Health Risks In Your Home & Bedroom
Health Risks
Recent studies have determined that an alarming number of harmful germs exist in your sleeping environment, including Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These two contaminants in particular were found in 50% of mattresses and are major triggers of sickness and diarrhrea. These statistics were based on 154 mattresses that were tested in hospitals and other institutional type multi-bed facilities. Leading experts have concluded that you would have a much higher reading in hotel and resort mattresses, as well as mattresses found in private homes due to the less sanitary nature of the surrounding environment.
The reason for the testing was to determine how effective the decontamination of the bed was once the occupant had been moved, using a commercial grade of disinfectant spray.
The study results suggest that the usual disinfection procedures, instead of diminishing the number of microbes, merely displace them from one part of the mattress to another. The number of microorganisms remains the same.
Facts
• Recent studies have shown that exposure to house dust mite allergens is a significant risk factor for the development of allergic diseases, such as asthma and rhinitis (hay fever). According to Dr. Zeldin, of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), “Results from an earlier study suggest that over 45% of U.S. homes, or approximately 44 million dwellings, have bedding with dust mite allergen concentrations that exceed a level that has been associated with allergic sensitization. We estimated that 22 million homes have bedding with dust mite allergen concentrations at a level that can trigger asthma in susceptible people. So we were eager to test ways to reduce these troublesome substances.”
• According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), dust mites are the #2 cause of allergy problems (topped only by Pollen). There are likely millions of them in your home.
• We shed 10,000 million scales of bacteria laden skin each day, most end up in our mattresses.
• Dust mites produce 200 times it’s body weight in excrement during their normal life span.
• Dust mites feast for up to 170 days on our shed skin.
• Dust mites spread rapidly. A female dust mite lays 300 eggs.
• They can live without food for up to a year.
The good news is that the Hygienitech™ process is a totally “green,” no-chemical, no-moisture process that is capable of destroying all impurities found in a mattress.
This is only possible by sanitizing both the surface and the inside of the mattress by combining a UV-C Germicidal lamp with a powerful extraction device.
Indoor air quality also plays a big part in people’s overall well-being and health. Pollen, animal-related allergens, dust mites and mite excrement are also a danger to asthma and hay fever sufferers, causing great discomfort. The fine dust that we breathe in while sleeping in our beds each night can disrupt an intended peaceful night’s rest, trigger allergic reactions or result in symptoms such as itchy eyes, a running nose, sneezing, scratchy or irritated throat, headaches, fatigue, depression and so on. Many people mistake these symptoms for unavoidable allergic reactions, without realizing that the cause is likely the cleanliness of the environment in which they are sleeping.
We don’t like to think that the environment we are sleeping in is dirty, however common sense dictates that the mattress serves as a ready and willing depository for organic and inorganic impurities.
In your lifetime your body will have more close contact with your bed than with any other piece of furniture and the simple truth is we all release as much as a pint of sweat each night and our bodies are permanently shedding skin. Adding these to the bacteria that is formed from the other fluids our bodies release and deposit onto the mattress. It makes you wonder why this problem has never been studied and remedied until now.
You now have the choice to sleep in a healthy and sanitized environment in the comfort of your own home and there should be no excuse for you to be sleeping in an accommodation provider’s mattress that has not been sanitized by a certified Hygienitech Anti-Allergen Services Provider.
Asthma
If you, or someone you know, suffers from Asthma, allergies or skin disorders, or you just want to know more about how dangerous Dust mites are, then we hope you find some of the following links useful. They will provide you with the latest information from around the world and each of these in turn leads on to numerous other links, so there is a wealth of information available to you.
Asthma Links
Eczema & Dermatits
General – Allergies
Related Articles
New England Journal of Medicine
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
