The Relationship Between Allergies, Air Cleaners and a Healthy Lifestyle

For so many allergy sufferers, spring and summer can be an uncomfortable period of time. With Americans spending nearly 90% of their time indoors, it is of the utmost importance that the home has good quality air to help reduce the amount of contaminants that are breathed. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental dangers to humans. The EPA also showed that indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than the worst outdoor air! With these kinds of statistics, it is more important than ever to ensure good clean indoor air.

An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from some type of allergy whether food, indoor/outdoor, insect, or other according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) with 40 million suffering from indoor/outdoors allergies alone! Allergies are the 5th leading chronic disease in the U.S. among all ages, with almost $7 billion spent on annual allergy related costs. Allergies, also called ‘hay fever’, are a major cause of work absenteeism resulting in nearly 4 million lost work days each year and totaling a loss of more than $700 million in productivity. In fact, according to the AAFA, over 700 deaths occur each year as a direct result from different types of allergies. Obviously, allergies are not something that should be taken lightly and neither is the treatment and prevention of them.

With indoor/outdoor allergies typically come itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, conjunctivitis, coughing and difficulty breathing. All these symptoms make life that much harder. However, some of these symptoms can be prevented from ever forming by having excellent air quality in the home. The most important step in indoor allergy reduction is removal of the source of the allergen or irritant. This means removing all dust by vacuuming regularly and keeping a clean home and getting rid of irritating furniture, pets, rugs, carpet, etc that may be the cause of the allergy symptoms. But is it realistic to get rid of the family pet, the couch that was hard to pay for, or all the carpet in the house? It simply isn’t that easy, so something else is needed to help keep the air and surfaces clean and free of unwanted allergens.

Air filters and air purifiers are completely different and need to be looked at separately to decipher which is best for certain types of allergies. For instance, a HEPA Filter-based unit works wonders on removing 99.97% of particles down to .3 microns in size. These units will dramatically reduce allergy symptoms that are derived from unwanted particles floating in the air and reduce the amount of allergens in the home or office. These filter based units work best for people suffering from dust, pollen and dander allergies. On the other hand, UV Light Air Purifiers will actually seek and destroy any living contaminants thus preventing the reproduction and multiplication of the unwanted particles. This type of unit is the best for people with mold or dust mite allergies. Air Purifiers with UV Germicidal Light Technology are also great for reducing the amount of colds and flues people generally experience throughout the year because it kills bacteria, viruses, and germs on the spot and limits the spread of more. It’s best to take time to identify which air cleaner/purifier is most applicable and start cleaning up the act!