[Allergic diseases in the indoor environment]

Allergic diseases have severely increased worldwide through the last 30 years. More than 50% of all allergic diseases are caused by allergens out of the indoor environment. The most important allergen-carriers are cats, mites and molds. Since the first energy-crisis in 1970 private houses and offices had to be saved from energy losts, which decreased the rate of air changing and increased the relative humidity in the indoor environment. The hygienic situation of air conditioning systems is often insufficient controlled and leads to microbiological contamination. In Germany the number of cats, kept in private homes has increased significantly. These are important facts which led to an increase of indoor air allergies. The greatest number of mites and mold allergens are to be found in mattresses and textile furnitures. For most of the allergens in indoor air the correlation between the sensitizing allergen concentration and onset of illness is unknown. Diagnostic and therapy of allergies in the indoor environment must be supported by prevention and eliminating the main sources of allergen exposure.