Health and medical information

There are some things you can do specifically to help babies and young children who have house dust mite allergy, or to prevent it developing. Add these to any of the other measures you carry out.

Take Care with Soft Toys

Soft toys snuggled in bed are frequently a prime source of house dust mites for allergic children. To avoid such problems, buy washable toys and wash them frequently to remove the faecal pellets. Then hang outside to dry in the sun, vacuum them, or air and dry them, to remove the mites themselves. Buy a duplicate favourite toy if necessary, to substitute while washing is done.

Some parents report success in killing mites by freezing the soft toy after washing. (Poor Teddy!) Remember, if you do this, make sure the toy is thoroughly dry after defrosting.

Bunk Beds

It is better for an allergic child to sleep in the top bed rather than the bottom, if this is feasible. House dust mites are scattered from the top mattress as the inhabitant turns and moves during the night.

Childminders and Nurseries

If your child seems fine at home, but gets worse after going to a childminder’s or nursery, the cause can be, amongst others, house dust mites – particularly in a warm, damp, carpeted environment. If this is worth taking action over, either look for a childcare place where the environment is more favourable – for instance, uncar-peted and well ventilated – or see if you can lend the childminder or nursery a filtered vacuum cleaner to see if things improve. Be tactful.

Take Care with Young Babies

If you have a history of any allergy in the family, it can help to take avoidance measures with young babies, to prevent them developing house dust mite allergy. Remember that very small babies spend much of their time with their noses stuffed into the very surfaces that harbour dust mites – carpets, bedding and furniture. They have a much more intense exposure to house dust mites than older children or adults have.

So do what you can with all the basic and other measures suggested to reduce the level of mites around a baby or young child. In particular, use washable bedding, especially using cotton blankets (washable at high temperatures) rather than duvets. Keep bedding and insulation around a baby to a minimum – avoiding cot bumpers and pram ‘nests’ if possible, or washing and airing them frequently. Air mattresses and keep them dry.

Pay particular attention to carpets and rugs where the baby plays, crawls or rubs its nose a great deal. Vacuum with niters, or wash if possible. Keep these mite-free if you can. Prevent pets sleeping on beds or cots, or where a baby or young child plays a great deal. Warmth, damp and animal skin scales encourage mites to grow.

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