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Sniffling, sneezing, if you're at a loss for what's causing your allergies, you might be tempted to stay in bed, but as our Call 2 Action investigation discovered, you'd be better off getting up and leaving the bedroom.
“It’d be easy to blame the dog for nighttime allergies.”
"I get up everyone morning and feel like I have to take out stock in Kleenex "
But the real culprit is actually lurking *under* the covers and inside the mattress.
"Decided to get mattress tested to see what's the story, what's going on to drive the allergies"
What was inside? An infestation of dust mites.
"They found there were an awful lot of dust mites in that mattress in fact I’m sleeping with millions every night"
They’re only about the size of a pinhead, and they won't bite, but they can cause pain and suffering all the same.
"20-30 percent of the population is allergic to something. Dust mites one of those things that is very common in terms of sensitively"
To test for dust mites the mattress, and carpet area surrounding it, is vacuumed using a special filter to collect the dust.
Call 2 Action tested out six mattresses, to see how common dust mites really are.
We followed the instructions and then sent the results to Dr. Robert Hamilton at the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center.
"You can see them crawling around in the dust when you put them under a microscope"
"I wouldn’t suspect in this house dust mites would be an issue"
But they are.
In Elizabeth’s mattress and also in -three- of the six beds Call 2 Action tested results show high levels of dust mites in the environment.
Which means if someone who has a dust mite allergy, like Elizabeth, sleeps on these mattresses, she'll have an allergic reaction.
"When we sleep in beds, tend to toss around and think the aerosols produced by tossing produce the aerosol we inhale"
If you think you're in the clear, you're probably wrong.
"Most homes have dust mites to different degrees."
And even the cleanest mattresses probably have a dust mite colony inside.
They feed off the skin cells and perspiration that come off our bodies at night and live in fibrous materials like mattresses, carpets and upholstery.
But the number of dust mites and consequently the number of allergens they release vary depending on the home.
"Primarily, degree of humidity, amount of environment and cleanliness of home owner and structure of home."
While it's nearly impossible to completely eliminate dust mites from your home, there are some steps you can take to reduce their population:
You can reduce the humidity in your home, reduce the amount of carpet and upholstery, vacuum and dust frequently and wash your bedding in hot water.
You can also buy special mattress and pillow covers that prevent the allergens from being released.
While it's nearly impossible to completely eliminate dust mites from your home, there are some steps you can take to reduce their population:
You can reduce the humidity in your home, reduce the amount of carpet and upholstery, vacuum and dust frequently and wash your bedding in hot water.
You can also buy special mattress and pillow covers that prevent the allergens from being released.
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