Asthma and Indoor Allergens

Radon and Mold Professionals

Radon & Mold Professionals
Naples: (239) 498-4619
Ft. Myers: (239) 948-9717
Toll free: (800) 881-3837
Fax: (239) 949-5948
email: radonmold@yahoo.com

Identifying and Controlling Indoor Allergens

Indoor Environmental Asthma Triggers

According to the E.P.A., Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors. There is little debate among all experts that indoor allergens and irritants can play a significant role in triggering asthma attacks.

It seems reasonable, as well as potentially very helpful, to identify asthma triggers in your indoor environment and take the simple, low cost steps to reduce your exposure to them.

http://www.epa.gov/asthma/triggers.html

The EPA states the top five indoor allergens are:

1) Second hand cigarette smoke

2) Dust mites

3) Pet Dander

4) Mold

5) Cockroaches / cockroach body parts, saliva and urine

Identifying the presence of the most troublesome indoor allergens in the home or workplace is a fairly simple process. Allergen screening starts with collecting a dust sample using an adapted hand held vacuum cleaner fitted with a dust collection laboratory cassette. The sample is collected within an area(s) of concern, like the kid's bedroom. An area of 20 square feet or greater is the IESO recommended surface area to sample. Why dust? Dust provides an ideal sample for airborne particulates that have settled onto a surface or collected within a material, like carpet. A standard dust sample analysis will screen for dust mites, cat and dog dander and the presence of cockroach body parts.

Results from a new national survey demonstrate that elevated allergen levels in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals. The study suggests that asthmatics that have allergies may alleviate symptoms by reducing allergen exposures inside their homes. The work was carried out by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the University of Iowa, Rho Inc., and the Constella Group. The team's findings may help millions of Americans who suffer from asthma.

The annual economic cost of asthma is $19.7 billion. Direct costs make up $14.7 billion of that total, and indirect costs such as lost productivity add another $5 billion.¹

In a survey of U.S. homes, approximately one-quarter had levels of dust mite allergens present in a bed at a level high enough to trigger asthma symptoms.¹⁰

It is estimated that the number of people with asthma will grow by more than 100 million by 2025.²
Nine million U.S. children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lifetime.⁸
Nearly 4 million children have had an asthma attack in the previous year.⁸
More than 11 million people in the United States have had an asthma attack in the last year.⁷
In 2005, 8.9% of children in the United States currently had asthma.⁸
Children 5-17 years of age missed 12.8 million school days due to asthma in 2003.⁵
Asthma accounts for about 10.1 million missed work days for adults annually.⁵
Asthma was responsible for 3,384 deaths in the United States in 2005.⁶
The annual economic cost of asthma is $19.7 billion. Direct costs make up $14.7 billion of that total, and indirect costs such as lost productivity add another $5 billion.¹

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