Dust Mite Home Test Kit

dust·mite

Dust mites are microscopic bugs that live in household dust. They work their way into soft places like pillows, blankets, mattresses, and stuffed animals. Dust mites feed on shed human skin cells. Their excrement is a household allergen associated with respiratory allergies and asthma.

Dust mites are one of the more prevalent indoor allergens and if you suffer from allergies or asthma, dust mites living in your home could be making big problems for you. Even though you don't see dust mites with the naked eye, your symptoms may be the result of an allergic reaction to them.

Under a microscope, a dust mite appears to be a white bug, only about one-quarter to one-third of a millimeter in size. They are actually arthropods like spiders and have eight legs! The best conditions for dust mites to thrive are temperatures of 68 - 77 degrees and 70-80% humidity levels. Dust mite allergies are at their highest in the U.S. during the summer months, because of warm often humid weather.

Dust mites survive mainly on the tiny flakes of human skin that people shed each day that have been left in the inner layers of your furniture, carpets, bedding and even your children's stuffed toys. As an average adult you may shed up to 1.5 grams of skin in a single day and can feed up to one million dust mites!

You may want to consider this test if you suffer from:

• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Itchy, red or watery eyes
• Stuffy nose
• Itchy nose, mouth or throat
• Postnasal drip (a flow of mucus from behind your nose into your throat)
• Cough

If you have asthma, an allergy to dust mites may also create:

• Difficulty breathing
• Chest tightness or pain
• A whistling or wheezing sound when breathing out
• Trouble sleeping caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing

Dust Mite Screen Check Directions:

The Dust Mite Screen Check uses a cone-shaped filter device called the Bio-Scan DM (or Dust Sock), which you will connect to the open end of your vacuum cleaner’s hose to collect your sample.

Everything you need to collect and send in your sample is included in the test kit you will receive.

The Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory (EDLab) will provide a final report which is included in the cost of your Dust Mite Screen Check. Once EDLab receives the Bio-Scan DM for analysis, your lab report will be generated and emailed within 3-5 business days.

Concentration levels of Dermatophagoides Mite Allergen are reported in micrograms, and are compared to what is considered to be normal.