Health
Do you ever notice musty odors in your home? Does anyone in your family suffer from allergies or hay fever? Does there seem to be a lot of dust around the house, even though you clean often?
The answer to these questions can be related to each other. Dust and odors can be signs there is something invisible affecting the air quality of your home. There can be varying reasons for these issues. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the common ones, what you can do about them, and what you should hire a professional to handle.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) commonly refers to the air quality within and around buildings like homes and offices — especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding what IAQ is can help reduce the risk of indoor health issues and concerns. Some health impacts from indoor air pollutants may be experienced quickly, others may take years to show up. Protect yourself by using knowledge of your indoor environment to alleviate concerns and potential issues. Let’s look at the two types of health impacts you may encounter:
Immediate Impacts
- Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Asthma may become aggravated
- Cold-like symptoms
Some of the above effects due to poor IAQ may show up shortly after a single exposure, or after repeated exposure. A person’s reaction depends on their sensitivity, which obviously varies from person to person. Some people can become sensitized to biological or chemical pollutants after repeated or high-level exposures. Others may not. It’s important to note when symptoms do occur, it’s often difficult to distinguish between IAQ issues and colds or other viral diseases. If the symptoms fade or are reduced when a person leaves an area, chances are that it’s something in that area causing the problem. Some effects may be made worse by a lack of adequate outdoor air coming into the building or home. They can also be made worse because of heating, cooling, or humidity conditions.
Long-Term Impacts
- Respiratory diseases
- Heart disease
- Cancer
While pollutants commonly found in indoor air can have many harmful impacts, there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems.
