Mould is a type of fungi which grows in damp and poorly ventilated areas. Mold is commonly found in bathrooms, kitchens, and many trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive people. Exposure to pets such as cats and dogs can also trigger allergic reactions in some people.
Along with pet fur and mold, dust mites are highly common in Middle East countries and may trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals. Dust mites are microscopic insect-like creatures found in most areas inhabited by people. The highest concentrations of dust mites in a home are usual found in mattresses, pillows, linen, carpets and curtains.
In this article, we provide a few tips and tricks to help you deal with mold, pets and dust mites.
What can be done to avoid pet allergy?
How can you get rid of mould?
What can be done about those invisible dust mites?The impact of pollution on the rising incidence of allergic rhinitis. Allergy is a global disease in most industrialized countries has dramatically increased. Research suggests a causative relationship between air pollution and the increased incidence of allergic rhinitis, asthma and other allergic disorders.
Over the recent decades, a number of factors may have contributed to the rise in prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Middle East: (i) irrigation for agriculture. of previously desert zones; (ii) the ornamental "greening" of desserts cities with often imported plants; (iii) the increased use of air-conditioning in dwellings, which allows dust mites to be present even in the hot, arid desert climate, (iv)and more generally, a progressive shift to many aspects of a western lifestyle.
The broad variety of allergens in the region is related to the differing climates and indoor environments encountered across the region The Middle East region is stereo-typically considered to have a dry, arid, desert-like climate, with hot summers, mild dry winters and almost no rainfall. White this is true for most of the land masses of countries like Saudi Arabia or Oman or Egypt, these countries also have coastal regions that also experience a subtropical or Mediterranean climate and/or mountainous regions that experience lower summer temperatures and colder, wetter winters. Some researchers also speculated that specific weather features such as sandstorms may influence exposure to allergens.
A very wide range of indoor and outdoor allergens have been observed across the region.
These include several types of house dust mites and storage mites, dander from animals, spores from molds, Insect allergen and pollen from hundreds of different grasses, weeds, shrubs and tress.
A study has shown that the most common allergens in Egypt were dust, followed by air conditioning, pollution, weather and tobacco smoke.
