House dust against your health

Based on recent research studies, dust is expected to kill as many as 50,000 Americans every year [as discussed in a recent detailed overview "Death by Dust" by Peter Jaret, Health, 1059938X, June 2002, Vol. 16, Issue 5]. And it is not only breathing problems. Hart attack is another major health effect. And it is not only the larger particles that you can see floating in a light beam. The finest particles, the invisible ones, are particularly dangerous to your heart health.

House dust most commonly includes particles of fibers, human or animal skin, mold spores, pollens, particles of foods or plants, hair, fur, feathers, and even dried saliva and urine from your pets. There are also particles of skin from people in your household, from your dog or cat, or from other animals. Many of those particles are not just daily dirt. They are serious allergens.

Dust is coming from everywhere. Every time you are vacuuming, cleaning, dusting, cooking, or just walking around your house, you raise large amounts of particles into the indoor air. When they go into the air from the ground or other dirty surfaces they also tend to pick up with them acidic aerosols and toxic metals. Those aerosols dissolve into your blood and may cause a variety of health damages beyond your breathing system.

Dust particles of different sizes tend to differ in the way they harm you. The largest particles, like 5-10 microns in size, are deposited in the nasapharyngeal region and may lead to congestion, inflammation, or ulceration. Then, 3-5 micron particles trigger bronchial congestion, bronchospasm, and bronchitis.

The still smaller particles go deeper into your lungs and many of them can go into your blood. When in the blood stream, those particles, as now believed, can decrease heart's ability to adjust and control its rhythm in response to changing conditions, such as resting or exercising. Such suppression of the heart-rate variability is shown to increase the heart attack risk.

Indoor airborne particles can also carry small bugs like aspergillus. This environmental spore is known to cause serious, even fatal, infections.

Proper dust control is an important aspect of health care.

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