Allergies, Asthma and Indoor Air Quality

Health effects from indoor air allergy pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later. Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure to an allergen or repeated exposures to allergens. These include allergical irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and allergical fatigue. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the allergenes treatment is simply eliminating the allergic person's exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some allergenic diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.

Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of allergenes exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and allergenic cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if allergic symptoms are almost not noticeable.