Indoor Air and Your Health

Posted on 06. Sep, 2010 by Admin in Indoor Air Quality

Indoor Air and Your Health

Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later. Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Such immediate effectsare usually short term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment issimply eliminating the persons exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified.

Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor airpollutants. The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends on several factors. Age and preexisting medical conditions are two important influences. In other cases, whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends on individual sensitivity,which varies tremendously from person to person.

Some people can become sensitized to biological pollutants after repeatede xposures, and it appears that some people can become sensitized to chemical pollutants as well.

Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the time and place the symptoms occur. If the symptoms fade or go away when a person is away from the home and return when the person returns, an effort should be made to identify indoor air sources that maybe possible causes.

Some effects may be made worse by an inadequate supply of outdoor air or from the heating, cooling, or humidity conditions prevalent in the home. Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal.

It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.

Related posts:

1. How Indoor Air Quality Affects People
2. What Causes Indoor Air Problems in Your Home?
3. 28 Most Common Sources of Indoor Air Pollution
4. Indoor Air Quality – Can You Breathe Easy?
5. Banned Building Materials Are Real Home Health Hazards