If you suffer from an allergy to dust mites, you may think that normal household dust is the cause of your suffering. However, dust in itself is not generally an allergen, even for sensitive folks. It is dust mites that are the common cause of allergic reactions since they live on the small particles that are in everyone's home. As they produce feces and their bodies decay, they introduce proteins into the environment that the immune system may judge to be foreign invaders. That in turn triggers a release of antibodies called IgE or immunoglobulin E. Those stimulate the release of histamine, which creates the common allergy symptoms such as watery, itchy eyes (conjunctivitis), runny nose (allergic rhinitis or hay fever) and others.

When attempting to keep the allergen level in your bedroom at a low level, there are a number of areas you need to look at. Few households can expect to maintain a totally allergen-free home, but it is possible to push it lower than the threshold of the most sensitive family members.