Protecting your children from indoor air pollution

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups of people when it comes to air pollution-caused illnesses. The WHO gives a grim and shocking statistic by estimating that 93% of children below the age of 15 breathe polluted air; they claim, furthermore, that the air inhaled by the vast majority of the world’s population is so polluted that it has serious adverse effects on children’s development and health. Acute respiratory infections caused by air pollution kill 600,000 children a year (based on a 2016 figure)¹.

Numbers like this are hard to swallow, especially knowing that indoor air pollution is 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. What can we do to protect our own children from the dangers of indoor air pollution, considering that we spend 80% of our time indoors? Below we will discuss what, exactly, is air pollution, the major sources of airborne contaminants, why children are more vulnerable, and how an air purifier can help.

What is air pollution?

Air pollution is when one or more contaminants are present in the air that can be dangerous to our health. As the Earth’s population continues to grow (as of 15 November 2022, the Earth’s population reached 8 billion), the number of vehicles on the road generating dirty emissions will continue to grow, as will demand for industry to create polluting products to satisfy the rising population.

Why are children more vulnerable?

There are various reasons why children are more at-risk for disease, especially those diseases related to air pollution:

• Children breathe more quickly than adults through shorter airways, causing them to breathe in more air, thus increasing their exposure to a greater amount of pollutants
• Being of smaller size and living closer to the ground, they are in a position where pollutants are in peak concentrations¹
• Children’s lungs are not fully developed, and exposure to pollutants can lead to organ damage and inflammation
• Children have underdeveloped immune systems which puts them at high risk of contracting diseases when exposed to pollutants²

What are some ways to protect our children from air pollution?

There are several things we can do to protect our children from exposure to air pollution and its dangerous health effects. Some of these include:

1. Don’t smoke indoors or in a place that could exposure your children to cigarette smoke
2. Install a carbon monoxide detector at home
3. If you have any appliances that burn gas, keep them in good condition and make sure to have them inspected once a year by a qualified technician (and make sure to ventilate well when they are in use)
4. Never leave a car idling in a garage if the garage is attached to your home
5. Use exclusively low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint and other remodelling materials, and limit your uses of fragrances and sanitising sprays³

Fight indoor air pollution with Eoleaf

In addition to the list above, a great and effective way to protect your kids from indoor air pollution is to install an air purifier in your home.

An air purifier uses an internal fan to pull in air from a specific space, uses various filtration technologies inside the device to treat the air, and removes unwanted particles. It then circulates the purified air back into the room. Some air purification devices, like those available at Eoleaf, have an automatic mode where they detect the level of pollution in your home and treat the air accordingly.

Here at Eoleaf, we specialise in air purification and sell top-of-the-line air purifiers that use the most advanced, proven filtration methods on the market to reduce indoor air pollution. Our powerful devices eliminate the three main sources of air pollution: particulate, chemical, and biological. All Eoleaf’s devices are equipped with HEPA-certified filters, meaning that our filters are capable of filtering 99.97% of particles of a size greater than or equal to a diameter of 0.01 µm in a single pass. They are capable of filtering out all fine particles and pollutants up to PM0.1, germs (bacteria, viruses, moulds, and spores), and allergens (pollen, dust mites).

Our goal is to help you protect you and your family from the dangers of indoor air pollution. Reach out to our team of air purification specialists to find the right air purifier for your home.

References

¹ World Health Organization. (2018, October 29). More than 90% of the world's children breathe toxic air every day. World Health Organization. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news/item/29-10-2018-more-than-90-of-the-worlds-children-breathe-toxic-air-every-day

² Singh, M. (2022, November 7). Air pollution: Here's How You Can Safeguard Yourself from the Adverse Effects. NDTV.com. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.ndtv.com/health/air-pollution-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself-your-kids-from-air-pollution-3491135

³ Power, S. (2017, November 21). 10 ways to protect children from air pollution. HuffPost UK. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/10-ways-to-protect-children-from-air-pollution_uk_5a130870e4b05ec0ae844411