It's obviously closely related to broccoli. So I'd think a little lemon juice ought to go very well on it, too! :-)
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."
It's obviously closely related to broccoli. So I'd think a little lemon juice ought to go very well on it, too! :-)
I'm an obsessive hand washer as it is. I really don't need to add to my already existing neuroses.
It sounds like he's in very good hands, OP. God bless you.
But plastic pillow covers are so tacky.
As if this article isn't gross enough, what's really nasty is when people get sick they're coughing and sneezing and then don't change their bedding after getting well. Bedding should be changed once a week no matter what, IMO.
It's a matter of hygiene.
Right? Little Olive oil, seasoned bread crumbs, roasted garlic, three cheese bread, prosciutto, Genoa salami, a good red...Hey, I'm a wop. And Italian men know their way around the kitchen.
No telling whose fungus is in hotel pillows.
Ewww gross!
Look on the right hand side of that Froogle link... In other words, at the sponsored links... One of the companies (NationalAllergySupply) sells tightly woven cloth pillow "encasings," that'll keep out dust mites. But to filter out one of the main fungal culprits, aspergillus fumigatus, I think you have to get the pore size down to a couple of microns. <*sigh*>
Plastic's tacky but I think I'm going to have to go to it soon, like it or not.
They ain't kilt me yet, no way will I get all worried now!
45 years ago, some of the best sleep sessions I ever had was laying on a pile of half dried shrimp nets, I reckon that those nets were all loaded up with all kinds of germs, but the only things I ever suffered, was the mesh patterns on my ugly face! The damned germs never had a chance!
The cool thing about sleeping on a pile of nets is how easy it is, to figure out, how to scratch the spots that really drive you bonkers!
I am Republican, only because the Republican ideal is aimed at, and dedicated to, the preservation of my "inalienable" rights.
I sure would like to hear your reasons!
If "Republican" no longer equals "FREEDOM", I am damned sure out of here!
Looks like sperm with wigs.
Big fleas
Have little fleas
Upon their backs to bite 'em
And little fleas
Have lesser fleas
And so ad infinitum
“It's obviously closely related to broccoli. So I'd think a little lemon juice ought to go very well on it, too! :-)”
Oh Absolutely!!! Yummy!!! Thank you for the tip. In fact, I have some nice ripe limes ready for use. (I'm out of lemons. The limes will do nicely as a substitute.)
We are going to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks for the PBR Finals!
Pabst Blue Ribbon finals???
I have allergies and sinusitus, so I had heard about the importance of changing pillows (every year, for me) and washing frequently. I bleach them once in a while. I'll be adding bleach to every washing now. Ugh.
Gack!
Definitely of interest to transplant patients.
If he has a trach and doesn't get respiratory infections, you certainly must be doing something right.
I work (as a nurse) with 2 children with trachs. One tip you might be able to use: when you wash out the suction container, put a little mouthwash in it. It keeps it from smelling (and kills the germs).
Hey, I inherited mine from my great grandmother,....(everybody else died off in their sleep). If you smell very carefully, you can still smell the cordite from the Civil War when great grandma dispatched the dirty rotten northener carpetbagger....still has the oats in it so you can rub it together on a cold night to keep warm...(Just kidding,..It's been washed at least twice...)
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