Posted on 10/17/2005 3:26:05 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Researchers at The University of Manchester funded by the Fungal Research Trust have discovered millions of fungal spores right under our noses - in our pillows.
Aspergillus fumigatus, the species most commonly found in the pillows, is most likely to cause disease; and the resulting condition Aspergillosis has become the leading infectious cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients. Fungi also exacerbate asthma in adults.
The researchers dissected both feather and synthetic samples and identified several thousand spores of fungus per gram of used pillow - more than a million spores per pillow.
Fungal contamination of bedding was first studied in 1936, but there have been no reports in the last seventy years. For this new study, which was published online today in the scientific journal Allergy, the team studied samples from ten pillows with between 1.5 and 20 years of regular use.
Each pillow was found to contain a substantial fungal load, with four to 16 different species being identified per sample and even higher numbers found in synthetic pillows. The microscopic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus was particularly evident in synthetic pillows, and fungi as diverse as bread and vine moulds and those usually found on damp walls and in showers were also found.
Professor Ashley Woodcock who led the research said: "We know that pillows are inhabited by the house dust mite which eats fungi, and one theory is that the fungi are in turn using the house dust mites' faeces as a major source of nitrogen and nutrition (along with human skin scales). There could therefore be a 'miniature ecosystem' at work inside our pillows."
Aspergillus is a very common fungus, carried in the air as well as being found in cellars, household plant pots, compost, computers and ground pepper and spices.
Invasive Aspergillosis occurs mainly in the lungs and sinuses, although it can spread to other organs such as the brain, and is becoming increasingly common across other patient groups. It is very difficult to treat, and as many as 1 in 25 patients who die in modern European teaching hospitals have the disease.
Immuno-compromised patients such as transplantation, AIDS and steroid treatment patients are also frequently affected with life-threatening Aspergillus pneumonia and sinusitis. Fortunately, hospital pillows have plastic covers and so are unlikely to cause problems, but patients being discharged home - where pillows may be old and fungus-infected - could be at risk of infection.
Aspergillus can also worsen asthma, particularly in adults who have had asthma for many years, and cause allergic sinusitis in patients with allergic tendencies. Constant exposure to fungus in bed could be problematic. It can also get into the lung cavities created by tuberculosis which affects a third of the world's population, causing general ill-health and bleeding in the lung, as well as causing a range of plant and animal diseases.
Dr Geoffrey Scott, Chairman of the Fungal Research Trust which funded the study, said: "These new findings are potentially of major significance to people with allergic diseases of the lungs and damaged immune systems - especially those being sent home from hospital."
Professor Ashley Woodcock added: "Since patients spend a third of their life sleeping and breathing close to a potentially large and varied source of fungi, these findings certainly have important implications for patients with respiratory disease - especially asthma and sinusitis."
Thanks for the tip.
I clean the cannister out A.M. and P.M. and put a new one up once a month so rarely get an oder.
I prefer using my 10% bleach water and then rinsing out twice.
If you work as a Nurse (shift) it is some what more difficult than being one careprovider over seeing one patient round the clock as in other who work the other shifts don't always do all the work on thier shift.
I do basically the same care every 4hrs and expect the same from the gal that provides me with a few hours of respite twice a week.
I change his inner cannula per 4hr shift or sooner if needed and I change out the whole appliance every other day.
The only Hosp. I have ever seen that has all the equip/supplies withen hands reach is Doernbecher Childrens Hosp. and he is way beyond that age now. The few times he has had to be admitted in his adult life I just find it easier to pack all my supplies from home and set up my territory to care for him when we get to the room.
I have been lucky to have some VERY excellant Nurses teach me all that I know when he was peds.
Your two kids are lucky to have you as their Nurse to follow through on care plans.
Also the local Grocery store now keeps anti bacterial wipes by the carts so those of us at high risk can wipe down our carts before shopping.
Very thoughtful.
Get a little BBQ sauce on that deal and you got yourself a meal!
I throw my feather pillows in the dryer about once a month...I burn'em real good. (nothing lives in that heat.)
There is a catalog for reluctant travelers like you.
I'm so glad I just got a new pillow! Whew!!
Omit the plastic cover and just microzap your pillow every day. That would work, wouldn't it?
Hmmm... That sounds very plausible, actually, thanks! Worth a try, that's for sure. If I do it, I'd better keep an eye on it, though, just in case the pillow isn't microwave safe! :-)
Or your pillow might plump up and burst if all those spores start exploding like popcorn kernels.
Mmmm, truffles!
Hmm, I wonder about my TempurPedic pillow (and mattress). I can't wash it, but it has a cover on it that is washable.
Lucky you!! Let's replace all of our pillows!!! Show Bo the picture of the dust mite and she might never use a pillow again!
how bout those dust mites...
[singing] dust mites roasting on the open fire...
I got my new pillow, looks like you and the kid are on your own! LOL
Love the PBR, thank goodness for OLN. LOLL Our son rode his first bull at age 15 and continued for a few years until he died at age 19 (in a car accident) He loved the rodeo but most important (for him) the GALS loved watching him ride. ;^)
there's a fungs among us
Get down off that pillow!
Just heard that dust mites in stuffed animals can be killed by placing the toy in a plastic bag and freezing it for 24 hours. Guess it would work for pillows, if you have a really big empty shelf. They said you for giant stuffed animals, "ask your grocer to put them in their freezer overnight". That's gotta be a health code violation or something, rows of mite-laden giant bears lined up in the frozen food locker.
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