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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Dust mites eat skin cells people shed, and rather than drinking water, they absorb water from humidity in the atmosphere. They thrive in temperatures around 70 F (21 C) and a relative humidity around 70 percent.
Household dust contains all kinds of tiny particles, but a large portion of it is made up of human skin cells. This dust is easily trapped in the fibers of bed linens, furniture cushions and carpeting. These materials also hold moisture well. Consequently, bedrooms are ideal habitats for dust mites.
Dust also contains the feces and decaying bodies of dust mites, and it's a protein present in this dust mite "debris" that's the culprit in dust mite allergy.
What causes the allergic reaction
An allergic reaction is somewhat like a case of mistaken identity within your body's immune system. Normally, your immune system generates antibodies to protect your body against bacteria, viruses or toxic substances.
If you have dust mite allergy, your body generates an allergy-causing antibody to a protein found in the dust mite debris. In other words, it's mistakenly identified this protein as something that could harm you. Once your body has developed an allergy-causing antibody to a particular agent (allergen) — in this case, the dust mite protein — your immune system will be sensitive to it. When you inhale dust mite debris, your immune system responds and produces an inflammatory response in your nasal passages or lungs.
The dust mite allergen can cause two kinds of immune system responses in the airways of your lungs. An allergen can prompt inflammation in air passages. Therefore, prolonged or regular exposure to the allergen can cause the ongoing (chronic) inflammation associated with asthma. Exposure to an allergen also may cause sudden, severe constriction of air passages (bronchospasms).
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- Tips to remember: What is allergy testing? American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/whatisallergytesting.stm. Accessed Sept. 16, 2008.
- Tips to remember: What are "allergy shots"? American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/whatareallergyshots.stm. Accessed Sept. 16, 2008.
- deShazo R, et al. Patient information: Trigger avoidance in allergic rhinitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 24, 2008.
- National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma - Summary Report 2007. Bethesda, Md.: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthsumm.htm. Accessed Oct. 8, 2008.
- Platts-Mills T, et al. The role of allergens in asthma. American Family Physician. 2007;76(5):675-680.
