The David Hide Asthma & Allergy Centre at St. Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight has launched a study to look into the effects of air pollution and allergen exposures on asthma, supported by Dyson. The research aims to ascertain whether using an air purifier could provide improvements for asthma patients.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases, causing cough and breathing difficulties due to the narrowing of the airways in the lungs. Triggers for Asthma episodes are diverse, and the research serves to understand whether ridding the indoor environment of pollution will provide any benefit in controlling Asthma symptoms.
Most of the air we consume is indoors, where we spend 90 per cent of our lives, but that air can contain microscopic particles, invisible to the human eye. Pollution sources like particulate matter from vehicle emissions or buildings and pollen can enter homes and combine with indoor pollution sources like cleaning products, pet dander and disintegrated faeces, scented candles, indoor paints and cooking fumes. With modern homes built to be better sealed to comply with energy efficiency requirements, pollutants can be trapped inside, compromising airflow circulation.
Purifiers are engineered to capture particulate and gas pollution, employing filters than trap pollutants as the air passes through. Many of the most efficient purifiers use both a HEPA filter that captures extremely small particles and a carbon filter which removes gases from the airflow.