust mites are unwelcome roommates
Thanks to dust mites, you can have the cleanest living space and still suffer from allergies. Dust mites don’t bite or sting, and they don’t have any interest in living in our bodies.
So, how can you protect yourself from dust mite allergies? That’s where our team comes in with expert tips to keep dust mites at bay. While wiping surfaces in your home is a good practice, it’s not an effective method to eliminate dust mites. Instead, dust mites prefer to live in spaces that can be trickier to clean.
Conditions
Dust mites can be found in homes at any time of the year, but they particularly love the warm, humid conditions of late summer. At the same time, we tend to see an uptick in allergy symptoms in the fall through early winter when it becomes too chilly to keep windows open and the heat turns on instead.
Dust mites carry particles that can get stirred into the air when you walk across the carpet or even roll over in bed. Pay special attention to how you feel in areas of your home where dust mites are known to thrive.
- Places that are challenging to clean, such as:
- Carpeting
- Couches
- Mattresses
- Pillows and bedding
- Places where a food supply accumulates, such as:
- Animal skin and scales
- Dandruff
- Feathers
- Human skin
Treatments
You can take several steps to manage dust mites enough so that they no longer cause allergies. While there isn’t a surefire way to eliminate dust mites completely, your doctor can offer tips that will significantly help.
The main goal is to remove or seal up places where dust mites grow. This could mean encasing your bed mattress and pillows in covers that dust mites can’t pass through.
Your doctor will recommend more pinpointed treatment once we confirm a dust mite allergy.
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