Can the feathers contained in pillows and quilts trigger a house-dust-mite allergy?

Bed-feathers are not the trigger of a house-dust-mite allergy. Allergy sufferers react to the excrements of the house-dust-mite, not to the feathers. And neither are the feathers a food source for the mites. In order to avoid house-dust-mite allergies it is even recommended to sleep in down- and feather-filled bedding articles.

 

 

An allergy to bed-feathers or more precisely to the substance called keratin, which is contained in the feathers, is extremely rare. According to current research the keratin has virtually no relevance in the process of triggering ailments of the respiratory system.

 

Prof. Dr. med. Dietrich Hofmann, from the Center for Pediatrics of the Clinical Center of the Frankfurt Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, researched the relevance of the bed-feather (keratin) allergy and gathered his findings in a study.

 

Hofmann refers to a survey dating back to 1994, which showed that more than 80 percent of the subjects reacted positively when tested for feather allergy and that the same individuals would display an equally positive reaction when tested for house-dust-mite allergy. From this the authors concluded that the test solutions applied at that time did not contain pure feather extract but also mite antigen in addition.

 

Hofmann adds: “Stronger allergologic reactions, such as a positive skin-rubbing test or a positive inhalation provocation test cannot be obtained in allergology.” Skin tests led to similar results.

 

 

He therefore reaches the following conclusions:

“Based on the current scientific literature and our own research, we can therefore state without a doubt, that the bed-feather antigen (keratin) is of virtually no significance as a trigger of ailments of the respiratory system (hay fever, chronic allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma). Because the allergen potency of the feather antigen (generally used in the form of a mixture of goose, duck and chicken feathers in tests) is to be categorized as extremely low, or respectively, minimal. This finding has resulted in many allergologists not testing the feather antigen at all – also because of the costs involved. In addition, this development is similarly reflected by numerous authors who recently published allergological reference books and textbooks. Their reports did not take into account the feather antigen as a separate substance and therefore as a trigger for allergic diseases. And we can observe this trend all over the world. Consequently, we can this sum up by saying that there is a worldwide consensus, that the bed-feather antigen itself is insignificant from an allergological point of view.“