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Indika Organics - Organic Bedding and matirials. Full line of Anti Dust mite and bed bug prook fabrics bedding and materials.
How can I know whether house dust mites are causing my child's asthma or my own asthma?
The best way is to consult a doctor or specialist nurse who is expert at judging the story you have to tell and at allergy tests and how to interpret them.
Doctors who do not have special training in allergy are likely to have more difficulty. Their knowledge will not be so up to date or complete, so the chance of getting wrong advice is higher. But no doctor, however clever or specialized, is always right.
You can also tell to a fair extent for yourself, if there are enough clues in your case. Here are some things to look out for:
* True asthma in a child is almost always due to allergy, mostly from house dust mites or pets such as cats or dogs. Wheezing in young children is often not due to true asthma, particularly when it just seems related to occasional virus infections. Please be patient with your doctor; in the early stages it may not be possible to be quite sure.
* If you are adult, the younger you were when your asthma started, the more likely it is to be caused by allergy.
* If you or your child have had infantile eczema, hayfever or food allergy, asthma is much more likely to be allergic.
* To a smaller extent the same is true if your parents, brothers or sisters or children have had eczema, hayfever or food allergy.
* If the asthma comes on after aspirin, get medical advice; this is not a true allergy and it is important to get help, which will in some ways be quite different from the help for allergic asthma.
* If you are adult and the asthma seems related to your work (gets better on holidays or at weekends), get advice. Your asthma may well be completely curable, and others at work may be protected from getting asthma if your cause is discovered.
* If your asthma gets better or worse according to your surroundings, it is likely to be due to allergy, most often house dust mite allergy. Look out for:
o Asthma improving on holiday in hotels or drier climates.
o Asthma worsening in spare beds when staying at relatives or friends, or worse in a caravan on holiday.
o Asthma worse when dusting the house, emptying the vacuum cleaner, or making beds.