| An asthma attack is a reaction to a trigger. It is similar in many ways to an allergic reaction. An allergic reaction is a response by the body's immune system to an "invader." When the cells of the immune system sense an invader, they set off a series of reactions that help fight off the invader. It is this series of reactions that causes the production of mucus and bronchospasms. These responses cause the symptoms of an asthma attack.
Symptoms of allergic reactions:
Asthma
|
Red/watery eyes |
| Conjunctivitis |
Rhinitis |
| Headaches |
Snoring |
| Hay fever |
Coughing at night |
| Eczema/other forms of itchy skin |
Excessive
sneezing in the morning |
| Wheezing/tight chest |
Blocked nose and sinus pain |
In asthma the triggers will vary by the individual and each person with asthma has his or her own unique set of triggers.
Common triggers of asthma attacks are:
Exposure to tobacco and polluted air
Physical exertion or exercise
Breathing in allergy causing substances (allergens)
Exposure to cold, dry weather
An upper respiratory infection, such as a cold, flu, sinusitis or bronchitis
Animal dander
Experts believe dust mites are linked to allergic reactions and approximately 4 million people in the UK suffer from dust mite allergies. A large percentage (85%) of asthma sufferers are also allergic to dust mite allergens. In December 2003 the Daily Mail reported that of all the EU countries, British children were twice as likely to have asthma and a study in 2001 showed that avoiding allergen exposure in infancy reduces the risk of developing asthma. |
Dust mites are microscopic creatures that live in our upholstered furniture, mattresses, linens and carpets. Over 100,000 can live in one square yard of carpet, they are so small that many of them could easily fit on the full stop at the end of this sentence. We inhale their excrement (pellets) and dead carcasses, itching and sneezing if we are allergic. Their faecal matter and shed skin pellets affect 10% of the population. They travel throughout the house using clothing and dust as their transport and no amount of vigorous cleaning will reduce the number, so deep are they within carpets, bedding and mattresses etc.
However, a new invention based on ultra sound -the Dust Mite Controller- has just completed scientific studies that have proved it to be remarkably effective in reducing their population. Used in tandem with other control methods, the Dust Mite Controller offers hope to the thousands of sufferers, one in three of them are young children. Keeping the sleep environment clean is vital but as dust mites are too small to be seen with the naked eye, there can be between 100,000 to over 10 million in one bed, the task is daunting.
A single mite produces about 20 waste droppings a day and 10% of the weight of a two year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings. They live for two to three months but in that small life cycle a female can increase the population by up to 50 mites every three weeks and every mite produces between 10 and 20 allergic reaction causing pellets every day. That is why this new development has been praised so highly and heralded as a breakthrough in the fight against allergens and other respiratory ailments. Exposure to mites in the first crucial year of life can trigger a lifelong allergy, there is no cure only prevention.
"I have been an asthma sufferer all my life, I have tried many different products over the years and had no success.
Recently on the radio I heard in about your product, I bought one in my local chemist and I am absolutely delighted with the results."
Jim Lawlor, Dublin |
