Couch troops: what dust mites can do to people
There are millions of dust mites living in our apartments. They are not visible to the eye, they do not bite, but such a company cannot be called safe for health, especially if a person suffers from allergies. However, and fanatical fight with dust mites does not help to strengthen immunity. "Izvestia" found out how often you need to clean your home to protect yourself from allergies, and why the desire to lick the apartment to shine indicates mental problems.
Miracle vacuum cleaner
Fear of dust mites especially poisoned the lives of Russians in the noughties, when clever scammers profited from the sale of miracle vacuum cleaners, which supposedly effectively rid the apartment of them. Information about the harm of these spiders was greatly exaggerated by enterprising businessmen, but doctors and scientists believe that it is not worth leaving the problem unattended.
Head of the polyclinic of the National Medical Research Center "Treatment and Rehabilitation Center" of the Ministry of Health of Russia, pulmonologist Eldar Huseynov emphasizes that dust mites are a reality, not a myth. They are one of the most common causes of allergic diseases of the respiratory tract.
- Allergies are not caused by the mites themselves, but by their tiny products of life, which contain strong allergens and often remain even after cleaning. These allergens cause inflammation of the respiratory tract, provoking asthma attacks, rhinitis and other allergic reactions," comments Eldar Huseynov.
The main habitat of dust mites is mattresses, pillows, carpets, upholstered furniture and other objects where organic particles accumulate. According to Huseynov, vacuum cleaners are not able to completely rid us of mites, they only help to reduce their number.
Dermatologist Natalia Zhovtan explains that dust mites cannot be seen with the naked eye.
- As a rule, they exist in colonies of up to 2 thousand mites per 1 g of dust. Mites reproduce by laying eggs. For the entire period of life, each female manages to produce up to 70 offspring. These mites live for about 80 days," says Natalia Zhovtan.
According to the dermatologist, dust mites do not bite people. They feed on organic substances, in particular our skin cells, and absorb moisture from the air. But if colonies of mites grow, it is not easy not only for allergic people, but also for people with bronchial asthma or other lung diseases, as well as those who suffer from atopic dermatitis.
How many times you should clean
According to the dermatologist, the ideal environment for mites is a dusty apartment with many details of decor - carpets, plush toys, heavy curtains. The comfortable temperature is 18-25 degrees Celsius.
- A measure to combat dust mite is regular wet cleaning. Throw away pieces of furniture that are difficult to keep clean. Wipe surfaces, remove dust, wash linen, curtains, bedspreads in a timely manner - advises Natalia Zhovtan.
According to Eldar Huseynov, the frequency of cleaning depends on lifestyle, environment and diseases. Thus, for people without allergies, regular cleaning once a week is enough. Allergic people need more thorough cleaning, up to 2-3 times a week.
The therapist of the Scandinavian Health Center Olga Chistik considers an ordinary dryer a good assistant in the fight against dust mites. Often such a device has modes of shaking and heat treatment of things.
- It is very convenient to shake out pillows, blankets and soft toys in this way. And, of course, in any case, at least once a week, wet cleaning of the premises is necessary, - comments Olga Chistik.
Eldar Huseynov once again emphasizes that it is impossible to completely get rid of dust mites, as they are present in almost any human environment. But it is quite realistic to significantly reduce their number and reduce the impact of allergens that they release.
- Here the most effective is a comprehensive approach: frequent wet cleaning, washing bed linen, including blankets and pillows, in hot water (at least 60°C) at least once a week, cleaning upholstered furniture regularly with a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment, - comments pulmonologist.
In case of dust mite allergy, a doctor's consultation is necessary for proper diagnosis and prescription of treatment. Someone may need drug therapy.
Carpet beating
Members of the older generation remember a time when not everyone had a washing machine or vacuum cleaner, and yet people lived among carpets, bedspreads and curtains. Dry-cleaning services were not often used either: numerous "dust collectors" were beaten out in the snow in the yards. Nevertheless, in the last century, doctors were consulted much less frequently about allergies.
- The secret probably lies in several factors. First of all, the air used to be cleaner: less industrial pollution, automobile exhaust and artificial chemical compounds. Modern allergens (for example, smog and micro-particles from fuel combustion) interact with household dust, increasing its impact on the body," comments Eldar Huseynov.
Pulmonologist also notes that in the past, the composition of dust included more organic substances. And modern dust contains more plastic particles, fuel combustion products and chemicals. The quality of cleaning in the past was also different - it was done manually, and the rooms were more often ventilated. For example, knocking out carpets in yards, although not perfect, but allowed to partially remove dust and mites.
Modern man, according to the expert, lives in more sterile conditions, which limits the "training" of the immune system. For example, mothers of toddlers for a walk carry antibacterial wipes and systematically disinfect their children's hands.
- This explains the so-called hygiene hypothesis: in the past, people were more often in contact with nature, as well as with microbes and parasites. And now children playing outside are actually deprived of direct contact with the ground, animals and so on," Huseynov argues.
How to clean
The importance of cleaning is undeniable, doctors are sure. But if housewives are constantly running around with rags, wiping imaginary dust, it's time to think about whether everything is all right with their mental health.
- Constant exhausting cleaning to achieve absolute sterility can be a sign of mental illness. If you feel that cleanliness becomes an obsessive state, interferes with normal life, then you need to consult a specialist - a psychologist or psychiatrist. In general, calmness and moderation in everything is the key to health," says Eldar Huseynov.
Olga Chistik emphasizes that cleaning is certainly important - this is how we destroy those serious bacteria that we bring from the street. Cleanliness also minimizes the risk of mold and fungus development in apartments. But in order for our immune system to work effectively, it must regularly encounter the external environment, including the viruses and bacteria that exist in it.
- And if you bring housing to a state of sterility, the immune system ceases to meet with foreign antigens in sufficient quantities and can even learn to protect the body. Especially in this situation suffer children, whose immune system is just forming. When faced with a real, serious infection, the immune system may not produce enough protective cells, and the disease will be more severe, - warns the therapist.
Olga Chistik believes that health is also harmed by the use of aggressive detergents. They can cause various allergic reactions: skin - by direct contact (like eczema), respiratory - by inhaling small dispersed particles.
- When using detergents, try to use personal protective equipment - gloves and masks, - recommends Olga Chistik. - If possible, refuse means with a sharp, suffocating odor. Take into account individual factors. For example, if you have an allergy sufferer at home and there are blooms outside, it is better to air less often and wet clean to get rid of pollen more often.
Sluggish or schizophrenic
That excessive fixation on cleanliness or, conversely, refusal to clean can signal certain psychological problems, warns psychiatrist-narcologist NMIC "Treatment and Rehabilitation Center" Ministry of Health of Russia Christina Starodubtseva. A golden mean is good in human behavior. When a person exhibits one of the extremes, it is worth considering what might be behind it.
- One cause of excessive preoccupation with cleanliness is neurotic hyper-responsibility. The person may have been raised as a child in a dysfunctional family where violence was practiced. The formed fear of punishment, rejection, negative evaluation can unconsciously control him later, pushing him to excessive cleanliness and neatness," Starodubtseva warns.
A person subject to neurotic hyper-responsibility can be recognized by certain phrases. For example: "What will people say?", "I must (must) be perfect (perfect), otherwise I will be rejected!", "I control everything, everything must be perfect, otherwise I will not feel safe!", "I do not do enough".
- A second example of a fixation on cleanliness is misophobia (fear of pollution). This is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In its presence, it is characterized by a compulsive, irresistible desire to wash, wash, wipe, sanitize. The feeling of contamination does not go away even after several stages of cleaning, - continues Starodubtseva.
Often people turn to such a kind of rituals to get rid of internal tension, the expert explains. But in this type of disorder in a person still retains criticality, he realizes: what is happening to him, abnormal.
- The third and most serious reason for the desire for sterile cleanliness - hallucinatory delusional disorders. The person has a burdensome feeling that the surroundings are dirty, dusty. This belief is not amenable to healthy criticism. There may be hallucinations: a person sees nonexistent dust, germs, bugs, feels an unpleasant odor, looking for the source of pollution. It seems to him that parasites are crawling on the skin, that it is covered with layers of dirt, which he wants to get rid of as soon as possible- comments Christina Starodubtseva.
In hallucinatory delusional disorders, the patient sincerely believes in the presence of pollution, and it is impossible to change his mind.
The other extreme of behavior - a frank unwillingness to clean and maintain order. An addiction psychiatrist also attributes this problem to three specific causes - character traits, depressive states, and schizophrenia.
- People with asthenic character, accentuation and psychopathy tire quickly, they need a relatively long time to recover. That's why there is not always enough energy for cleaning, if we take into account that a person also works and leads a social life, - says Kristina Starodubtseva.
A psychiatrist-drug addict notes that, as a rule, having recovered, such people finish their postponed tasks. But the main thing for them is not to overload themselves. Much more difficult is the case with depressive states.
- One of the depressive symptoms is motor retardation. It consists precisely in a decrease in motor activity. To clean up, you need to make a lot of movements, which is very difficult for a person with this diagnosis, - says a psychiatrist-drug addict.
In the case of a person with schizophrenia, the desire for cleanliness is completely absent.
- In addition to productive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations), schizophrenia also consists of increasing negative symptoms (decreased motivation, flattening of emotions, autization - withdrawal into oneself, detachment), - explains the addiction psychiatrist. - This symptomatology is responsible for the reluctance to clean up, to the point where the home can become a disgusting dump.
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