Air Purifiers Filters and Cleaners > Air Purification Resource Center > Air Pollutants Harm Kids

A Doctor's Viewpoint: Why Air Pollutants Harm Kids

By Dr. Phil Landrigan, Professor of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

CHEC Report

The effects of air pollution take a harder toll on children than adults for three main reasons:

• First, children’s airways are small in diameter, meaning a pollutant that only slightly irritates an adult’s airway can significantly irritate and narrow the airway of a child. This can produce wheezing, reactive airway disease (hypersensitivity to allergens), or asthma.
• Second, because children are more active and have much more active metabolisms than adults, they take in more air relative to their size than adults do. They breathe more rapidly, and inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight.
• And third, children’s lungs are still growing (their lungs don’t reach maturity until about age 20). Repeated exposure to air pollution and repeated bouts of asthma can limit the growth of a child’s lungs and predispose them to chronic lung disease.

Allergies are defined as overly sensitive bodily responses to exposure to any number of trigger substances called allergens. Reducing exposure to the agents to which the child might be sensitive is the most important step parents can take. Children might encounter these allergens at home, in their classroom or day care center, on the playground, during renovations (at home or at school), and during weather and season changes. Examples of triggers include animal dander and/or saliva, house dust mites, cockroach feces, pollen, perfume, formaldehyde and indoor molds.

There are some specific steps you can take to reduce allergies. Keep a clean, clutter free home. Dust frequently and damp mop your floors. Wash bedding in hot water at least once a week. Remove carpet, curtains and stuffed animals from the baby’s room. Use special encasing to protect your mattresses and pillows from dust mite infestation. Control and reduce moisture and leaks in the home to curtail mold growth.

Irritants are potent asthma triggers. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is the most significant and easily preventable indoor environmental irritant. If you’re a parent who smokes, please stop. Do not allow anyone to smoke in your home.

Fumes from gas stoves, oil burning or gas fired furnaces, gasoline and kerosene heaters contain toxic materials that can cause asthma attacks and lung damage. In the case of malfunction or lack of proper ventilation, carbon monoxide can build up indoors with possibly fatal results. Install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Open your windows on clear dry days to air out the home.

To further reduce indoor air pollutants exercise caution when purchasing household products. Strong odors come from cleaning products, air fresheners, perfumes, nail polish/removers, hair sprays, scented candles, incense, fabric softeners, pesticides, paints, solvents, new furniture and rugs, and are being inhaled by your children. Those smells can be dangerous especially when the chemicals are aerosolized. The remaining toxic residue can be inadvertently ingested by little ones touching sprayed surfaces and then sucking on their fingers and hands.

Outdoor air quality is another major source of lung irritants. Pay attention to media alerts on high ozone (O3) days. Keep children indoors. Industries emit toxic pollutants into the air; check with your local or state health department to learn about permitted emissions in your area. Scorecard.org, a website maintained by Environmental Defense, provides information about the type and amount of pollution that exists in your geographical location.

Breatherville.org, created by Allergy & Asthma Network, Mothers of Asthmatics, is another great resource for parents dealing with allergies and asthma. The Environmental Protection Agency’s web site has information on creating a healthier atmosphere inside America’s schools. (See IAQ Tools for Schools Kit.) Poor ventilation, molds, chemical and pesticides can trigger asthma and make students and teachers feel miserable.

This article has been syndicated from: http://www.checnet.org/
Author: Dr. Phil Landrigan, Professor of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Back to Top