Tag Archives: healthcare

Removing the fear of going to the doctor’s office

For many people, a trip to the local doctor’s office—for whatever reason, big or small—is fraught with fear. There’s even a term for it: White Coat Syndrome. Seems that sufferers of White Coat Syndrome show signs of an elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure and rapid breathing when in a physician’s office, often skewing the results of standard diagnostic tests. They even get so worked up they may forget salient details as to why they came to see a doctor in the first place, requiring them to write down all questions and concerns.

Now with the spread of COVID-19, sufferers of White Coat Syndrome—and everyone else—have more concerns about entering a doctor’s office. That’s because the novel coronavirus is transmitted via aerosolized droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. And it’s logical that infected people would seek out treatment in doctor’s offices, where they would come in contact with other people susceptible to the contagion.

According to the New York Times, people are avoiding hospitals and doctor’s offices, cancelling regularly scheduled appointments and limiting their trips to the doctor’s for minor illness and injuries. And, according to the Boston Globe, emergency rooms across the country have seen a 40 percent drop in cases. People just aren’t going to seek physicians.

Removing the fear of going to the doctor’s office

It’s not for lack of trying from major health institutions though. The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, the Cleveland Clinic and others have issued statements and public service announcements regarding doctor visits during the pandemic, outlining ways for people to be safer. These include wearing masks, using hand sanitizers and social distancing when in waiting rooms.

Another way to ensure the safety of patients and staff: installing free-standing air purification systems, like Aeramax Professional air purifiers. These commercial-grade purifiers use a four-stage True HEPA filtration system to remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like viruses, the flu, bacteria and germs from enclosed spaces.  Since they are portable, they don’t add additional burden to existing HVAC systems, like bulky in-system HEPA filters do, and can be located in spots here people congregate, like waiting rooms.

Removing the fear of going to the doctor’s office

In fact, scientists have taken up the call for the use of air purifiers. In the September issue of the journal Environment International, researchers outlined the positive effects of using air purifiers to combat the transmission of COVID-19 in indoor air:

“While uncertainties remain regarding the relative contributions of the different transmission pathways, we argue that existing evidence is sufficiently strong to warrant engineering controls targeting airborne transmission as part of an overall strategy to limit infection risk indoors. Appropriate building engineering controls include sufficient and effective ventilation… enhanced by particle filtration and air disinfection, avoiding air recirculation and avoiding overcrowding. Often, such measures can be easily implemented and without much cost…”

So, while air purifiers can’t eliminate a fear of white coats, they can alleviate concerns for virus and bacteria transmission, making it safer to go back to a doctor’s office again.

 

In recent years, scientists and health care professionals have focused more attention on the effects of poor indoor quality in a variety of settings. Two recent studies have turned the spotlight on an area that historically has been rife with germs, viruses and bad air: daycare centers.

Because daycare centers cater to children from infants to toddlers to pre-school-aged children, the chances of passing along germs and bacteria are relatively high.

The Finnish Study

So researchers in the city of Espoo, Finland—part of the metropolitan Helsinki area—looked at a random sample of 30 daycare centers to determine overall indoor air quality, gauging humidity, CO2 concentrations, temperature, airflow and other metrics.

In recent years, scientists and health care professionals have focused more attention on the effects of poor indoor quality in a variety of settings; two recent studies have turned the spotlight on an area that historically has been rife with germs, viruses and bad air: daycare centers.

If the air quality was already compromised, it would be made worse with the introduction of germs, viruses and bacteria. They took air samples during a one-day period and found air quality across the board was poor.

  • CO2 levels were charted beyond safe limits.
  • Older buildings not using newer HVAC systems experienced the worst levels.
  • Airflow was inadequate and temperature and humidity levels varied.

Children and staff were not well served, and air quality levels needed significant improvement. Surveys conducted with staff members cited unpleasant odors as the most prevalent perceptual problem.

The South Korean Study

But the bad air in childcare facilities is not isolated to Finland. A similar study was conducted by researchers in Seoul, Korea, where measurements were taken at 25 daycare centers. The researchers found high levels of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and styrene in the air. Their findings also showed significant levels of bacteria and mold, which was prevalent because of water damage to older centers and buildings. The study concluded that much more needed to be done to ensure healthier environments for children with still developing respiratory systems.

But what to do?

One answer lies in actually cleaning the air. AeraMax Professional air purifiers have been proven to effectively and efficiently remove contaminants from indoor air. Using a True HEPA hospital-type filtration system, AeraMax can rid the air of bacteria, VOCs, viruses, odors, germs and other irritants. It removes up to 99.97 percent of these pollutants from indoor air, sensing when the air needs to be clean automatically.

To see how AeraMax Professional helped childcare centers and nurseries, check out our case studies. Daycare facilities from France to Canada trust AeraMax Professional to make their facilities cleaner and healthier.

With 100 or more pets visiting every day, Dr. Adam Conroy and his team at Animal Care Clinic veterinary care center were facing some serious air quality control issues. In addition to an ongoing odor problem, the team was concerned that sick animals could spread airborne pathogens throughout the facility.

By installing AeraMax Professional commercial grade air purifiers, Animal Care Clinic effectively addressed concerns about the flu virus and other airborne pathogens while providing clean air for patrons. AeraMax Professional removes 99.9 percent of contagious particles from the air, so that the chances of them being inhaled or contaminating a surface are greatly reduced.

What’s more AeraMax Professional also removes common triggers such as pet dander, pollen and mold spores.

For Animal Care Clinic, installing AeraMax Professional has created a healthier, cleaner facility for pets and pet owners alike.

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can significantly harm the lung health of senior citizens in residential retirement homes and similar facilities, according to a recent study. Researchers found that pollutants in the air were associated with regular coughing, wheezing and breathlessness, and that the presence of formaldehyde in the air increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

What’s more, senior citizens are more susceptible to infectious diseases such as the flu or pneumonia and the efficacy of vaccines declines with age.

For these reasons and more, it’s crucial for facility managers to take extra steps to improve IAQ in assisted living communities.

The danger of germ clouds, environmental factors

No matter age or health, an infected environment puts people at a risk of catching a cold or more serious illness. Bacteria found in the air and on surfaces, as well as respiratory droplets expelled from sick co-inhabitants, can dramatically increase a resident’s chances of falling ill. Miniscule airborne germs are particularly troubling because they can remain in the air for hours and be inhaled by other residents.

In shared spaces at assisted living communities, these germ clouds – which consist of many particles smaller than one micron – present a major hazard for residents and workers.

In addition, pollutants that can harm senior citizens’ lungs come from a wide range of sources, including furniture, heaters, cleaning products and building materials, according to the European Lung Foundation. The organization found that even in facilities that met current international air quality guidelines there was a noticeable association between pollutants and lung health for this age group.

An effective “extra step”

Providing targeted IAQ management in shared spaces is vital to residents’ health because their ability to defend against pollutants decreases with age.

An ideal way to improve IAQ in common areas is to install commercial air purifiers. Purifiers allow facilities to proactively eliminate bacteria, dust, and other particles and create a safe and clean environment for their residents.