Do Air Purifiers Help With Asthma & Other Respiratory Issues?
A HEPA Air Purifier has been placed in an elementary school classroom to help with respiratory issues like asthma.
In order for kids to learn, it’s important that they feel their best. Especially for kids with asthma or other respiratory issues, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing are disruptive, or just downright dangerous. In schools across America, there’s a movement to improve indoor air quality. But does an air purifier help with breathing?
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) In Schools
The air may look clean inside a school, but indoor pollutants are nearly everywhere. Indoor air pollutants can come from chemicals used for cleaning or building materials, and the presence of pollutants and allergens such as dust, mold and pollen. Other factors may affect air quality, including the temperature, ventilation, and humidity.
Nearly one in 13 school-age children has asthma, which is the leading cause of absenteeism in schools. Other health effects that may impact students and staff include symptoms such as coughing, headaches, allergies and itchy eyes.
In order to provide a safe and healthy learning environment, removing irritants and allergens from the school, as well as ensuring that HVAC and physical plant conditions are helping to improve IAQ, is critical.
Do Air Purifiers Help With Asthma?
Air purifiers are effective against even the smallest particles in the air, which can trigger asthma attacks or make it hard to breathe. Air purifiers use a fan to draw polluted air in, then use one or more filters to remove airborne contaminants to remove them from circulation, blowing clean air back out into the space.
Studies have shown that high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) air purifiers may reduce particles in the air from 25-50% and reduce asthma symptoms and attacks. While no air purifier in a school can remove all contaminants from the air, combining use of an air purifier with other strategies, such as removing triggers, can help students with conditions like asthma breathe easier.
How Does an Air Purifier Help With Breathing and Allergies?
Many people associate allergies with seasonal flare-ups like hayfever, or pet allergies, but indoor allergies are common in many environments. Indoor allergens include dust mites, mold, pollen and more. When an allergy sufferer inhales an allergen, it causes a histamine reaction, such as sneezing, watery eyes or hives—basically your body’s way of fighting off the allergen. By removing these allergens and trapping them in filters, an air purifier may help reduce the onset of allergic symptoms, especially when combined with other methods.
What Type Of Air Purifier Does the Most To Help With Asthma and Allergies?
All air purifiers should remove some airborne irritants and allergens, but HEPA purifiers can remove a minimum of 99.7% of all particles, even those that are extremely small like viruses.. That means that only 3 or less of every 10,000 particles of the .3 micron size will remain in the air that passed through the filter (particles that are smaller or larger than .3 microns are actually easier for a HEPA to capture). Also consider the size of the room. Many air purifiers are tested in rooms the size of bedrooms, and will not perform as well in a larger classroom or common area. The best choice is a commercial HEPA air purifier that is purpose built for public spaces.
Choose ISO-Aire Air Purifiers for Schools
ISO-Aire commercial air purifiers are leading the way in creating safe, clean indoor spaces across the country. We offer air purification systems with proven clean air technology that capture and destroy 99.99% of harmful airborne contaminants.
Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0160412086900516