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Health should be everyone's priority
We spend on average 14 hours a day in our homes. The air we breathe is not always of good quality and tends to deteriorate due to increased outdoor pollution, global warming and other environmental factors or human activity. There are many sources of pollution and if your home is not properly ventilated, pollutants can accumulate and your health can deteriorate.
The WHO in 2018 expressed that 7 million people worldwide died prematurely due to the concentration of outdoor pollution in homes.
Reducing health risks is possible, everyone can act to limit them.
The indoor air quality : a true health issue
They are multiple, unsuspected and invisible, and yet, the microparticles of pollution do exist. They are found in all shapes and forms, whether liquid, solid or gaseous. Their harmful effects are more or less important depending on their size, their chemical composition, the dose of pollutants inhaled, the age, the sex and the health condition of the individual.
The health issues are either immediate (clinical manifestations) or long term (increased health events and reduced life expectancy). Chronic exposure leads to the most aggravating health effects.
Some pollutants are diffused with low concentrations (emissions from furniture, paints, varnishes), others can have higher concentrations (outdoor pollutants, formaldehydes). Fine particles, easily inhaled and present in indoor air, penetrate the lungs, the cardiovascular system and end up in the blood system.
We can observe 3 types of contaminations :
- Respiratory : Asthma, dry cough, rhinitis, bronchitis, etc.
- Digestive : Those we ingest when pollutants contaminate the air, water or plants.
- Dermal.
The impact of a polluted air on newborns and kids
Babies and children spend 70-90% of their time in enclosed spaces. They are more fragile because, from birth, they breathe 2.5 times more air than adults do and they explore their environment more. The air they breathe must therefore be healthy and free of pollutants.
The consequences of indoor pollution for infants are a disturbance on their physical development and immune system, not yet fully developed.
The most harmful pollutant to which they are exposed is formaldehyde. Mostly made of reconstituted wood panels and covered with one or more layers of paint, furniture (beds, dressers) in a child's room emit a lot of VOCs. It is therefore important to assemble this furniture in an airy space or to choose solid wood furniture.
Which advices to improve indoor air quality ?
You may be familiar with them, but these tips are very important and it is by respecting them that you will improve your life quality and that of those around you :
- Ventilate every day, at least twice a day, even more for infants ;
- Pick furniture that does not produce harmful micro-particles (e.g. mattress made with organic cotton ;
- Avoid the use of air fresheners such as essential oils, candles and incense, or smoking indoors ;
- Use eco-friendly household products, good for the environment ;
- Keep animals away from nighttime spaces;
- Adopt a mechanical filtration air purifier equipped with a HEPA 13-14 filter and activated carbon to clean the air in your home.
It is absolutely crucial today to preserve good indoor air quality in the home in order to maintain a good health. High exposure to outdoor pollution is a threat and indoor pollution must be reduced at all costs to protect everyone, regardless of vulnerability.
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