Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol.  2006 Mar;26(1):10-16.

Indoor Allergen Avoidance and Asthma

Abstract

Sensitization and exposure to indoor allergens, including house dust mite, cat and dog allergens, is an important risk factor for asthma in children and young adults. With the purification of the major allergens associated with house dust mite, cat, dog, cockroach and mouse and the consequent availability of ELISA assays for their detection, we have learned a great deal about their distribution in homes and their elimination form homes. House dust mite allergens are associated with bedding and exposure can be reduced by over 90% with practical treatments for bedding. In most studies, exposure reduction to this extent has been shown to reduce asthma severity among children and adults with asthma. Elimination of cat and dog allergen has proven much more difficult because the allergen is carried on small particles that remain airborne and can be widely distributed on clothing; allergen avoidance is less complete and avoidance trials have had only small effects on asthma. Primary prevention of asthma, i.e. prevention of incident cases in at genetically predisposed infants, has proven to be possible in the few trials conducted to date.

MeSH Terms

Adult
Allergens
Animals
Asthma*
Cats
Child
Clothing
Cockroaches
Dogs
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Hypersensitivity
Infant
Mice
Primary Prevention
Pyroglyphidae
Risk Factors
Young Adult
Allergens