Asthma-12

Prevention - Air Filters

If an asthmatic lives with a smoker, use of air filter or room air cleaner is likely to be helpful. Secondhand smoke can worsen the symptoms. The same is true for those with hay fever (allergic rhino sinusitis) or COPD (emphysema or chronic bronchitis). Room air cleaners remove small particles that are in the air near the air cleaner. However, room air cleaners do not remove small allergen particles that are caused by local disturbances, such as the microscopic house dust mite feces that surround a pillow when your head hits it or you turn over in bed. There are several types of air filters available.

• Mechanical air filters use a fan to force air through a special screen that traps particles such as smoke, pollens, and other airborne allergens. The high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter is the best-known air filter. HEPA (which is a type of filter, not a brand name) was developed during World War II to prevent radioactive particles from escaping from laboratories.
• Electronic air filters use electrical charges to attract and deposit allergens and irritants. If the device contains collecting plates, the particles are captured within the system; otherwise, they stick to room surfaces and have to be cleared away.
• Hybrid air filters contain elements of both mechanical and electrostatic filters.
• Gas phase air filters use activated carbon granules to remove odors (volatile organic compounds or VOCs) and non-particulate pollution such as cooking gas, gases emitted from paint or building materials (such as formaldehyde), and perfume.
• Germicidal air cleaners use ultraviolet (UV) lights to kill bacteria, viruses, and molds that pass through the area with the UV light. Such UV lights can be included with other air cleaner devices, which use a fan.
• Ozone generators are devices that intentionally produce high concentrations of ozone to clean the air in a room. They are often used to decontaminate rooms after smoke exposure following a fire.

All text is available under the GNU free documentation lisence

Links

Index page

Previous:   Prevention - Trigger Avoidance

Next:  Treatment - Medical

Find Healthcare Jobs here