Indoor air pollutants can affect the health of children, the elderly and those with health problems and lead to infections. As people spend an extreme amount of time indoors, the air we breathe in closed-in spaces can further worsen health problems. For example, each and every day we are open to indoor impurities such as chemicals, gases, dust, and mold. Many health problems can occur from poor indoor air including sore eyes, nose burning, sore throat, headaches, and fatigue. These pollutants can be found in homes as well as schools offices and even healthcare facilities.
Healthcare-Associated Infections
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are infections that patients can get while having treatment in any healthcare facility. Most of these HAI’s could be preventable with proper indoor air quality. Meanwhile, pollutants can cause or worsen existing allergies and breathing illnesses such as asthma, heart disease, cancer, and other conditions. Furthermore, the hospital’s physical environment can have a momentous impact on patients’ health. If the air is dry (as it is in most hospitals) this can create a home for microorganisms. In addition, this can worsen the indoor conditions that lead to infections and allergens to humans. An indoor relative humidity between 40-60% will help to protect patient health and decrease excess health care costs.
Indoor air hydration will support patients in a variety of ways including skin and respiratory tract defenses. This also includes immune cell functioning wound healing and total body fluid balance. In other words, all of those are natural defenses against HAI’s. Healthcare facilities need to ensure they are making patients their number one importance by focusing on indoor air quality. With proper indoor air quality, you will see a decrease in re-admissions, shorter inpatient stays, and lessening of non-reimbursable hospital expenses. One of the best ways to control IAQ and improve health is to have a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) in place. United CoolAir produces many units designed to bring in the fresh air and improve the health of buildings and patients.