Mite-Proof Covers Alone Don't Help Asthma
July 17 -- Dust-mite-proof bed covering, often recommended by doctors to help asthma and allergy patients, aren't enough to stop sufferers from wheezing and sneezing, two new studies find.
The studies, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, find that mite-proof bed coverings alone do not lead to a significant improvement of clinical symptoms in patients with asthma or allergy. However, experts emphasize that the coverings still may be useful as part of a more comprehensive treatment strategy.
As many as 50 million Americans have allergies, and many of them are sensitive to dust mites — near-microscopic creatures that live in house dust and lay their eggs in places such as bedding. To combat this, many doctors have recommended that their patients use specially woven mite-proof covers, which typically cost less than $100.
"The important message from these studies is that the use of mattress covers [and pillow covers] as an isolated strategy, when applied broadly to an unselected group of patients with asthma or allergic rhinitis, does not appear to bring about a measurable benefit," said Dr. Aidan Long, clinical director of allergy at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The studies, conducted in England and the Netherlands, found that after one year, there was no difference in symptoms between people who used these bed coverings and those who didn't. The English study looked at 1,122 asthma patients, and the Dutch study observed 232 with hayfever-like allergies.
So should patients stop using mite-proof covers? Not so fast.
Need for More Comprehensive Allergen Avoidance
While the covers alone seemed to provide little benefit, Long emphasized the studies should not be interpreted as meaning mite-proof covers are worthless. Indeed, patients with allergies to dust mites may find them helpful when used as part of a comprehensive mite allergen-avoidance program.
As many as 40 percent to 60 percent of allergy sufferers are sensitive to dust mites.
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