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I’ve written on the effects of particulate matter and IAQ before but it just keeps coming up (search this site for previous posts or see the Related Posts section below).  I guess one of the byproducts of our modern society is an increase in the “stuff” that we breathe in day after day.  Unfortunately, it’s hard on our kids, especially those suffering with childhood asthma.

Here are a couple of things you can do to reduce the effects of PM, and asthma, on your children.

First, if you suspect that your child has asthma, get them professionally diagnosed and treated.  There has been a documented increase in kids diagnosed with asthma over the past 20 years.  No one knows the cause, they just know it’s increasing.  As a parent, your best course of action is to be watchful for any signs that your child may be developing asthma and get them treatment as early as possible.

Second, if your child already suffers from asthma, make sure to follow your doctor’s advice.

Third, “know your enemy.”  Become knowledgeable about asthma by checking out the information at reliable medical sites such as The American Lung Association and the Mayo Clinic.

Fourth, take steps to improve the quality of the air inside your home by reducing the amount of particulate matter in the air.  It’s estimated that kids spend 80% of their time indoors so make sure you’ve done everything you can to assure that this time is spent in an area with good IAQ.  Some basic tips to reduce PM include:

• Make sure that you purchase good quality air conditioning filters and that you change them frequently.  No, I don’t recommend having your air ducts cleaned since this can cause more problems than it solves.  Unless you literally have dust blowing out of your AC vents, having your air ducts cleaned is not necessary.
• Reduce the amount of carpeted area in your home.  A carpet tends to trap particulate matter in the carpet fiber and then releases it back into the air when the carpet is walked on or disturbed.
• No furry pets indoors.  “Fido” and “Fluffy” will just have to sleep outside.  Pet hair, and especially pet dander, are serious allergy and asthma triggers.
• Purchase and use a good quality vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter on the exhaust.  A “HEPA” filter is a “High Efficiency Particulate Air” filter designed to trap and remove most of the particulate matter from the exhausted air.  Using a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter will assure that any dust that’s picked up stays in the vacuum instead of being exhausted right back into the room.
• Consider the purchase of a good quality air purifier for your child’s bedroom.  Make sure that you get a unit that does NOT create or release ozone, negative ions, aromatics, or anything else.
• Keep doors and windows closed to prevent dust and particulate matter from coming indoors.
• Be a careful consumer when it comes to all the “asthma preventing” attachments that are for sale for your air conditioning unit.  These include ultraviolet light (UV) attachments designed to “sterilize” the air flowing through your AC ducts to electrostatic filters that will “zap” the dust right out of the air.  These things do in fact work.  However, some of them are pretty expensive and most will only improve your overall IAQ fractionally.  You’ll have a much greater impact on the quality of your indoor by simply following the first four points (and you’ll save a bunch of money, too).

Asthma is the leading chronic illness of children in the US and is the third leading cause of child hospitalizations.  It cannot be cured but it can almost always be controlled by reducing your child’s exposure to those things that can trigger an attack.  Research is finding that particulate matter (PM), microscopic particles of dust, carbon, smoke, or soot, is one of the more significant.  The good news is that there are some simple, commonsense things you can do to protect your family from its effects.

Read the press release on the Johns Hopkins study here.

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: IAQ, particulates, particulate matter, PM, indoor air quality, asthma, triggers, HEPA, air purifier, allergy

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A Mold “Primer”

First, mold is everywhere and is a natural part of the environment. It’s job is to breakdown dead organic material and in the process, release nutrients into the soil where they become available for living plants. Although molds are everywhere, they only grow where there is a food source and moisture. This is the reason you usually find mold growing in damp areas due to plumbing, roofing, or other types of leaks.

Molds grow in colonies and there are thousands of different types. Once a colony finds a food source and becomes established, it defends it’s “territory” by spreading chemicals called mycotoxins in order to prevent other molds from moving in. The most familiar example of this is bread mold, which produces what we call penicillin in order to keep other molds away.

Mold Problems

Molds become a problem indoors for several reasons. The first is physical. According to the EPA’s “Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings,” molds destroy the materials they are growing on. This can eventually lead to structural problems if the mold – and the underlying moisture problem – is not properly addressed.

Secondly, molds can create, or contribute to, health problems. Molds are microscopic and mold spores easily become airborne when disturbed. As a result, anyone living or working nearby can introduce them into their lungs through normal breathing. In many people, this can create allergic symptoms due to the mold spore itself, or chemical symptoms due to the mycotoxins.

The Link Between Mold and Depression

Although mold has been implicated as the probable cause for a number of health problems, solid proof has been difficult to come by, mainly because people can react to mold exposure in many different ways. This makes it very difficult to determine a cause-effect relationship. However, one study performed in late 2007 found a connection between mold (along with the damp conditions necessary for mold growth) and depression in the inhabitants of moldy buildings.

In an article titled “Dampness and Mold in the Home and Depression: An Examination of Mold-Related Illness and Perceived Control of One’s Home as Possible Depression Pathways” and published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers found “…a solid association between depression and living in a damp, moldy home.” Although the study does not prove that mold causes depression (a cause-effect relationship), it does show that there is a connection, or link, between the two.

The researchers think that there are two reasons for this link. The first is the effect that mold has on a person’s physical health. These can include the allergic symptoms already mentioned. When you’re not feeling well, it’s easy to get depressed. The second reason comes from a perceived lack of control over the housing environment, the feeling that you can’t afford to fix the mold problems or move altogether.

Edmond Shenassa, the research team leader, said, “Physical health, and perceptions of control, are linked with an elevated risk for depression, and that makes sense. If you are sick from mold, and feel you can’t get rid of it, it may affect your mental health.” Shenassa also stated that “What the study makes clear is the importance of housing as an indicator of health, including mental health.”

Healthy Homes Can Promote Healthy Lives

A final comment by Shenassa was that “Healthy homes can promote lives.” Amen to that. But how do you create and maintain a healthy home? Here are a couple of tips to prevent mold from growing indoors:

• Keep your home well maintained and in good repair. Immediately repair any water leaks or wet spots that may be caused by plumbing problems, roof leaks, condensation, or any other causes.
• Routinely check for damp or wet spots around all sinks, faucets, and plumbing fixtures as well as around windows and doors. Don’t forget to check dishwashers and ice makers, too.
• Clean up any liquid spills or water leaks immediately and make sure the surrounding area is thoroughly dry.
• Your HVAC regulates humidity in addition to temperature so make sure it’s working properly.
• Frequently inspect and dry areas around moisture sources such as potted plants, aquariums, pet drinking bowls, etc.
• Get professional help with repairs and/or clean up if you need it. See the EPA document referenced above for advice and tips.

The Next Steps

Understand that preventing mold from growing indoors is just one step towards creating a “healthy home.” Other steps can include reducing the amount of particulates in the indoor air, a topic I wrote about in “Indoor Air Quality and Heart Disease.” You should also address other potential hazards such as radon, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (VOC) from glues, paints, or pesticides, as well as asbestos and possibly lead-based paints. You can find more information on these in the EPA’s “The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality.”

Conclusion

I can’t sum up the intent of this post any better than by quoting Edmond Shenassa: “Healthy homes can promote healthy lives.” Americans spend a significant portion of their day indoors. Doesn’t it make sense that your physical and mental health would be tied to, and affected by, your environment?

Hiram

The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: IAQ, depression, indoor air quality, health, healthy home, allergies, allergy, mycotoxin, balanced health, mental health, damp home, mold

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1. Air Purifiers and Allergies – No Magic Bullet
2. 5 Sure Ways to Beat Depression
3. Healthy Environment = Healthy Body

Let me try to state things so that there’s no confusion. An air purifier does only what it’s name implies – it purifies the air that is drawn into and expelled from the unit. It does not cure or eliminate any type of ailment or disease, and any salesperson, product label, or advertisement that implies otherwise is not being honest or ethical. However, if used correctly, their use is beneficial in many situations.

Why Use an Air Purifier?

Then why do I frequently recommend them? Because in many cases, an air purifier – when used as part of a complete home IAQ program – does provide some degree of relief from allergy symptoms. Notice that I did not say it cures allergies, nor did I say that ALL of your symptoms will completely disappear. I said that they do provide some degree of relief in many cases (note that this also means that in some cases, they will not provide any type of relief at all).

Why is that? Why is it that some people will get relief from their allergies and others won’t? The answer is because Indoor Air Quality in general, and allergy in particular, is a complex issue with many causes and interconnecting factors.

The Many Causes of Allergies

There are many things in a typical home that can cause allergic symptoms in those individuals that are sensitive to them. These can include any or all of the following:

• Plant and Tree Pollens, including those from indoor plants
• Dust Mites
• Household Dust
• Mold
• Chemicals from cleaners, detergents, scented or perfumed sprays or candles
• Household pests including ants and roaches
• Pet Dander from Dogs and Cats
• Some foods, food additives and/or preservatives

In order to reduce allergic symptoms, you must have a home IAQ program in place that is consistently working to significantly reduce the levels of all of these allergens inside of your house.

Clearing the Air

Since most allergens in a typical home are airborne (you breathe them in), taking steps to clean, filter, or purify the inside air makes good sense. That’s why I recommend high efficiency air filters in your HVAC system in conjunction with the use of air purifiers. However, you also have to reduce or eliminate the source of the allergen. That includes regular cleaning with a HEPA-filtered vacuum, reducing the amount of carpeted areas, using hypoallergenic detergents and cleaners, changing bed linens often, keeping pets outdoors, and so on.

There is No Magic Bullet

Because there are so many things in a typical home that a sensitive person can be allergic to, there is no one single thing that you can do that will make all your symptoms go away. There is no “magic bullet.”

Reducing the amount of allergens in your home – and thereby reducing your allergic symptoms – takes a holistic approach and the main goal of improving IAQ. An air purifier is just one tool of several that can be used to help you accomplish this.

Hiram

The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: air purifier, allergies, allergy, Environment, Health, iaq, causes of allergies, air purifiers

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