Asthma is a common long-term condition that affects about 5 million people in the UK and requires ongoing management. Around 160,000 people are diagnosed with asthma every year. It affects people of all ages but often starts in childhood, although it can develop for the first time in adults. But, having asthma means different things to different people. Whatever its affect, it is useful to understand the toll it can have on people, physically and emotionally.

This post will focus on triggers found inside the home and how to solve them as well as a comprehensive in depth review of the capabilities Ebac's Air Putifying Dehumidifiers can have on an asthma sufferer.

Know Your Indoor Triggers

Those who have been living with asthma for a while will understand what triggers their asthma and in turn will have learnt to live to avoid them. Sometimes it's obvious. Sometimes it's not. The most effective way to protect yourself from triggers in the home is to remove them all together. Some of the most common triggers are:

• Animals
• Dust and Dust Mites
• Mould
• Outdoot Air Pollution
• Pet Dander
• Tobacco Smoke

However if removing the trigger is impractical or unwise, minimising exposure to the source is also known to have a considerable contribution to the health of a person with asthma.

Click here for more information about controlling and understanding indoor asthma triggers.

When You Need A Dehumidifier

From condensation, damp and mould to asthma, dehumidifiers are used for three things - comfort, health and managing excess moisture.

When it comes to health, living in a humid environment tends to create problems in those with asthma because humid air activates nerves in our lungs that narrow and tighten. Humid air makes the air stagnant enough to trap pollutants and allergens like dust and dust mites, mould, mildew, pollen and smoke, all of which can flare up asthma.

Using a dehumidifier cleans the air and reduces the number of asthma triggers through removing excess moisture in the air that is warm and humid, protecting and minimising exposure to the growth of allergens, bacteria and pollutants in the home.

How Do I Know If Humidity Is Triggering My Asthma?

The easiest way to tell if humidity is triggering asthma is to see if symptoms worsen when the weather gets warmer. Some of the most common symptoms are:

• Breathlessness
• Coughing
• Tightness in Chest
• Wheezing

Whatever triggers your asthma, the reality is that it is impossible to get rid of all allergens in the home. When it comes to coping and managing asthma triggers, the best thing you can do is stay on top of your asthma. If you manage your asthma well, your body is in a better position to manage when you come into contact with any asthma triggers.

What A Ebac Customer Had To Say

1. What Benefits Were You Hoping The Product Would Offer?

Moving into our first home we have had a few hurdles to stumble over, one of which was combating the damp in the house which didn't start to appear for the first couple of months of living there. The second objective of the dehumidifier was to improve the health of Fearn who suffers from asthma and whose condition worsened due to the damp and mould and mildew that was starting to beome an issue.

Both objectives of getting the dehumidifier seem to have been successful. Fearn has gone from needing to use her inhaler five times a day - on a good day - to using it just once a day. Breathing has become easier and because of this feels a lot healthier and more peaceful in her own home. The damp and mould growth has also stopped and problem areas have massively subsided, sadly a bit of damage has already been done, but we feel confident that with the Ebac dehumidifier and a bit of cleaning and re-painting we can get rid of the issue for good and any cosmetic work done would last as a result of living in the dry conditions the dehumidifier provides.

2. Did You Notice An Improvement In Indoor Air Quality?

Due to the issues Fearn had with her asthma and the suspected bacteria in the air as a result of the mould, we opted for the bacterial resistance air filter on the back of the machine. Together with the dehumidifier it dies seem to have ade a large difference, both with regards to the general feel of the atmosphere and smell in the house, and the noticable difference in how much healthier it feels. As noted previous, Fearn's health improved after about six weeks of using the dehumidifier and there was also a noticeable difference in the smell and feel of the air in the house. To be honest, the smell wasn't really noticeable and I would never have concerned myself with it, however, after using the dehumidifier and noticing the difference, it was obvious we did have a smell that must have come from a few different elements, such as the previous homeowners having dogs, the damp and mould on the walls and the bacteria in the air.

3. Would You Reccomend The Dehumidifier?

I would recommend this product to people who have issues with damp and mould problems, but also to people who find the air in their home could be cleaner. The product dires your home and greatly improves issues with damp and mould, but also serves to improve the ambience, helping with noticeable, or unnoticeable, lingering odours and a fresher feel in the air. Furthermore, if you struggle with respiratory issues it has proven its worth ten times over by helping an asthma sufferer feel more comfortable and improve breathing by removing damp and bacteria from the air.