Do Air Purifiers Reduce the Symptoms of Asthma?

Asthma is a lung condition in which the airways in your lungs swell and narrow. The muscles around these airways get tightened when asthma is triggered, and it causes symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, trouble breathing, and chest tightness.

Even though there is no cure for asthma, your symptoms can be managed. For instance, by reducing your exposure to allergens in the environment that trigger asthma, you can manage your symptoms. 

By using an air purifier, you may be able to reduce your exposure to environmental triggers. An air purifier is a portable air cleaner, which filters and traps pollutants found in the air inside your house, and sanitizes the air that passes through. An ionizing air purifier, one of the most popular types of air purifiers, uses an electric field to trap particles. Keep in mind that an air purifier is different from an air filter. An air filter traps pollutants by pushing the air through a filter. Both these devices filter out and trap air pollutants, the air is only sanitized by an air purifier. 

An air filter can be portable or maybe a part of an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system. In both devices, different air filters may be used, including:

– Carbon

– Washable

– HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestance)

– Disposable 

Does an Air Purifier Help with Asthma?

Some of the common environmental triggers of asthma inside your home include:

– Pollen from outside

– Pet dander

– Mold

– Smoke

– Dust 

These triggers can be taken out of your home by using an air purifier, which traps them in the filter. It works by first bringing in air, tripping the small particles, and then releasing only clean air. It also sanitizes the air that passes through it. 

How well an air purifier can really help in managing the symptoms of asthma depends on the filter design, location of the purifier in your house, the airflow rate of the purifier, and the size of the allergen particles