How Poor Indoor Air Quality Affects Your Children’s Health

In most homes, indoor air quality is two to five times worse than outdoor air quality. Indoor air pollution comes from many sources. Breathing polluted air can have serious effects on babies and children because they breathe more rapidly and have smaller lungs. Consider these ways poor indoor air quality affects your child’s health in your Bloomington, IL home.

Diminished Lung Function

Exposure to indoor air pollution can affect a child’s health before they are born. A child’s lungs may not develop well before birth, and this sets them up for diminished lung functions for the rest of their lives. After birth, continued exposure to indoor air pollutants will cause a child’s lungs to grow slowly. They may never reach a normal size. This could lead to chronic breathing problems. Early childhood exposure to indoor air pollution also increases a child’s lifetime risk of getting lung cancer.

Frequent and Severe Asthma Symptoms

According to the American Lung Association, children who are exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution have more frequent and severe asthma symptoms. They may also have more nighttime coughing, which can interfere with their sleep. When children constantly breathe polluted air, they may have chronic wheezing. This reduces their ability to run, play and do other active things. Keeping your home well-ventilated and using an air filter with a minimum efficiency reported value (MERV) of 13 or higher will reduce the indoor air pollution levels in your home.

Increased Risk of Respiratory Infections

When children breathe polluted air for a long period of time, they have a higher risk of getting respiratory and other airborne infections, including bronchitis, the common cold, and conjunctivitis. Researchers suspect that the chronic inflammation caused by air pollution reduces immune system functions. A child is less able to fight off the germs.

To learn more about how poor indoor air quality affects your child’s health, take a look at Air King Inc.’s air quality services, or get in touch with us today.