subject: Dust Mites and Dust Mite Allergy Solutions [print this page] As with any allergy, symptoms appear when the immune system mistakes a normally harmless protein for a foreign invader; this protein that causes the reaction is known as the allergen. In this case, the allergen is an enzyme that helps mites digest skin. The enzyme, found in dust mite feces, not only helps digest dead skin flakes, but it also destroys the protective function of our living, intact skin, leaving it vulnerable to other allergens and irritants.
The enzyme may cause allergic reactions when it touches the skin or when it's inhaled. During its 80-day lifespan, the average dust mite produces about 1,000 allergenic waste particles. There are 2,000 dust mites per teaspoon of dust which will produce about 500,000 allergenic waste particles.
While they may look like insects in the magnified photographs, house dust mites are actually arachnids, related to spiders. Because they are too small to be seen with the human eye, nobody knew about them until Anton van Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope in 1694. Shocked and horrified to find tiny bugs living all around him, Leeuwenhoek called them "little animals."
The scientific name for house dust mites, Dermatophagoides, means "skin eater" - and that's exactly what they do. Since dead human skin accounts for the majority of house dust, a small clump of dust is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for these little guys. They're so small that a half teaspoon of dust can contain as many as 1,000 dust mites. Dust mites love mattresses. They find everything they need in your bed: warmth, moisture, and a never-ending supply of food (that's you).
