Asthma management
Wednesday, 16 Apr 2008 09:42
Can cleaning houses improve asthma and allergies?
Should people with allergies and asthma spend time and money on products and cleaning methods to help control their condition?
That is the issue raised by a review of studies on the topic by researchers based at the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen.
Some people with asthma are allergic to minute house dust mites and the allergens from these mites can trigger asthma attacks.
Strategies that have been used to try and target these mites include encasing mattresses and pillows in covers so that they cannot get through; frequent washing of bed linen in hot water; and using chemicals against them.
After studying 54 studies involving 3,000 asthma patients they concluded however that products and interventions are not effective.
Some of the studies achieved reductions of more than 50 per cent but the review says even reducing environmental allergens by 90 per cent is insufficient.
"We can conclude with confidence that there is no need to buy expensive vacuum cleaners or mattress covers or to use chemical methods against house dust mites, because these treatments do not work," said lead author Dr Peter Gotzsche.
"If you are wondering why it is that mattress covers and the other strategies are not effective, the likely answer is that all these treatments do not have a large enough effect on the occurrence of allergens from house dust mites.
"The level of allergens is so high in most homes that what remains after the treatment is still high enough to cause asthma attacks."
inthenews.co.uk brings you all the key responses and comment on the issue throughout the day.
