Preventive measures to avoid contact with house dust mites and their allergens

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 1 - 6, 31.01.2020

Kosta Y. Mumcuoğlu , Ayşegül Taylan Özkan

Abstract

House dust mites (HDMs) of the genera Dermatophagoides
and Euroglyphus are the most important allergens in human
habitations to which ca. 7% of the human population in developed countries
become allergic. The allergens are excreted through their faeces and the
control of mites and the elimination of the produced allergens could alleviate
and allergic symptoms. For this purpose, the relative humidity should be kept
below 50% at home, as higher humidity enhances the development of HDMs. The
biggest attention should be given to the bedroom, and especially to the bed.
Mattresses, upholstered furniture, and heavy carpets are the most important
biotopes of HDMs and should be regularly vacuumed, treated with acaricides
and/or exposed to sunlight. Allergen-tight sheets and pillow covers which do
not permit the allergens existing on the mattress or pillows to come in direct
contact with the patient should be used. Sheets, blankets, pillowcases and
bedcovers should be washed every 2-3 weeks at 60^°C and above. Heat
will kill dust mites and neutralize a large part of the allergens. The floor
should be fitted with tiles, wood, linoleum or vinyl material, and not with
wall-to-wall carpets. Heavy carpets, especially those made from wool should be
removed from the bedroom. Any object which is not being used on a regular basis
and could collect dust, should be removed, washed regularly or kept in
allergen-tight plastic bags. In conclusion, mite and allergen avoidance could
alleviate the allergic symptoms of HDM allergic individuals and reduce the
medication taken to treat such symptoms.

Keywords

House dust mites, Dermatophagoides, Euroglyphus, prevention, control, control

References

• Arlian, L.G. 1991. House-dust-mite allergens: a review. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 10 (3-4): 167-186. doi: 10.1007/BF01198649
• Arlian, L.G. 1992. Water balance and humidity requirements of house dust mites. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 16: 15-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01201490
• Arlian, L.G. and Morgan, M.S. 2003. Biology, ecology, and prevalence of dust mites. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, 23 (3): 443-468. doi: 10.1016/S0889-8561(03)00005-5
• Arlian, L.G., Morgan, M.S. and Neal, J.S. 2002. Dust mite allergens: Ecology and distribution. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, 2 (5): 401-411. doi: 10.1007/s11882-002-0074-2
• Arroyave, W.D., Rabito, F.A., Carlson, J.C., Friedman, E.E. and Stinebaugh, S.J. 2014. Impermeable dust mite covers in the primary and tertiary prevention of allergic disease: A meta-analysis. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 112: 237-248. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2014.01.006
• Arslan, S., Senel, E., Oztekin, A., Gulhan, M., Kosar, N., and Taylan-Ozkan, A. 2019. Skin Prick test reactivity to aeroallergens in pulmonology and dermatology clinics in Çorum province: A 2-year Retrospective Study. Hitit Medical Journal, 1 (1): 12-14. [In Turkish]
• Bremmer, S.F. and Simpson, E.L. 2015. Dust mite avoidance for the primary prevention of atopic dermatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 26: 646-654. doi: 10.1111/pai.12452
• Brussee, J.E., Smit, H.A., van Strien, R.T., Corver, K., Kerkhof, M., Wijga, A.H., Aalberse, R.C., Postma, D., Gerritsen, J., Grobbee, D.E., de Jongste, J.C. and Brunekreef, B. 2005. Allergen exposure in infancy and the development of sensitization, wheeze, and asthma at 4 years. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 115 (5): 946-952. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2005.02.035
• Calderon, M.A., Linneberg, A., Kleine-Tebbe, J., De Blay, F., Hernandez Fernandez de Rojas, D., Virchow, J.C. and Demoly, P. 2015. Respiratory allergy caused by house dust mites: what do we really know? Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 136: 38-48. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2014.10.012
• Casas, L., Sunyer, J., Tischer, C., Gehring, U., Wickman, M., Garcia-Esteban, R., Lehmann, I., Kull, I., Reich, A., Lau, S., Wijga, A., Antó, J.M., Nawrot, T.S., Heinrich, J., Keil, T. and Torrent, M. 2015. Early-life house dust mite allergens, childhood mite sensitization, and respiratory outcomes. Allergy, 70 (7): 820-827. doi: 10.1111/all.12626
• Charpin, D., Birnbaum, J., Haddi, E., Genard, G., Lanteaume, A., Toumi, M., Faraj, F., van der Brempt, X. and Vervloet, D. 1991. Altitude and allergy to house-dust mites. A par-adigm of the influence of environmental exposure on allergic sensitization. American Review of Respiratory Disease, 143: 983-986. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/143.5_Pt_1.983
• Colloff, M.J. 1987. Effects of temperature and relative humidity on development times and mortality of eggs from laboratory and wild populations of the European house-dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Acari: Pyroglyphidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology, 3 (4): 279-289. doi: 10.1007/BF01193165
• Colloff, M.J. 1991. A review of the biology and allergenicity of the house-dust mite Euroglyphus maynei (Acari: Pyroglyphidae) [corrected]. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 11 (2-3): 177-198. doi: 10.1007/BF01246090
• Colloff, M.J. 1998. Taxonomy and identification of dust mites. Allergy, 53 (48 Suppl): 7-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1998.tb04989.x
• Colloff, M.J., Ayres, J., Carswell, F., Howarth, P.H., Merrett, T.G., Mitchell, E.B., Walshaw, M.J., Warner, J.O., Warner, J.A. and Woodcock, A.A. 1992. The control of allergens of dust mites and domestic pets: a position paper. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 22 (Supplement 2): 1-28. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1992.tb01763.x
• Demir, E., Karasartova, D., Gureser A.S., Mumcuoglu, K.Y. and Taylan-Ozkan, A. 2018. Bibliometric analysis of publications on house dust mites. XV. International Con-gress of Acarology, 2-8 September, 2018, Antalya, Tur-key, p. 11.
• Dorward, A.J., Colloff, M.J., MacKay, N.S., McSharry, C. and Thomson, N.C. 1988. Effect of house dust mite avoid-ance measures on adult atopic asthma. Thorax, 43 (2): 98-102. doi: 10.1136/thx.43.2.98
• Edrees, N.O. 2014. The impact of using Pistacia lentiscus and Boswellia carterii widely spread at the popular level for incensing on minimizing HDM population density. Life Science Journal, 11 (9): 644-655.
• International Workshop Report, 1988. Dust mite allergens and asthma: a world-wide problem. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 66: 769-780.
• Krantz, G.W. and Walter, D.E. 2009. A manual of acarology. Third edition. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, USA, 807 pp.
• Marks, B.G.B, Tovey, E.R., Green, W., Shearer, M., Salome, C.M. and Woolcock, A.J. 1995. The effect of changes in house dust mite allergen exposure on the severity of asthma. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 25: 114-118. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1995.tb01015.x
• Mener, D.J. and Lin, S.Y. 2015. Improvement and prevention of asthma with concomitant treatment of allergic rhinitis and allergen-specific therapy. International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology, 5 (S1): 45-50. doi: 10.1002/alr.21569
• Miller, J.D. 2019. The role of dust mites in allergy. Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology, 57: 312-329 doi: 10.1007/s12016-018-8693-0
• Mumcuoglu, K.Y. 1975. Biology of the house dust mite Der-matophagoides pteronyssinus. II. Incidence of mites in the various regions of Switzerland and its dependence on climate. Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift, 105: 1013-1020. [In German]
• Mumcuoglu, Y.K., Zavaro, A., Samra, Z. and Lazarowitz, Z. 1988. House dust mites and vernal keratoconjunctivitis. Ophthalmologica, 196: 175-181. doi: 10.1159/000309896
• Mumcuoglu, K.Y., Gat, Z., Horowitz, T., Miller, J., Bar-Tana, R., Ben-Zvi, A. and Naparstek, Y. 1999. Abundance of house dust mites in relation to climate in contrasting agricultural settlements in Israel. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 13: 252-258. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2915.1999.00149.x
• Nankervis, H., Pynn, E.V., Boyle, R.J., Rushton, L., Williams, H.C., Hewson, D.M. and Platts-Mills, T. 2015. House dust mite reduction and avoidance measures for treating eczema. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1: CD008426. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008426.pub2
• Nelson, H.S. 2018. Immunotherapy for house-dust mite allergy. Allergy and Asthma Proceedings, 39 (4): 264-272. doi: 10.2500/aap.2018.39.4145
• Perry, T.T., Wood, R.A., Matsui, E.C., Curtin-Brosnan, J., Rand, C. and Eggleston, P.A. 2006. Room-specific characteristics of suburban homes as predictors of indoor allergen concentrations. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 97 (5): 628-535. doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)61092-7
• Pichler, C.E., Marquardsen, A., Sparholt, S., Løwenstein, H., Bircher, A., Bischof, M. and Pichler, W.J. 1997. Specific immunotherapy with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and D. farinae results in decreased bronchial hyperreactivity. Allergy, 52 (3): 274-283. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1997.tb00991.x
• Platts-Mills, T.A.E, de Weck, A., Aalberse, R.C., Bessot, J.C., Bjorksten, B., Bischof, E., Bousquet, J., Van Bronswijk, J.E.M.N., Channa Basavanna, G.P., Chapman, M., Colloff, M., Goldstein, R.A., Guerin, B., Hart, B., Hong, C.-S., Ito, K., Jorde, W., Korsgaard, J., Le Mao, J., Miyamoto, T., Lind, P., Lowenstein, H., Mitchell, E.B., Murray, A.B., Nolte, D., Norman, P.S., Pauli, G., Ranganath, H.R., Reed, C., Reiser, J., Stewart, G., Turner, K.J., Vervloet, D. and Wen, T. 1989. Dust mite allergens and asthma - A worldwide problem. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 83: 416-427. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(89)90128-0
• Platts-Mills, T.A.E., Vervloet, D., Thomas, W.R., Aalberse, R.C. and Chapman, M.D. 1997. Indoor allergens and asthma: report of the third international workshop. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 100: 1-24. doi: 10.1016/S0091-6749(97)70292-6
• Rubner, F.J., Jackson, D.J., Evans, M.D., Gangnon, R.E., Tisler, C.J., Pappas, T.E., Gern, J.E. and Lemanske, R.F. Jr. 2017. Early life rhinovirus wheezing, allergic sensitization, and asthma risk at adolescence. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 139 (2): 501-507. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.03.049
• Sánchez-Borges, M., Fernandez-Caldas, E., Thomas, W.R., Chapman, M.D., Lee, B.W., Caraballo, L., Acevedo, N., Chew, F.T., Ansotegui, I.J., Behrooz, L., Phipatanakul, W., van Wijk, R.G., Pascal, D., Rosario, N., Ebisawa, M., Gel-ler, M., Quirce, S., Vrtala, S., Valenta, R., Ollert, M., Ca-nonica, G.W., Calderón, M.A., Barnes, C.S., Custovic, A., Benjaponpitak, S. and Capriles-Hulett, A. 2017. International consensus (ICON) on: clinical consequences of mite hypersensitivity, a global problem. World Allergy Organization Journal, 10: 14. doi: 10.1186/s40413-017-0145-4
• Sheikh, A., Hurwitz, B., Nurmatov, U, van Schayck, C.P. 2010. House dust mite avoidance measures for perennial allergic rhinitis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 7 (7): CD001563. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001563.pub3
• Singh, M. and Hays, A. 2016. Indoor and outdoor allergies. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 43: 451-463. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2016.04.013
• Skelton, A.C., Cameron, M.M., Pickett, J.A. and Birkett, M.A. 2010. Identification of neryl formate as the airborne aggregation pheromone for the American house dust mite and the European house dust mite (Acari: Epidermoptidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 47 (5): 798-804. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/47.5.798
• Tovey, E.R., Chapman, M.D. and Platts-Mills, T.A.E. 1981. Mite faeces are a major source of house dust allergens. Nature, 289: 592-593. doi: 10.1038/289592a0
• Wilson, J.M. and Platts-Mills, T.A.E. 2018. Home environ-mental interventions for house dust mite. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 6: 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2017.10.003
• Yu, C.H., Yiin, L.-M., Tina Fan, Z.-H. and Rhoads, G.G. 2008. Evaluation of HEPA vacuum cleaning and dry steam cleaning in reducing levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and house dust mite allergens in carpets. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 11 (1): 205-211. doi: 10.1039/b807821a