Your Pillow Is Likely Infected With Fungus and You Don't Even
Know It
According to researchersyour pillows may be home for millions of
fungal spores, .
Aspergillus
The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, which is the species most
commonly found in pillows, is also the most likely to cause
disease. The resulting syndrome, aspergillosis, has become the
leading infectious cause of death in leukemia patients. Fungi
can also worsen asthma
A Million Spores Per Pillow.
Both feather and synthetic pillows were examined for a study,
and thousand of spores of fungus per gram of used pillow were
discovered -- well over a million spores per pillow. The pillows
studied were ones that had between 1.5 and 20 years of regular
use.
Four to sixteen different species were identified in each sample
looked at, with higher numbers found in synthetic pillows. Bread
and vine molds, as well as fungi usually found on damp walls and
in showers were found in addition to the Aspergillus.
Difficult to Treat
Aspergillosis usually infects the lungs and sinuses, although it
can spread to other organs such as the brain. It is very
difficult to treat.Immuno-compromised patients can easily die of
Aspergillus pneumonia or sinusitis.
Since Aspergillus can also worsen asthma and cause allergic
sinusitis, constant exposure to fungus in bed could be
problematic even for relatively healthy people.
University of Manchester October 14, 2005Allergy November 2005;
60 (11)
Dr. Mercola's Comment:A spore is structure of protein
encapsulating bacterial DNA. It is formed by certain species of
bacteria in conditions of low moisture, nutrients, temperature,
etc.
They are metabolically inactive and are incredibly tough to
destroy. Once a spore finds itself in a suitable environment
(like your nose or throat), it can germinate into a single
bacterium and attempt to multiply. They can cause many problems,
including sinus trouble and dangerous infections.
So the answer is not to rush off and clean you pillows in your
washing machineas hot, and even boiling water, will not kill
spores.Spores require a temperature of about 121 degrees
(Celsius) to be destroyed, and boiling water only reaches 100
degrees (Celsius).
Hospital supplies have to be autoclaved for 15 minutes to be
sterilized. Basically, autoclaving involves superheated steam at
high pressures to reach the required temperatures. Also,
remember there are various levels of disinfectants. A cleaning
agent doesn't kill spores unless it specifically says it's a
sporicide, which is different from it being "antibacterial."
If you believe that spores are dangerous and you are determined
to kill them bleach is a good sporicide. However
thebleachsolution should be about 1:5, or at least 1:10 (You
want a minimum of 2,500 ppm of chlorine in your solution, and
normal household bleach is 5 percent available chlorine).
So the question becomes what is more toxic, inhaling toxic
chlorine fumes are fungal spores?
This is a no win question, similar to do you prefer getting hit
in the head with a hammer or a baseball bat.
Before you bathe all your household pillows in bleach, though,
you might want to take a look at the list of contributors to the
Fungal Research Trust, the "charitable organization" that funded
the research covered in the article:
Fujisawa Corp., Oxford Glycosciences, F2G Ltd, Chronic
Granulomatous Disorder Research Trust, Aventis, Janssen Research
Foundation, Roche, Schering Plough Corporation, The Liposome
Company, Merck, Imedex, Bristol Myers Squibb, Aronex Ltd, Vestar
Inc, Eli Lilly, BioMerieux, Alza Corporation, Pfizer Inc, Zeneca
Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Phairson Ltd., GlaxoWellcome, The
Gossett Trust, The Clear Group, British Medical Association,
Basilea, Valeant and Orthobiotech.
Are the pharmaceutical companies funding this trust out of the
kindness of their hearts, or is it a way of maximizing
shareholder value?They want to frighten you so that you will
purchase one of their expensive and toxic drug based solutions.
In the meantime rather than using toxic approaches, I believe
there is a better solution. I recommend using a
mechanicalbarrier and purchasing a high quality water, mold and
spore proof pillow cover (not pillow case) that you can wash
regularly (even with a bleach) to keep it clean. You can even
purchase new pillows every year as they are relatively
inexpensive.
This is the solution that I personally use and have found to be
very effective. Call me obsessive but I even take my pillow
cover with me when I travel and sleep in hotel rooms. Sure beats
breathing in fungal spores and dust mites all night long.