Air Filters For Asthma, Allergies and Chemical Sensitivity

If you have asthma, allergies or chemical sensitivies one of the best things you can do to reduce the symptoms you experience is to use an air filter. Do you often have a runny nose, congestion, sore throats, dry irritated eyes? Do you, or someone in your family, catch colds frequently? Do you have trouble sleeping? Running one or two air filters in your home can dramatically reduce the particulates and chemicals present in your indoor air. And this can have a dramatic effect on how you feel.

It's especially important also for babies and young children. Last month the Los Angeles Times published an article "Common chemicals pose danger for fetuses, scientists warn". Two hundred leading environmental scientists from five continents around the world wrote a declaration stating that exposure to common chemicals makes babies more likely to develop an array of health problems later in life. These health problems included: diabetes, attention deficit disorders, prostate cancer, fertility problems, thyroid disorders and even obesity.

In the article, Dr. Bruce Lanphear, director of the Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is quoted as saying: "Reducing exposure would lead to tremendous benefits. We shouldn't wait for an epidemic to fully mature before we develop policies to protect children."

Pollution is also a big concern. Ozone is created when car pollutants interact with sunlight. With summer coming we're moving into a time when ozone levels in outdoor air increase. The International Herald Tribune posted a blog article today discussing the effects of ozone pollution. Ozone attacks the lung's lining and causes coughing, wheezing and watery eyes. The article says that many cities in Europe routinely exceed what the European Environment Agency deems to be harmful levels of ozone in the air. Ozone travels large distances and so it is a problem for people outside the cities also. It is suggested that people with lung problems avoid outdoor exercise when levels are high.

There are many sources of pollution that enter our homes, both from the inside and outside. An air filter is a very effective way to reduce our exposure. There are quite a variety of filters available on the market and there are a few things it is good to be aware of. The quality of the components and substances used in these filters is extremely important, otherwise the filter itself ends up introducing unwanted chemicals.

I bought a very expensive filter a year ago that was advertised as being suitable for those with chemical sensitivity, but it turned out that the unit itself was releasing chemicals that caused problems. It was housed in a soft pliable plastic, which undoubtedly makes it more durable and robust to denting, but which released chemicals that caused increased breathing difficulty.

It's also important that the manufacturer take care to ensure that oils lubricating the motor don't cause contamination. And the quality of the carbon filters also needs to be high.

I highly recommend the filter company AllerAir. They have all types of filters. The HEPA filter and high efficiency carbon filter remove airborne chemicals, gases, odors and particles. They know firsthand what materials are required for someone with chemical sensitivities because the company was established after a member of the family developed MCS and they discovered there wasn't a suitable filter on the market. AllerAir's units are made of metal and they take great care to ensure the materials they use are high quality.




The AirTube is a great choice for smaller rooms and costs around $300. It can also be a huge help as an interim solution if you don't have the funds to get a more powerful filter right away.



.











.




The Allerair 5000 MCS air purifier can have dramatic effects on how you feel after a night's sleep and during the day. The MCS unit costs approximately $1000.






After running an air filter in the indoor environment for a few weeks, a person can experience a huge increase in energy and reduction in symptoms. It's a worthwhile investment that can make a tremendous difference to current and long-term health and, as a result, even lifestyle.

Some tips for reducing common house allergens

There are some straightforward things that can be done to reduce allergens in the environment that can help to relieve both allergy and asthma symptoms.

Laundry Care
An article in the BBC news says that scientists have found that washing laundry at low temperatures of 30-40 degrees, regardless of the brand of laundry detergent used, doesn't get rid of some of the most common allergens that cause allergy attacks. They say it is much more effective to use a 60 degree water temperature in order to remove all or most of these allergens.
Unfortunately, switching from a 40 degree to a 60 degree wash generally uses a third more energy, and the switch from a 30 degree to a 40 degree wash uses a further 40% in energy cost. They found that rinsing laundry in cold water several times after washing at a 30 degree temperature produced results comparable with the hot water washes.

Selecting the laundry items that an allergy sufferer is likely to have in close and frequent contact, and adjusting laundry cycles for optimum removal of allergens in these items, while leaving other less important items at cooler washes or using less rinses, is a means of judiciously using energy and water resources while dealing effectively with the allergens.

Carpets












Carpets harbor allergens that are virtually impossible to remove. The best approach, if possible, is to remove carpets and replace them with a bare, hard surface, such as ceramic tiling or hardwood floor. Small cotton throw-rugs can be used in places for warmth and comfort.House Furniture
It is also very difficult to remove allergens from cloth furniture, especially furniture with soft cushioning. It is better to have furniture with less porous surfaces, such as those made with leather or some inert synthetic material. These can be wiped to remove dust from the surface and they provide some barrier to the cushioning beneath them, which inevitably accumulates allergens over time and use.Mattress and Pillow Covers
A significant portion of every 24 hours is spent sleeping in bed. So it is important to reduce the exposure to dust mite and other allergens that build up in mattresses and pillows. By encasing them in barrier covers, either made of synthetic material or very tightly woven cotton, it is possible to seal the allergens away from the person.

Curtains
It is good to have curtains that are easily machine washable so that it is possible to remove allergens from them frequently.

Dusting and Vacuuming
It is very important to dust frequently. The number of times will depend very much on the environment and time of year, but in some places it would be necessary even to dust once a day, depending on the severity of the allergies experienced. A minimum of once a week would be essential. A very effective way to dust, causing minimum exposure to the person dusting, is to use a damp cloth to wipe surfaces, so that dust particles are contained and do not fly around the room to settle elsewhere.

There are vacuum cleaners available that include HEPA filters to reduce the exhaust of dust and allergens. Unfortunately these are more expensive than ordinary vacuum cleaners. I own a Miele HEPA vacuum cleaner and consider the purchasing of such a vacuum cleaner an investment for future benefit.

Air Filters
Air filters are a great way to eliminate, depending on the type of air filter used, particulates and even chemicals from the air. This is a subject worthy of an article entirely in itself. From personal experience, I can highly recommend the AllerAir brand of filters.

Choosing whatever seems to be most relevant to a person's situation and moving forward one step at a time makes it possible to keep track of what has the most beneficial effect. Within whatever means available, even implementing one or two methods to reduce exposure to allergens may help relieve symptoms.

Common Senses

Spring is my favorite time of year. With color bursting out everywhere, it feels as though everything has a new bright sheen to it. Goals seem more attainable and a fresh outlook on life awakens. It just feels good to be alive.

But for some, it's a season of trial. Last week we were invited to dinner at a friend's house and one of the young boys of the family was suffering noticeably with swollen, teary eyes. His father explained that both his sons have severe allergies and that he was particularly concerned because his elder son regularly experiences difficulty breathing. He explained that they were both too young to take allergy medication and that he wanted to do something now to help them as much as possible.

With every passing year allergies, asthma and chemical sensitivities become more prevelant in society, and can range in effect from discomfort and inconvenience to serious threat to the health and well-being of a person. There are many hypotheses for the causes of this increase, and it is difficult to define absolute limits on exposures because individuals have varying thresholds and severity of reactions to trigger substances. This is exacerbated by the challenge of accurately quantifying and regulating the exposures an average individual receives in his or her normal daily environment. In addition, a given individual's response can also change over time to those trigger substances and their concentration levels. For people living in cities and valleys, pollution can build up rapidly. For those in the country there is often pollution extending from the cities, there are fields and hillsides full of grass and flowers, and also cultivated fields treated regularly with fertilizers and pesticides.

I have many years' experience dealing with and learning about such issues and have found that there are ways to reduce the symptoms without, or in addition to, taking medication for them. There are simple things that can be tried in order to determine if it helps the individual. The essence of this approach is to:

1. Eliminate many of the manufactured chemical agents and synthetic products which are regularly present in our surroundings.
2. Reduce exposure to known common allergens in our environment.
   
3. Try to live a balanced and healthy life with regular exercise.

The concept is simple, but our lives have become inundated with products that we take at face value as having been tested and shown not to adversely affect health. Unfortunately the parameters for defining meaningful tests of these products in relation to the human body is usually ill-defined. And often these tests do not take into consideration the context of mixing one product with others that we may regularly come into contact with. The cumulative effect of years of routinely using a variety of products containing many different chemical combinations has not been determined.

Consequently, knowing where to start in trying to improve our personal environment is not always obvious. A simple and often effective place to start is to stop using products containing strong fragrance; for example, perfumes and fabric softeners. Eliminating these from regular use can substantially alleviate allergy symptoms and asthma.