A.C.E. Blog

If you experience allergy symptoms at night, the first control steps are effective, safe and easy-to-do. The best allergy list around can be found at allergy@listserv.uark.edu. I have participated in this list for several years and have found that the questions are relevant and the responses are accurate. Recently someone asked about a symptom they … More

Air cleaners and air filters alone have not been shown to be clinically effective at reducing allergy symptoms. Last year I was very fortunate to be able to participate in a round table discussion on indoor air research. This meeting was conducted by university indoor air scientists and engineers and was attended by experts from … More

Some new air cleaning devices are using free radicals or Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to “oxidize” indoor air. Free radicals have been shown to be damaging to human health. Testing is lacking on the by-products of the reactions between free radicals and the components of indoor air. Here is a quote from a brochure on … More

Be wary of excessive marketing claims for products to take care of indoor air. For hundreds of years wizards and alchemists sought a way to be able to create gold from lead and/or other metals. From time to time one or more of them claimed that they found the way. In many cases this involved … More

This study links higher levels of exposure to ETS to increased levels of hospitalization for asthma attacks. A recent widely circulated newspaper “editorial” expressed the opinion that banning smoking in public places was not fair to smokers. Somehow this person had the belief that environmental tobacco smoke was not harmful and that smokers had the … More

This University of Texas study confirms ozone/terpene reactions create small particles in residences. In a recent study published in Indoor Air (2005; 15: 432-444) researchers from the University of Texas Center for Energy and Environmental Engineering found that ozone-generating air purifiers increased particle counts in the presence of terpenes in residential dwellings. (This study is … More

Up-to-date information on the health effects of mold exposure. Can mold be more than an allergen? The risks of indoor mold growth once again are grabbing headlines in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina. It is important to understand what is known about the health effects of mold. First, is there such a thing … More

Hair samples of children with mothers who smoke raise questions about claims of only smoking outdoors. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has serious adverse effects on children’s respiratory health. Physicians who advise the smoking parents of children with respiratory illnesses are often told that the parents “only smoke outdoors.” In a recent study published in the … More

Proper filtration can help to minimize the risk of spreading the flu virus. An outbreak of influenza A (H5N1) also known as “avian flu” or “bird flu” has been reported in countries throughout Asia. Confirmed human cases of avian flu have been found in Thailand, Vietnam and China. There have been approximately 150 human cases … More

Guidelines for what constitutes well controlled asthma recently updated by AAAAI and ACAAI Attaining optimal asthma control is an important goal of all physicians attending to those with asthma. Recently, the practice parameters for ensuring this outcome were updated by a Joint Task force of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (AAAAI) and … More