Whats the evidence for reducing the levels of house dust mites?
There isn’t any good evidence that reducing the amount of house dust mites in your home will help relieve your or your child’s eczema symptoms. We found only one good-quality study (called a randomised controlled trial) of 700 newborn babies. The babies were split into three groups. Babies in the first group slept on a special mattress cover. Parents of the babies in the second and third groups were either given instructions on how to avoid allergens or given general information about allergies. But the study found that the mattress cover made no difference to the number of babies who went on to get eczema.[1] References Horak F, Matthews S, Ihorst G, et al. Effect of mite-impermeable mattress encasings and an educational package on the development of allergies in a multinational randomized, controlled birth-cohort study: 24 months results of the study of prevention of allergy in children in Europe. Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 2004; 34: 1220-1225. Glossary allergen If you have a
