Cockroaches are an important source of inner-city allergens.
These indoor insects like to live in humid and warm
environments.
Cockroaches are an important source of inner-city allergens. These indoor insects like to live in humid and warm environments. There are several species of these insects; the known ones are German and American cockroaches. In the United States, they usually populate apartment buildings, especially high-rise dwellings where the temperature and humidity are suitable for their survival and existence. In suburban communities and detached homes, cockroach infestation is a rare problem.
Q: How do cockroaches cause allergic symptoms?
A: After finding the right place to live, cockroaches feed on leftover food from humans. House dust can carry cockroach debris. Disturbed, dusty surfaces such as carpets and furniture can make house dusts containing cockroach debris airborne and available for inhalation by human hosts.
The duration of such house dust suspension is short because of their larger size when compared to pollens. Frequent inhalation of cockroach debris and insect parts makes susceptible individuals sensitized to cockroach allergens. The sensitivity of individuals to cockroaches can be determined with prick skin testing for cockroach allergens.
Cockroach allergens are commercially available by several allergens-extract manufacturers for allergy skin testing. Skin sensitivity to cockroach allergens simply tells us that such individuals have been exposed to cockroach allergens; whether they develop allergy is not known. Such sensitive individuals, however, are prone to develop asthma.
Q: What are cockroach allergy symptoms?
A: Theoretically, all inhalant allergens – namely pollens, dust mites, mold spores and cockroaches – are capable of causing typical hay fever allergies.
However, the more known and reported type of allergy due to cockroach sensitivity is asthma. Studies have shown that many young adults who went to inner-city emergency rooms with asthma symptoms had positive skin testing to cockroach allergens.
The sequence of events leading to allergic asthma due to cockroach allergens can be summarized as follows: frequent exposure to cockroach allergens, positive skin testing to cockroach allergens and then asthma. Of course, not all individuals may become asthmatics, and more likely other factors such as history of other allergies in individuals, family history of allergies and environmental factors may play important roles.
Tips to prevent and control cockroach population
n Keep humidity of an indoor environment below 55 percent using a de-humidifier. Such humidity control will make the environment unpleasant for not only cockroaches, but also for dust mites and molds.
n After each meal, clean the tables and do not leave food residue behind.
n Cover all leftover food in a tightly sealed container.
n If you drop any food on the floor, clean the area immediately. Such a control measure may prevent attraction of cockroaches and ants.
n Look for the source of cockroach population. These are the areas of the home that have higher humidity, such as bathrooms, or have sources of food remains, such as kitchens and areas under sinks.
n Place all the trash in a tightly sealed container.
n You can use baits. One example is boric acid. Another is Hydromethanon, found in Combat and Siege.
n Finally, you can use the help of professional pesticide technicians. Remember, using chemicals and pesticides may irritate your lungs if you have asthma or other lung diseases. If you are suspicious of having cockroach allergy, consult your allergist for skin testing and evaluation.
