Here, the dust mites are beneficial as they return cotton to its original state after it has degraded by contact with bare skin.Dust mite eggs are freeze tolerant (−70 °C for 30 minutes); hatching can normally be prevented by exposure of fabrics to:
Direct sunlight for 3 hours or
Dry or wet heat of at least 60 °C (140 °F) for a minimum of 30 minutes.Dust mites drown in water.Good properties of anti-mite fabrics have been identified as being:
Thread count greater than 246. Pore size of between 2 and 10 micrometres. This will prevent dust mite faecal pellets that can be small as 10 µm. Allergen impenetrability >99%. Dust leakage of less than 4%. Breathability between 2 and 6 cm3 s−1 cm−2. Indoor climate
Allergy patients are advised to keep the relative humidity below 50%, if possible. Very few mites can survive if the humidity is less than 45% (at 22 °C (72 °F)). However, they can survive if the humidity is high just for an hour and a half per day, for example due to moisture released to the air when cooking food. Treatment
Allergen immunotherapy
Allergen immunotherapy (AIT, also known as desensitization or hypo-sensitization) is a treatment involved in administering the doses of allergens to accustom the body to substances that are generally harmless (pollen, house dust mites), thereby inducing specific long-term tolerance. Allergen immunotherapy is the only treatment that alters the disease mechanism.Immunotherapy can be administered orally (as sublingual tablets or sublingual drops), or by injections under the skin (subcutaneous).
Symptoms
Dust mite allergy symptoms include:

Cough
Facial pressure and pain
Itchy, red or watery eyes
Itchy nose, roof of the mouth or throat
Nasal congestion
Postnasal drip
Runny nose, sneezing
Swollen, blue-colored skin under the eyesIf the dust mite allergy contributes to asthma:

Audible whistling or wheezing sound when exhaling
Bouts of coughing or wheezing that are worsened by a respiratory virus such as a cold or the flu
Chest tightness or pain
Difficulty breathing
Trouble sleeping caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing

Cross-reactivity to shellfish allergy
Tropomyosin, the major allergen in dust mites, is also responsible for shellfish allergy. Exposure to inhaled tropomyosins from dust mites is thought to be the primary sensitizer for shellfish allergy, an example of inhalant-to-food cross-reactivity. Epidemiological surveys have confirmed correlation between shellfish and dust mite sensitizations. An additional confirmation was seen in Orthodox Jews with no history of shellfish consumption, in that skin tests confirming dust mite allergy were also positive for shellfish tropomyosin. In addition to tropomyosin, the proteins arginine kinase and hemocyanin seem to have a role in cross-reactivity to dust mites. Prevention
House dust mites are present indoors wherever humans live. Positive tests for dust mite allergies are extremely common among people with asthma. Dust mites are microscopic arachnids whose primary food is dead human skin cells, but they do not live on living people. They and their feces and other allergens that they produce are major constituents of house dust, but because they are so heavy they are not suspended for long in the air.