Listen to your Mother

     Most of the time it pays to listen to your mother, but there's a new theory out there about dust mites that a lot of people will be happy to hear about. It's pretty simple too:  Don't make your bed! Every time you make your bed you're tucking those little beasties in for a good sleep.  So this is one time it doesn't pay to listen to your mother.

     Upon arising in the morning, the best thing you can do is to peel back those bed covers exposing the pillows and sheets.  The first thing this does is allow any moisture to evaporate, reducing humidity, which the mites need to survive.  The second thing this does is to expose them to light.  Even though dust mites have no eyes, they are light sensitive and will run and hide from the light.  If you have your bed near a window, exposing the mites to sunlight will kill them.  Once again though, you are only reducing their numbers and not actually eliminating the allergen itself, their waste product.

     So if it seems like you're losing the battle, you're really not.  The more dust mites you eliminate, lowering their overall numbers, the less allergens present.  One female can live as long as 2-3 months and in that short time she can lay up to 100 eggs.  So you can see that even though it's impossible to completely eliminate all of them, taking action now can greatly reduce their populations in the long run. Otherwise, they just continue to reproduce until you are left dealing with huge colonies.

     So peel back those covers and if at all possible, move your bed near a window. Soon you will begin to notice changes in your sleep quality.  Be sure to check the Quick Reminder Chart at the top of the page for  helpful hints.

Happy Breathing!!!