Dust Allergy Symptoms (Prevention Tips)!

One of popular allergies is dust allergy! As the name implies, this allergy is triggered by dust, particularly like dust mites. So, what are dust allergy symptoms and what you can do to control dust in your house? In fact, dust can be found anywhere, even every house may has dust (at least a few dust that usually tucked away in somewhere, like in corners of the room). 

You may also like to know more about wheat allergy symptoms and allergic reaction rash, before continuing!

Moreover, there are some home appliances that can stir up dust, like air conditioning, forced-air heating appliances, and so on. Dust can be made up of a lot of different things. Dust in our home is usually dependent on several factors, like you have pets or not, the geographically location of your house, pieces of furniture that you have, and so on.

You should know that a piece of dust may have flakes of pet dander, dead skin from a lot of people, living organisms (including mold spores, bacteria, or fungus), or parts of lint & fabric. Even a single piece of dust may also contain dust mites (teeny tine critters).

Dust allergy symptoms

There are some symptoms of dust allergy and can vary from person to person, but keep remember to avoid jumping directly to the conclusion and diagnosis of what you experience. Always discuss with your doctor if you seriously want to get clearly diagnosis & more advices.

The symptoms may be similar with pollen allergy symptoms, which may include;

1. You may experience sneezing.
2. Then you may also get uncomfortable conditions like stuffy nose, itchy, or runny.
3. You may also experience itchy, red, or watery eyes.

Some individuals with dust allergy may also experience asthma signs, which may include; wheezing, problems in breathing (particularly like shortness of breath), or coughing.

What are dust allergy causes?

In many cases, people with dust allergy are usually allergic to certain proteins in dust. And these proteins are the waste produced by what we know as dust mites.

What are dust mites? They are actually spider-like creatures, which usually can significantly multiply and thrive in warm, moist places. They cannot be viewed by naked eye. They can be so enjoyable in areas with 75-85 percent of humidity and about 70 degrees of Fahrenheit or above in temperature. But they hate any areas that are in less humid settings and colder, therefore they are more likely to grow fast in July & August (warmer season), and never been found in Antarctica.

Dust mites are the big fans of dead skin from humans and animals (or pets). In other words, they love eating dead skin. And they are not likely to get starving, because each adult can shed up to 1.5 g of dead skin /day. They usually can be found not too difficultly inside upholstered furniture, bedding, and mattresses.

How do you get to know that you have dust allergy?

If you experience sneezing & sniffles, and these symptoms seem to linger, then you should start ask to yourself whether you have dust allergy! For this case, you should see your doctor to get appropriately advices.

People with this allergy may also has chance of developing symptoms of pet allergy, which eventually can be allergic to pets, like cat or dog.

To make a diagnosis, the doctor usually will ask a lot about the work & home environments of patient and the symptoms in patient. Moreover, doctor may also do a skin test and a blood test to confirm the diagnosis of dust allergy.

Prevention tips

There are some medical treatments to treat your dust allergy, but strictly limiting or avoiding contact with dust is still the best idea to control the allergic reaction.

Below are some helpful checklists to reduce or control dust in your home (keep clean air):

1. Avoid using mattress pads!
2. Choose polyester-fiber pillows instead of one that is filled with feathers or kapok.
3. Clean regularly all bedding in your bedroom (use very hot water if necessary in order to kill and remove all dust mites).
4. Clean regularly the floors of the house. You can use a damp mop for this idea.
5. Avoid choosing and using basement of the house for the bedroom of people with dust allergy!
6. You can also use a helpful machine like hygrometer or humidifier to keep well the humidity level of your home. Make sure the humidity level is below 55 percent.
7. Clean also regularly your window curtains. Use hot water if necessary to wash them.
8. Remove all dust collectors from your home! Do properly maintenance for your heating and air conditioning system (particularly for the air filter of the unit), call a professional service if necessary!
9. Limiting the use of carpet for covering your floor. Because carpet can be a dust collector in your home! Or you should regularly clean and vacuum all carpets that you use. Don’t forget to use a vacuum that also use a HEPA filter.
10. Don’t miss also to clean regularly pieces of furniture in your home.
11. And you should wash and clean throw rugs in hot water!

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