2/1/2008
What can we find in our beds?
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
After a day of hard work, you enjoy coming home, having dinner, maybe watching TV, reading a book, and later in the evening you will go to bed and rest. Your bed is mostly very comfortable and it seems to be clean, especially when you put new sheets on it. If you can not sleep at home (business trip or vacation), you probably sleep in a motel or hotel bed. In that case, you definitely think you are sleeping in a clean environment. Sometimes, you might stay the night with friends or family and then you sleep mostly in a spare bed, which also has clean sheets.
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2/8/2007
The history of the anti-mite product Acarosan®
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
For many years, we have known that house-dust mites, which live in beds, furniture and carpets of our dwellings, can cause allergies to humans. Therefore, it is not remarkable that as soon as this fact was known, many companies offered products to kill mites, in order to help cure the allergy. However, it is not the mite itself, but the allergens it produces that can make us sick. So an effective product should not only eradicate the mite itself, but also should remove the allergenic debris of this spider-like animal.
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8/15/2006
Dust, mites, allergens and allergen control
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
When beams of sunlight fall at a low angle in a room, you see an enormous amount of small dots which are floating in the air. These dots are dust, or more specifically, airborne dust. Dust is defined as a collection of particles that can become airborne, but on the other hand, you certainly know and see that dust can also be found on the top of furniture, shelves or cupboards. In this case, the dust is not airborne anymore, it is settled. Therefore, “settled” dust can be found also in carpets, in mattresses and in fact throughout the whole dwelling, due to the fact that the dust have penetrated or trapped into these items.
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5/11/2006
Mite Allergy and New Life
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
It is spring time, and everywhere you look in nature you see young life or the preparations for that purpose. In the meadows there are lambs with their parent-sheep, and many birds are preparing and/or building their nests. Also interesting to see is how well the parents take care of their offspring.
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2/13/2006
Entomophobia: the fear of insects, spiders and mites
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
To the above mentioned theme, I can tell you a true story (wink, wink). During her holiday in Africa a woman was bitten by something small while sitting on the porch of her hotel. The sting first became a small pimple, and then grew to be a furuncle (boil) over time. The woman did not like to go to a physician and tried to cure the inflammation herself with creams and tinctures. One morning she awoke, went to the bathroom and pressed softly on the boil so that it opened. To her amazement, many small black spiders crawled out of the wound. The woman only gave a yell before she fainted...
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5/25/2005
Living on the human being
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
You certainly remember the first man on the moon (Neil Armstrong), but do you also remember the first animal on the moon? No? Neither do I, but I know that a tremendous amount of living creatures (like mites, amoeba, flagellate, bacteria) also joined Neil on his first trip on the moon. These animals lived on or in the body of this astronaut, and also live on the bodies of all other human beings. This is very normal, and a good thing.
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1/18/2005
Mites Inside Greenhouses and Stables
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
Mites are not only present in nature, but also in houses, the so-called domestic mites. However, other “houses” are inhabited by mites as well. Mites are part of the normal ecosystem in greenhouses, stables and barns.
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10/12/2004
Therapeutic Regimen for Allergies
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
Around 55 million people in the US suffer from an allergic disease. However, only a small percentage of them are treated by a professional allergist. The therapeutic regimen of these allergists is diverse, and depends on the causative agent of the disease. Food allergies are treated differently than seasonal allergies (like hay fever caused by pollen), and these differ from the treatment of perennial allergies caused by mites or pets.
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5/12/2004
Encasings as a Measure to Avoid Mites in Beds
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
Mites, and especially house-dust mites, find optimal living-conditions in nests from birds and mammals. There is a lot of activity in these nests, and the inhabitants shed dander, hairs, feathers, as well as other protein-rich material. Most nests are rarely cleaned by their inhabitants. Furthermore, nests are warm and cozy and usually have a humidity of 70 to 80%. These circumstances and ingredients are optimal for house-dust mites. Here they can find dander as food, a perfect temperature of 77°F, and an ideal relative humidity of 75%.
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1/14/2004
Myths about Mites and Other Living Organisms in Heat Ducts
By Acarologist Frans Kniest
Most of us enjoy breathing clean air, whether it’s a summer breeze blowing through the window, or filtered air in the winter when our homes are closed-up. But for the many people who suffer from allergies and respiratory problems, clean air is a necessity, not an indulgence. For them clean air means not only air without particles that can be irritating to the respiratory tract, but also air without allergenic materials (especially mites, molds and pollen). Fortunately, most homeowners now have a wide range of options that can help them heat, cool and breathe.
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