Asthma is a fairly common condition that many people will experience at some point throughout their life, if not consistently battle it over the years. This condition can present an array of health problems to those that are afflicted and can leave every environment a potential trigger for your debilitating asthma symptoms. Many people will experience issues with asthma during their adulthood as the symptoms will stir up, but unfortunately the same can happen in children who will start to experience asthma symptoms early on in their life.
Childhood asthma impacts millions of children and their families, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that more than six million children suffer from this disease. In fact, the majority of children who develop asthma in their youth will experience symptoms before the age of five. Unfortunately, there is no cure for asthma, but once you have been diagnosed with asthma there are different treatment options that can help to reduce symptoms and make your asthma bearable to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
In this article we are going to discuss asthma triggers in a home that can elicit asthma in kids and learn the best methods to implement in a home to effectively combat these potential asthma triggers found in the indoor air of this environment.
What’s Childhood Asthma?
Childhood asthma is a breathing disorder where the lungs and airways become easily inflamed when they are exposed to certain airborne asthma triggers, such as pollen, mold, pet dander, dust mites, and VOCs in the air. When a person with asthma experiences inflamed airways, this is due to them becoming swollen, with the muscles around the airway tightening when something triggers the asthma symptoms. This will leave an asthmatic person with difficulty breathing – moving air in and out of the lungs, which can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.
Asthma in children is not a different disease from adult asthma, however, there are some unique challenges that children face when plagued with asthma. Children actually breathe in more air than adults and thus their risks of inhaling asthma triggers into their body is more heightened than that of adults with asthma.
Asthma Triggers for Children in a Home
Children who are suffering from asthma can be plagued with a specific type of asthma called allergic asthma. Allergic asthma will be triggered when substances known as allergens are inhaled into the body, which will cause an allergic reaction. Allergens are substances that can be found on the surfaces or in the air of an environment and can trigger both allergy and asthma symptoms upon contact or exposure to these allergens.
In those who suffer from allergic asthma the asthma attacks will occur when the allergen substance is inhaled into the body, which will spark an allergic reaction by the immune system. The immune system will mistakenly react to an allergen as it enters into the body and treat it as a foreign substance, this will lead to the symptoms of asthma in the body as your immune system fights off the allergen.
When it comes to inside the home, there are some potential asthma triggers that can be lingering in both the air of your home and on the surfaces like your furniture, desks, and even floors. We are going to discuss below the potential asthma triggers that you may find in your home.
- Dust Mites: An allergen that develops from dust, dust mites are a common cause of allergies and asthma in a home from the house dust that is present in the environment. Dust mites, also known as bed mites, will live within your indoor environment and multiply rapidly in warm, humid conditions. Typically dust mites prefer temperatures at or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The allergens will most commonly be found in beds near pillows, mattresses, along with in carpeting and upholstered furniture.
The American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology labeled dust mites as a common cause of asthma in children.
- Pet Dander: Although we love them and their soft fur coats, our household pets can be at the root of some asthma problems for children. Pets fur coat can release dander (skin flakes) that will shed into the environment and spark an allergic reaction and/or asthma symptom in children who are exposed to this allergen. Pets can also release a dander from their urine and saliva that will have the same effects as the dander of a pet when it comes to asthma and allergies.
- Smoke: Secondhand smoke contains a mix of toxic compounds within the cigarette smoke that can cause all kinds of problems for children and their asthma. The particulate matter that is found in smoke will attribute to the aggravation of asthma in children as these particulates become inhaled into their body.
- Mold: A fungus that can be found growing inside indoor environments, mold will produce mold spores into the air as an act of reproduction. However, these mold spores can trigger asthma symptoms in those who suffer from asthma such as children. Mold spores are small, microscopic particulate matter that will float throughout the air and easily makes its way into the human body through inhalation or ingestion. When mold spores enter into the body they can pass deep into the lungs and contribute to significant health issues such as aggravated asthma.
- Pollen: An outdoor allergen that can enter into your indoor environment, pollen will come from trees, grass, flowers, and weeds. There are many different types of pollen, so some people may only be allergic to a specific type. In an indoor environment pollen is a common component that is found in household dust and can elicit allergies to dust in a home.
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Volatile organic compounds are chemicals that are released from items in your home such as new paint, plastic, furniture, flooring, and even cleaning products. When you are exposed to these chemicals in your indoor air it can result in certain health effects and has even been linked to the onset of childhood asthma, and overall worsening of asthma symptoms in children who are already suffering from this condition.
Signs of Asthma in Children
Childhood asthma can stem from a variety of different factors that will influence whether your child will suffer from asthma. Although there is no proven way to predict if your child will develop asthma, there have been studies conducted that have identified certain predictors for asthma in children such as diagnosed allergies, a family history of allergies or asthma, prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke, obesity, and living in an area with higher air pollution.
Sometimes, however, these factors will not play a role in whether your child suffers from asthma and they can just be predisposition to this condition. In this case, you will be able to identify your child’s asthma through the symptoms that they exhibit over time. If your child starts to display symptoms of asthma and this occurs over a long duration time, the next course of action is to have your child properly looked at by a doctor to determine the diagnosis to these symptoms.
Childhood Asthma Symptoms
The symptoms associated with childhood asthma can vary child by child, as some will experience some symptoms while others will experience varying symptoms. Depending on the child, each asthmatic episode can spark an array of asthma symptoms. The possible signs and symptoms to be on the lookout for when it comes to childhood asthma includes the following tell-tale symptoms.
- Frequent coughing spells
- A chronic cough
- Fatigue
- Rapid breathing
- Chest tightness
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
- Tightened muscles
Comparing the Best Asthma Air Purifiers for Kids
Air purifiers are designed to filter the indoor air space of pollutants and contaminants that can be found within the air. These air cleaning devices each use varying technologies that will be effective in various ways and against varying pollutants such as odors, chemicals, allergens, and particulate matter. If your child is suffering from aggravated childhood asthma, it will be important to look for an effective air purifier that works against these allergen pollutants found in a home that can trigger these asthma symptoms – that means you will need to conduct a little research and homework to successfully identify the best asthma air purifier for kids.
Below we are going to discuss the different competing air purifier technologies and compare how effective they are at removing asthma triggers from the indoor air.
- Ionizers: Ionizers are air purifiers that work by releasing charged ions into the air that will float throughout the space attracting pollutants that they will attach to and pull them from the air, and onto the surfaces around them. While this process seems harmless, it can be potentially hazardous for those with asthma like children. Ionizers are not very effective when it comes to attaching to pollutants in the air, and it can actually produce irritating ions into the air that can cause irritation in the lungs and respiratory tract upon exposure, especially those with asthma.
- Ozone Generator: Ozone generators are air purifiers that work by releasing O3 molecules into the air to break down pollutants found in the indoor air. These ozone generators, however, can be very dangerous to human health as these molecules are not intended for human inhalation and can be quite hazardous to those specifically with childhood asthma which contributes to ozone machine dangers. When you inhale ozone into your body, even in small amounts, it can irritate the lungs and elicit throat irritation, coughing, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
- PECO Technology: PECO technology is a photocatalytic oxidation that utilizes free radicals to oxidize pollutants found in the indoor air. This process, however, will produce a byproduct into the air that can affect those with asthma upon exposure to the released byproduct in the air. When you are looking for an air purifier, any air purifier technology that releases a byproduct into the air such as PECO technology, ozone, and ionizers are all potential hazardous to children with asthma.
- Carbon: Carbon air filters are a technology that is very commonly used in air purifiers today. A carbon filter is embedded with activated carbon air filter, a doped-up chemical added to carbon to make the media filter larger for pollutants to be adsorbed onto. Carbon, however, is typically designed for odor and gaseous pollutants, and is not as effective against the small pollutants like asthma triggers and allergens found in the air that can elicit asthma symptoms.
- EnviroKlenz Earth Mineral Technology: EnviroKlenz is unlike other air purifier technologies, we utilize our own patented earth mineral technology that is effective against a wide variety of noxious odors and chemical pollutants it comes into contact with in the air. The technology actually breaks down and neutralizes the odors and chemicals completely from the air, without the use of chemicals or without the creation of byproducts into the air. This is important when it comes to asthma, as chemical VOCs can sometimes elicit and aggravate asthma symptoms. EnviroKlenz also uses a second stage filtration through the use of a hospital-grade HEPA filter for particulate and allergen removal.
Ultimately, the EnviroKlenz technology paired with the hospital-grade HEPA filter will be a beneficial and helpful tool to help reduce and minimize asthma symptoms in children.
Mobile Air System
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✓ Patented earth mineral technology works to attack VOCs and break them down on a compound level
✓ No chemicals or masking agents
✓ Will not release any chemicals back into your environment
✓ Safer and faster at removing VOC’s than traditional carbon filters and PECO air purifiers
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