Subject: DUST MITES

From: [email-masked] (JOHN D. PRUITT)
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 01:50:23 GMT

Hello, I'm doing some research on house dust mites, and would like to share 
information with anyone that has knowledge of or is doing research on same 
topic....

Thanx...

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From: [email-masked] (Exceptio)
Date: 26 Jan 1995 15:49:04 -0500

Dear Sir:

I am an attorney (not a scientist) making inquiries for a medical doctor
who has been suffering from un unknown infestion in her apartment. I
suspect dust mites, which suspicion, of course, is from a layperson. Could
you possibly have any information for me, or be able to direct me to
sources, as the good doctor is becoming sleep deprived, causing her and
her patients great consternation.

Thank you for any help that you might have.

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From: [email-masked] (Julie "Mudgie" Stahlhut)
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 1995 21:12 est

> Thank you for any help that you might have.
    
Well, since  (a.) I have a mild allergy to dust mite feces and (b.) my 
husband's allergy to same is so severe that he snores and wheezes all
night if he's been in a very dusty place, I can commiserate.
   
If your friend is an M.D., she probably has connections to find a good
allergist.  My husband and I can't use any commercial miticides in our
house, since he also seems to be sensitive to many synthetic organic
chemicals, but someone with experience treating dust-mite sufferers may
have an idea as to which home miticides are least toxic or noxious.
There are various dusts, et cetera, that you can sprinkle on carpets
to get rid of them.  But, here are some things that have worked for us:
 
*  Have the carpets steam-cleaned.
*  Wash bed linens frequently in hot water.
*  Install a central vacuum system, so that you can vacuum up dust
   and exhaust it outside.  (Note:  this only works, of course, if
   you have your own house.)
     
The little buggers are too small to see unaided, but they love to chew
up fallen flakes of human skin, which is why they're such a nuisance in
bedding and carpets.  They also, apparently, egest their food and then
ingest it again later after their digestive enzymes have worked on it
for a while.  These proteins are the culprits in human dust mite allergies.

Hey, they're not butterflies, but dust mites are very well adapted to
live with humans.  You've gotta give them credit for great adaptation,
as well as the ability to induce sneezes that can blow out the front
windows.

Julie K. Stahlhut, Hellgrammite Tamer   [email-masked]
"May your life be full of immature activities."
   -- My Immature Insects prof's inscription in my copy of his text.