Poor Indoor Air Quality Is Especially Hard on the Respiratory System. Common indoor pollutants such as radon, asbestos, mold, and more go for the ears, nose, throat, and lungs.
Leaks around doors and windows can let polluted outdoor air in too. Indoor air also has allergens, such as dust, pet dander, and mold. Building materials, furniture, carpets, scents, and cleaners can release chemicals into the air.
Occupants of homes with poor indoor air quality may complain of symptoms such as headache, eye irritation, fatigue, dry throat, sinus congestion, dizziness, and nausea. Because many illnesses can cause these symptoms, diagnosing sick building syndrome is difficult.
This is because cold, mouldy, damp or overcrowded houses are known to be linked to adverse health impacts, such as respiratory disease, rheumatic fever and cardiovascular disease [3,4,5,6,7].
The lungs are evolved to be good at sensing two things: Co2, and a lack of Co2. Fresh air feels more fresh because it has a bigger lack of Co2 compared to your average indoor building.
Change your furnace filter regularly. Avoid burning in your home, including fireplaces, wood stoves, gas appliances, and candles. Avoid chemicals such as air fresheners, sprays and cleaning products or use a healthier option. Vacuum your rugs and carpets regularly.
We all have dust mites in our homes. Being allergic to dust mites is very common and normally affects people with lung conditions like asthma or allergic rhinitis. If you're allergic to dust mites, you might get allergy symptoms, such as: sneezing.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to high levels of some VOCs can cause blurred vision, headaches, nausea, dizziness, coughing, burning eyes, respiratory irritation, skin rashes, respiratory illness, concentration difficulties, and other symptoms.
These consist of dust and pollen, mold, fungi and mildew, wood smoke, dust mites, dander from our furry friends and debris from insects, all of which can cause the nose and throat irritation, congestion, sneezing and coughing.
The first option is to install an air quality monitor to provide continuous data on pollutants in the home, like particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and VOCs. Devices like the PurpleAir Indoor Air Quality Monitor help homeowners monitor real-time changes in air quality, making it easier to take action when necessary.
Allergies, Irritations, or Respiratory Problems
One of the first (and most alarming) signs that your home has poor air quality is if you or your family experience an increase in allergies, irritations, or respiratory problems. These sudden changes can be caused by a variety of air contaminants, such as: Mold spores.
Deep breathing
Breathing in deeply through the abdomen can help manage breathlessness. To try deep breathing at home, people can: Lie down and place the hands on the abdomen. Breathe in deeply through the nose, expanding the abdomen and letting the lungs fill with air.
Health problems that can cause shortness of breath include: lung problems, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer. heart problems, such as a heart attack or heart failure. infections of your airways, such as croup, bronchitis, pneumonia, COVID-19, flu or even a cold.
Indoor Allergy Symptoms
Runny nose. Sneezing. Itchy, watery, swollen, bloodshot eyes. Scratchy, swollen throat.
By using ceiling fans, or portable fans for trouble spots, you can keep the air moving and avoid stuffy air and that stale smell. If your stale air problems are caused by moisture, a dehumidifier can help by taking that moisture right out of the air in any room that's giving you trouble.
Pollen, dust, pet dander, dust mites, mold, fungus, and mildew are always floating around outside the home and inside, even with a particularly good HEPA filter. Likewise, fumes from building projects and strong chemicals with irritating scents (such as formaldehyde) could also cause problems with the sinuses.
Essentially Toxic Building Syndrome is where the air quality in your home or office is so bad that it can affect the health of those inside. You see you might think you're breathing clean air, but in fact the air inside your home can have more than 900 harmful chemicals and organisms in it, which you simply cannot see.
EPA says that the air in homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air. Indoor air pollution can cause big health problems. People who may be exposed to indoor air pollutants for the longest periods are often those most at risk to the effects of indoor air pollution.
Poor Indoor Air Quality Is Especially Hard on the Respiratory System. Common indoor pollutants such as radon, asbestos, mold, and more go for the ears, nose, throat, and lungs.
Quite on the contrary, seeing your breath has less to do with the cold but more to do with the combination of temperature AND relative humidity. At its warmest, your breath can show at around 13°C (55.4°F) — Provided that the relative humidity is very high, like above 95%, and especially if it's foggy out.
If your vents are particularly narrow, you'll likely hear a loud whooshing noise due to air pushing through the confined space. Narrow ducts are also more likely to cause noises when debris builds up.