ACAROLOGIST

Not only can BISSELL help you clean up stains, BISSELL Multi-Allergen products and the expert advice from Dr. Frans Kniest can help you remove dust mite waste, pet, and pollen allergens from your home.

Dr. Frans Kniest Ph.D started studying biology over 25 years ago in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He specialized in ectoparasitology within the dermatology department of an academic hospital . He studied the biology of small insects, like fleas, lice, ticks, gnats and mites, many of which can cause skin diseases (from rashes to scabies). The goal of his research was the hunt for solutions to prevent such diseases. From this starting point he became more and more interested in the biology of allergy causing mites within the home environment, and the prevention of such allergies. His Ph.D. thesis was entitled "The Management of Dust Allergens".

After being a guest at MSU (Michigan State University) for a short period, he started working as a scientist in Germany. Together with the team of Dr. Bischoff, he worked on products to eliminate allergy causing mites and their waste allergens. They succeeded in creating a complete line of safe and effective patented products for consumers, which can help to detect and eliminate mites and their waste allergens. Dr. Kniest now works as a senior scientist in a global pharmaceutical company.

Dr. Kniest not only is a researcher in the laboratory, he also visited many homes of allergy patients. His understanding of solving problems with allergy causing mites is in fact very simple: mites in homes of allergy patients should be identified (detection) and then be killed. At the same time, the waste allergens (e.g. the mite droppings) present in that home environment (beds, sofas and carpets) should be reduced dramatically. These steps, together with the help of the therapeutic tools of an allergist, can bring patients back to normal life again.

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8/1/2003

Mite Allergens and the Allergic March

Despite the daily cleaning of the home, a layer of dust will still cover the floor and furniture. Dust is defined as a collection of particles that can be airborne. When a beam of sunlight falls at a low angle in a darkened room, you can see the dust floating in the air. House-dust is continuously produced in the human habitat. People are the dominant creator of house dust. Daily activities and cleaning of the home cause friction with the different materials that produce dust. Dust originates not only from furniture, furnishings and clothing, but also from the inhabitant itself (dander, hairs, etc.). In addition to humans, other living inhabitants such as mites live in the dwelling and produce their own form of dust (bodies and droppings). These particles become part of the house-dust.

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8/8/2002

Parasites on our Pets

We know many types of insects and mites can be bothersome to humans, but they can also trouble pets such as dogs, cats and even horses. The best known of these ectoparasitic indoor insects are fleas. However, there are other insects and mites that can attack our beloved friends, such as ticks, itch, poultry or fur mites and chiggers. We also now know that just like humans, pets can be allergic to mite waste allergens, especially horses and dogs.