Giving >>allergies<< zero chance with good indoor air
Spring is pollen season. For many, this time of year means watery eyes and tissues. Some suffer from this more, some less. Irrespective of this, allergens, just like pathogens, are largely transmitted via the air. But first the basics.
The air we breathe is a mixture of gases. This mixture consists of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The remaining 1% is made up of noble gases, carbon dioxide and aerosols.
We breathe in large quantities of this mix of substances every day: to be more precise, we process between 10,000 and 15,000 litres of air every day. Pollen is also an aerosol. So it's no wonder that allergy sufferers suffer every day because they are confronted with an enormous amount of airborne pathogens. Well ... air pollution - especially in large cities - also contributes to this problem. It even increases the allergy potential. But how exactly does it work?
Aerosols explained in detail
Aerosols are ultra-fine particles that float in the air and can easily transport other substances from A to B. These particles are extremely tiny and extremely light. These particles are extremely tiny, extremely light and can be transported several kilometres by wind and precipitation.
In the process, they collect a wide variety of pollutants from the ambient air and take them with them on their journey. An aerosol that starts out alone collects other substances such as microplastics, tyre abrasion, brake dust and (pollen) dust over time.
The aerosol's journey then ends in the lungs of allergy sufferers.
And this is exactly how the allergy potential is further increased.
These substances enter our circulation via the alveolus, where they also irritate the mucous membranes. The allergy is triggered and the immune system reacts with various symptoms. The body triggers increased inflammatory processes in the airways and mucous membranes.
Some particles are so small that they bypass the alveolus and pass directly into our bloodstream along with the pollutants they contain. In the long term, this has a major impact on the body, even for non-allergy sufferers.
In addition to the health damage that we are all exposed to as a result of long-term inhalation of air pollutants, allergy sufferers also suffer from so-called cross-allergies. Particularly during the prime time of the pollen count, when several allergens are whirled through the air, those affected also react irritably to similar protein structures of the original allergens. This is so far-reaching that some people have to avoid certain - mostly plant-based - foods during the allergy season. The body's defences confuse the food with the actual allergen!
Does that mean we are forever at the mercy of the whims of nature? Out in nature, we logically have little influence on the concentration of particles in the air we breathe (for that we would also have to get a grip on air pollution - Green Deal - but that's a whole other story).
Indoors, however, we can do something: filter the air as well as possible. Through the targeted filtration of precisely these fine particles, pollen and aerosols, we can create indoor air that is of high quality and free from a wide variety of dust, grasses and microplastics. By creating better indoor air quality, the impact of pollen on the respiratory tract and mucous membranes can be significantly reduced. This has a positive effect on the respiratory tract and immune system, not only for allergy sufferers but for everyone in the room. It can also prevent neurodegenerative diseases in the long term, which are becoming increasingly common in areas with air pollution.
Work-life balance is important to us, as is a healthy lifestyle - so why only eat healthily and not breathe air that also has quality?
Live healthy - eat healthy - BREATHE healthy!
Sources
https://www.gesundheit.gv.at/krankheiten/allergie/nahrungsmittelallergie/kreuzallergie.html