Abstract
House dust mite is the chief allergen for atopic patients, and in managing patients with alllergic diseases, it is important to reduce exposure to this antigen. One of the points of emphasis in patient education in allergy treatment is environmental control. To give the information about the level of mite antigen in the residence to patients and their families in order to help them to control the antigen effectively, we checked and measured the antigen (Der I) in the houses of atopic children by sandwich ELISA. We analysed 218 Der I data in 52 houses (n=211) and in the hospital (n=7). The level of Der I was low in the hospital (below 1.8μg/g), but higher in some areas of the houses, such as in beddings (futon: 10.3μg/g), carpets (7.7μg/g), sofa (35.2μ/g), and stuffed toys (59.4μg/g). There was a statistically significant positive relationship between beddings on the floor and the floors of the bedroom for the level of Der I.
These findings incited various reactions and interpretations regarding the levels of measured house dust mite antigen among the patients and their families. It is our objective to inform and educate environmental control individually, and evaluate its effects as part of the management of allergy. This is already being utilized clinically.
