Air Purifiers

[alnew45]

I'm thinking of getting an air purifier. Does anyone have one and do they help with your asthma/sinus congestion symptoms? Can anyone recommend one that worked for them, not too expensive in case it makes no difference! Thanks in advance.Ann

[starveycat]

I have severe asthma and bought one it was too strong, so I bought a salt lamp. After it's been on half an hour I find it helps. In winter I have one in my bedroom on all night, it helps and the low orange glow is very comforting

[alnew45 in reply to starveycat]

Thanks for reply. I have never even thought of a salt lamp. Something else to consider!

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador in reply to alnew45]

Just be careful with salt lamps - as with any other 'home' remedy, salt inhalation can trigger asthma. Asthma and Lung UK have a brief overview (scroll down for salt): asthmaandlung.org.uk/sympto...

This isn't to say it won't help you, or can't help others. But it's worth being aware when remedies don't have a good evidence base and may make things worse.

[alnew45 in reply to Lysistrata]

Thank you. Lysistrata. Good advice.

[Mandevilla]

I have two dehumidifier/air purifiers and they work amazingly well for me. We bought one second hand (I think it was about £30 off Gumtree) and when we realised what a difference it made, we hunted round for another one which was even more powerful (I think that one was £40). It's really worth looking out for second hand ones - people often buy them if they've had a flood or damp issues or are doing home renovation and then they don't want them once the issue is done and dusted.

The ones we have are electriq - I found several reviews of them from people with asthma who said they helped, and I couldn't find anything similar for the other brands that were available second hand at the same price. The more expensive one can be adjusted to dehumidify or air purify or both and you can also adjust the humidity levels. I've got that one in the bedroom and the less powerful one in the living room, so if I'm really struggling, I have two rooms in the house that I can go in, instead of just being holed up in my bedroom all day!

It might be worth putting out an appeal on your local community pages to see if anyone would lend or hire you one to test out first - I was able to do a trial run with a borrowed machine, which was very old, noisy and inefficient, but at least let me know that it worked for me!

[alnew45 in reply to Mandevilla]

Thanks for the reply. Lots of good ideas there! Glad it worked for you. I have just been changed to Flutiform so hopefully that will work but doesn't help with the Post Nasal Drip and choking from sinus issues. I know it's all related though.

[CANINE12]

I have an air purifier that has both a percentage and a colour display (red poor air quality, then amber then blue is good). Its a bit noisy when on full fan but it has an automatic setting so once the air is clean it switches itself off.It's been invaluable especially when a local farmer was crop spraying on a breezy day and I initially had a window open. I couldn't go outside it was so bad.

I initially got it when we had work done in the house and it was on offer. I'm extremely pleased with it.

For pollen etc you need one preferably with a carbon filter which this one has.

Not sure if it's ok for me to put the make and model, if not let me know and I'll remove it.

It's a Shark he400. I'm sure they can be picked up second hand.

[alnew45 in reply to CANINE12]

Thank you for that. Will have a look at what's available. It's good to have a recommendation from someone who has one. Thank you.

[Patk1]

I got a cpl of inexpensive ones and from 1st night I found sinuses to b less inflamed

[alnew45 in reply to Patk1]

Thank you for replying. Good to know! Ann

[Itswonderful]

I have a Winnox downstairs and a silent night in my bedroom. Both from Amazon. They work for me. Had a period of time either turned off and didn’t realise how much difference they made until I switched them back on again.

[alnew45 in reply to Itswonderful]

Thanks for reply. Not had anyone say they didn't work yet so fingers crossed if I get one!

[Collienut]

I have two, a Lenoit in the bedroom and a Phillips in the sitting room. The Phillips will automatically adjust itself when it picks up poor air quality and goes to red and then puts itself onto the highest setting, but it's too noisy for by night. On the whole I prefer the Lenoit, both make a big difference to my breathing. If we forget to put it on by night I'm definitely worse the next day. They are both Hepa filters, but I went with non ionisation due to that can aggravate breathing problems. I have asthma and bronchiectasis.🤗

[alnew45 in reply to Collienut]

Thanks for replying and for telling me what makes you have. Too much choice out there! It's good that they work for you.

[alnew45 in reply to Collienut]

Thanks for your reply. Thanks for sharing the makes and it's good to know a bit about how they work. Glad they make a difference to you. Ann

[Bingo88]

Good morning alnew45. I guess you have tried the cheaper option of nasal sprays before bedtime that you can get from your chemist. I used to wake up with a blocked nose in a morning and since using a nasal spray before bedtime. I am a lot better in a morning. Hope you get some relief soon. Brian

[alnew45 in reply to Bingo88]

Good Morning Brian. Yes, I have nasal spray from doctorand I have Neilmed nasal rinse plus I use steam inhalation. Seem to have tried everything! Thanks for trying to help though!

[Bingo88 in reply to alnew45]

Hope you get some relief. Soon. If you are on Facebook you could always look on Marketplace as well for a 2nd hand one to try. Good luck. Brian

[Homely2 Administrator]

Air purifiers work well for me. I do not need them in the summer and house is clean etc.

But they are brilliant later in the year, or the house is getting dusty.

[alnew45 in reply to Homely2]

Thank you for reply. Seems everyone thinks they help.

[northernlass]

Hi, I have a Levoit HEPA air purifier and it does the trick, I only use it when I can smell woodsmoke or the gas fire fumes seem worse than usual in winter, usually my many house plants do a good job.

I did my research before buying and also purchased a new filter, (prob’ won’t need for a LONG time), as some of the reviews I’d read for good products said they’d had trouble sourcing a replacement filter later on.

[alnew45 in reply to northernlass]

Thank you for reply. Smoke affects me too. Any sort of smell really! I have several plants but haven't noticed if they make any difference. Maybe I need more!

[northernlass]

I’m same & especially sensitive to pollution/perfume/sprays & I have LOTS of spider plants which along with ivy & peace lilies, are amongst the best air purifiers & easy to propagate too & they do work! I live near some busy roads & trainline which still run diesel trains so am careful which windows I open too.

[alnew45]

We have Mother in Law's tongue plants and other succulents. We live near a river and I wonder if it's mold and spores getting to me this year. The weather has been so weird this year and my chest and throat congestion has really been playing up. So trying to find a solution.

[Mandevilla in reply to alnew45]

We moved to a town in a wooded valley with a river running through the bottom, and my asthma got so much worse - my GP says that many of his asthma patients complain that they get worse when they move to this town, so environment can definitely be a factor!

[alnew45 in reply to Mandevilla]

Your town sounds lovely though! Are you in UK?

[Mandevilla in reply to alnew45]

Yes, in Wales. The town looks very pretty, but it's not great for my health. There's a possibility my OH might be moved on again with work, so I'm hoping if he is, we end up somewhere that is better for my lungs next time!

[alexa_s]

I have a Winix purifier, bought it in 2020 and changed filters regularly and still going strong. I would recommend taking a look on allergyuk.org, they have a section with approved air purifiers. I would also be mindful if the purifier has a ioniser setting, as that can be triggering for some asthma suferrers.

[alnew45 in reply to alexa_s]

Thank you. Very useful. I've not heard of that site so will have a look.

[Myasthma1]

Yes I have one at work they got me because I suffer with dust n mite allergy it really helps

[alnew45 in reply to Myasthma1]

Thank you. It seems they do seem to help from what everyone on here are saying.

[Bronchiectasislady69 in reply to Myasthma1]

Hi Myasthma1 hope you do not mind me jumping in on this thread but I am desperate to find out what is causing my awful nasal drip? I have Bronchiectasis and Asthma. May I ash how do you know you have dust and mite allergy. Did you have allergy tests?

Many Thanjs

Mona

[CeeCee3]

I have a dehumidifier, a negative ion generator with hepa filter & a salin air purifier that uses salt therapy. Im getting amazing results from using the salt therapy purifier with a daily saline nebuliser. I wish I'd discovered them years ago. The tricky thing with non medical therapy is that most medical research is funded by pharmaceutical companies & they don't tend to research natural remedies as there I no money in them...so they tend not to get recommended by allopathic medics.

[alnew45 in reply to CeeCee3]

Thank you for replying. I have seen articles before mentioning salt and one of the replies on this thread mentions having good results with a salt lamp. It's good you have found something that works for you.

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador in reply to CeeCee3]

Healthcare practitioners in allopathic medicine generally don't and can't recommend natural remedies where there is no good evidence base for them. That's not all natural remedies, but it is many of them - they actually need good quality evidence to be recommended on the NHS for example. And natural remedies aren't necessarily better than 'synthetic' treatments - they can still have side effects and be dangerous. They can actually trigger asthma for some people instead of helping it - including salt inhalation. asthmaandlung.org.uk/sympto...

I'd also disagree that there's no money in natural remedies - it's a multibillion dollar industry. And pharma companies are interested in looking at natural substances if they work and can be used safely. Plenty of 'mainstream' drugs are based on natural substances (like several chemo drugs), but with some work done to make sure you get the best and most helpful dose, the same dose every time, and with as few side effects as possible. I'd rather use Spiriva than the deadly nightshade it's ultimately derived from.

[CeeCee3 in reply to Lysistrata]

Thank you for your response. Yes that’s what I meant about research & funding being mainly driven by pharmaceutical companies…after all you can’t patent salt. In comparison with the most powerful companies on the planet which are indeed pharmaceutical companies, the multitude of much smaller & diffusely distributed natural health companies fade into relative insignificance.

And yes I agree with all medicines natural & artificial they have a range of results (especially long term with pharmaceuticals) & it’s never one size fits all.

I note that being a synthetic ‘based on natural’ & being natural are different things. Even Taxol initial derived from the yew tree is mainly now semi synthesised.

My personal approach is whatever works the most effectively & does the least amount of harm in the long term. Which I’m sure yours is too 👌🏼

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador in reply to CeeCee3]

You may not be able to patent salt, but you can still make a lot of money in natural and alternative medicine: prnewswire.com/news-release.... The 'natural health' industry overall is huge, and the small companies may just be the public face of the industry in front of much bigger corporations. And natural/alternative remedies aren't nearly as tightly regulated as pharmaceuticals in terms of requirements to show that something actually does what it says and that it isn't harmful.

I'm all for whatever works best and does the least amount of harm, but I'm wary of the lack of good evidence around so many 'natural' remedies, making it hard for many people to actually work out whether they will be helpful or harmful.

I know some former natural drugs are now synthesised, and some never were natural. But they still originally got the idea from nature - they don't lack interest in natural treatments if they may be helpful, even if they later make their own versions. As I said above, I'd personally rather have a regulated, controlled synthetic version over the natural if it's shown to be more effective and with fewer side effects. And I don't think natural vs synthetic alone is the best way to assess risks and benefits of a treatment.

[CeeCee3 in reply to Lysistrata]

A new study in 2020 estimated that the median cost of getting a new drug into the market was $985 million, and the average cost was $1.3 billion, which was much lower compared to previous studies, which have placed the average cost of drug development as $2.8 billion. How many natural therapy companies have that kind of money?

Do not overlook natural methods or let opinions over-ride what your body responds to and for ALL of us do your own research, especially when it comes to side effects & long term damage. As a researcher I can tell you, that you’ll be amazed at what you can uncover & what can potentially safe you lifelong problems.

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador in reply to CeeCee3]

Some of them are actually being made by pharma companies, or other large corporations. That's why I said the small natural remedy companies aren't necessarily the whole picture. And while it definitely is expensive to develop drugs and the pharma industry certainly isn't perfect, the solution to these problems is not to let companies sell whatever they like, without having to say whether it's harmful or actually works.

I don't overlook natural methods, but I'm not willing to use something where I literally don't know enough about it because not enough good quality research has been done, and it might actually be harmful. I would be very happy to use something natural if I did know it was helpful and not harmful on the basis of some good evidence (not opinion). I'm also happy to try things with a limited evidence base if I think they probably won't be harmful and there aren't better alternatives, or it's worth a go without much drawback for me. A lot of natural and home remedies I see people discussing probably wouldn't meet those criteria though - even steam inhalation can trigger asthma for some people, and that's just water vapour! Sure, it can be helpful for some people, but like with salt inhalation, it's still important to know that it might be harmful if you haven't tried it before.

I can read the evidence - and my job and background means that my reading will be more informed than many people have the opportunity for. I'd love to see everyone being educated as standard on how to understand basic science and interpret the main results they read about, and better science reporting. But reading isn't research - I can't fund trials.

Alnew, I'm sorry as we seem to have rather wandered off topic on air purifiers on your post! I don't have any particular comments on those, but after seeing CeeCee's reply, I wanted to reinforce the point about natural remedies like salt inhalation for those reading.

[alnew45 in reply to Lysistrata]

Don't worry about going off topic, it's all very interesting!

[Hidden]

Well actually I do have one, for me they help during summer and high pollen levels

[alnew45 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for replying. Everyone seems to think they help so I think I'm going to try one.

[Crandell]

Sounds good! I never thought about getting an air purifier. Can anyone say more precisely how it improved their asthma, eg, how much less medication they needed? Example, I used to have between 5 to 8 puffs of Ventolin reliever a day until I discovered the Clenil preventer. Within a week or two I found I only needed 2 or 3 Ventolin a day, sometimes less. There was a measurable effect.

[alnew45 in reply to Crandell]

I have only had my air purifier for 3 days so can't comment on whether it makes any difference to my asthma and sinusitis yet. However, I was disappointed to find the light on my device was blue indicating that the air was already clean. So it may be of no benefit to me.

[Crandell]

Yeah, mixed feelings about finding your local air is already clean! Still, if the air purifier doesn't improve your symptoms then at least you'll have learnt one more little thing about managing your asthma, ie, probably not anything in the air. So that leaves emotion, food, who knows what else? I mean, why do we get headaches? That's another mystery.

[alnew45 in reply to Crandell]

Yes, we live near a river and I felt sure that I must be allergic to mould and spores from the rotting vegetation there but if I am, they don't seem to be in the house! The air purifier is sort of comforting though with a soft light and quiet noise. Doesn't keep you awake.