Basic studies on improving the living environment: A survey of house dust and house dust mites in living rooms and cleaning

Abstract

Background and Aim: A clean environment contributes to maintaining mental and physical health. From March 1996 to January 1997, we studied seasonal changes in house dust amounts, antigen amounts of house dust mites, the number of mites in house dust, and cleaning of house dust, on various floor materials in a few cases. Method: House dust was collected with a vacuum cleaner. An antigen amount of house dust mites was measured using ACAREX test (ALLERGOPHARMA JOACHIM GANZER KG, Germany). The numbers of house dust mite were counted using a stereomicroscope. Results: The amount of house dust increased from January to April. Amounts of an antigen from house dust mites increased during autumn. The number of mites in house dust also increased during autumn. About 95% of the house dust over the carpet in the living room was cleaned 3 times by running a vacuum cleaner slowly, while that over the tatami floor was cleaned 2 times. Conclusion: Living environment improvement is a requisite to good health. We plan to prepare a manual for environment improvement by practical use of this data.