mdolla: 7 Health Reasons for Using an Air Purifier

When you think of air purifiers, you probably associate the need with outdoor pollutants. But, the fact is that air doesn’t separate itself into “indoor” and “outdoor.”

Unless you live in a vacuum-sealed city, you are breathing air that has meandered here from some other area of the world (remember weather maps.) All that junk in the air – allergens, molds, mildews, dust mites, dander and pollens – will make any condition you normally have even worse.

Granted, bad air affects some of us worse than others. That said, below are seven ways air purifiers can help you and your family.

1. Snoring

One of the most common reasons that people to snore is that their nasal passages get clogged up due to allergic reactions to the dust mites and other allergens that collect on air filters, heating coils and in duct work.

Changing filters at least once a month will diminish the effects of these particles in the air. However, if you find the sneezing or snoring becomes worse at certain times of the year, change the filter as much as once a week. Consider investing in air purifiers with multiple cleaning filters as a safe bet.

2. Prone to Diabetes

No doubt, you know that people with allergies will be affected. But, did you know that dirty air has been directly linked to an increase in glucose intolerance – a warning sign of diabetes?

If a member of your family has diabetes – including Type 2 Diabetes – investing in an air purifier could help stabilize glucose levels.

3. Sick Family Member

Nothing spreads germs faster than someone who is sick. Sneezing and coughing not only expel germs into the air but it also shoves around the pollutants already in the air.

For the sick ones, the pollutants will extend their illness creating a vicious circle. And for those of you who are healthy, the added contamination of germs increases the probability of the illness spreading.

4. Asthma, Emphysema or COPD

All of these are lung oriented diseases. Plenty of pollutants that lurk in the air eventually find their way into the lungs with each breath taken. Dust mites, molds, pollen and mildews are the most common perpetrators but there are others too.

5. Stuffy, Stale Air in the House

For those living in northern climates, having the house closed up for the winter is a definite breeding ground for the culprits that produce air contamination.

Office workers are especially susceptible to pollutants in offices where windows don’t open. Even in winter, it is advisable to open the house up one day a month and do some heavy cleaning.

6. Wood Burning, Coal Burning Stove, Fireplace or Heater

Who doesn’t love sitting by a warm fire on a cold, snowy night? Nothing is more comforting than the smell of wood burning in a fireplace.

The problem is that wood comes from trees and trees are a source of molds and pollen spores may be buried deep in the trunk. Burning is one way that spores pop open and spread into the air along with the smoke and sparks. Coal heaters are just as bad at contaminating the air.

7. Same Air from the Far East

While the U.S. doesn’t suffer the degree of air pollution that is seen in China, some of that same air from the Far East does make its way across the Pacific to the Americas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released its findings in September of this year showing that 92% of people in Hong Kong breathe deadly air. Furthermore, this pollution level is a significant threat to the entire world, not just Hong Kong.

The Bottom Line ….

If you live anywhere on planet earth, you probably need an air purifier until we can get air pollution under control.

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