Allergies, Asthma, Health & Indoor Air Pollution

It is no wonder that allergies and asthma have been increasing. Air pollution has increased and there is nothing our bodies have greater exposure to than the air we breathe! The average person inhales over 10,000 quarts of air each day and spends 90% of their time indoors. So it is clear that indoor air pollution and contaminants can negatively affect our health.

• The American College of Allergists says, "50% of all illness is aggravated or caused by polluted indoor air."
  
• The EPA in its report to Congress stated that "Indoor air represents one of the most important problems based on an estimated population risk."
  
• The American Medical Association has concluded, "air pollution can affect not only the lungs, but virtually every organ and system of the body."

Along with allergies and chemical sensitivities, many common ailments are caused by the pollutants in the air we breathe. Unfortunately, most symptoms from polluted indoor air are similar to other common illnesses so we do not recognize their true cause. Many people suffer from mystery illnesses where the cause cannot easily be determined. Have you ever suffered any of the following symptoms and realized that they are often caused by indoor air pollution or contaminants?

So, where are we exposed to contaminated air that can cause these ailments? EVERYWHERE! No matter how clean we think our indoor environments are, we are still exposed to biological contaminants, toxic gases, particulates, and unpleasant odors. Whether at home, work, in our cars, on airplanes, in hotels, movie theaters, restaurants, and on and on, we are breathing in millions of pollutant molecules. Fortunately there is a New World of Clean Air Purification Technology that will neutralize odors and dramatically reduce pollutants and contaminants. Many allergy and asthma sufferers as well as those who suffer from other illnesses have reported improved health after trying air purifiers, probably because the purifiers simply reduced the source(s) of allergens or indoor air pollution surrounding them. In fact, many knowledgeable health professionals are now recommending air purifiers to allergy and asthma patients.

Asthma

Bronchial asthma, a periodic inflammation of the air passages causing extreme shortness of breath, is responsible for 5000 deaths each year in the United States. Although the exact causes of asthma are not known, there is wide agreement in the medical community that exposure to asthma-triggering agents such as dust, dust mites, smoke, and mold are major factors in causing children to develop asthma.

What is known is that asthma has been on the rise in the U.S. for thirty years. While some cases of asthma are allergy-related, for others the triggers of asthma attacks range from industrial pollutants to common household products such as paint or detergents. Many researchers suspect that the rising rates of asthma in the U.S. and other affluent countries are due to more sedentary lifestyles and greater amounts of time spent indoors.

The dangers of secondhand smoke from tobacco are well known - this alone is considered one of the most significant threats to public health by governments all over the world. What most people are less aware of is the threat to health caused by other sources of indoor combustion, such as cooking and fireplaces. Carcinogenic substances like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other health risks such as carbon monoxide are generated in substantial amounts in the kitchens of most homes. A range hood over the stove helps, but even this cannot eliminate tiny particulate matter from your home environment. Heating equipment, especially stand-alone heaters powered by kerosene or LP gas, produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, all poisonous to humans. Even a wood-burning fireplace will emit these gases into indoor air.