Allergies
Many allergies vary by the time of the year.
- In the spring, tree pollen is the predominate cause of airborne allergic reactions.
- In the late summer to early fall, ragweed and other weed pollen is the culprit.
- Mold spores can bother us through most of the year.
Purifying Negative ions help remove allergy- causing particles from the air in the room. They do this by causing allergens such as pollen, mold spores, dust, and pet dander floating in the air (which have either a neutral or a positive charge) to be attracted to and stick to each other, forming 'clumps' (because opposite charges attract). These clumps of particulates then become heavy enough so that gravity can simply pull them down to the floor, where they can be vacuumed up, rather than staying in suspension where they can be breathed in and cause allergic reactions. (They do not directly "cure" allergies, hay fever, or sinus problems.)
Negative ionization of the air does a superb job of eliminating most tiny particles that float in the air. They are normally suspended in the air (even when the air in the room seems calm) just by the normal convective air currents. You've seen dust floating in a beam of sunlight shining in the window, haven't you? Well, when an ionizer is in operation in the room, you see very little (if any) of that.
It's really something to see. That is the reason they can help people with allergies: they help remove dust, pollen, mold spores, and other allergens from the air.
Because there is no fan (like in filter-type air filters or room air purifiers), the dust on floors and tables is not stirred up, and so the air in a room with a negative ionizer in use can become exceedingly free of dust, pollen, mold spores, and other allergens. And, the air does not have to pass through a filter or fan to be cleaned; the air throughout the room is purified.
Asthma and Ions
Advanced Research on Atmospheric Ions and Respiratory Problems
by Guy Cramer
Sept. 2,1996
Ions are small particles that take on an electrical charge. In nature we tend to find between a few hundred to a few thousand of these ions per cubic centimeter. The small particles that take on this charge are either negatively charged, positively charged or neutral. In a cubic centimeter of air out over a grass field, we find the ratio is almost balanced between negative ions and positive ions. In other words we are breathing quantities of electricity.
Positive ions are known to make asthma victims worse. Positive ion winds such as the Chinook Wind in Calgary, Alta., Canada and the Santa Ana Winds in Southern California are known to coincide with Asthma attacks. There are many areas around the would known for positive ion winds (times when the ion balance has more positive ions per cubic centimeter than negative ions).
A Doctor treating burn victims with negative ion generators found that those patients who also had respiratory problems - chronic bronchitis or asthma - all reported that negative ion therapy helped them breath more easily. With these findings the Doctor started research into the effects of ions on respiratory ills. This research was carried out at the Northeastern Hospital, at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate Hospital, and the Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia. He found 63% of patients suffering from hay fever or bronchial asthma "have experienced partial or total relief" because of negative ion therapy. One hospital doctor who worked on the project said later, " They come in sneezing, eyes watering, nose itching, worn out from lack of sleep, so miserable they can hardly walk. Fifteen minutes in front of the negative ion machine and they feel so much better they don't even want to leave."
In Britain two Oxford University statisticians conducted a study among 100 victims of asthma, bronchitis, and hay fever chosen at random from a list of people who had purchased negative ion generators in the hope that it would help their problems. In the end their report was based on interviews with only 74 of the 100. They found that 18 of 24 asthmatics; 13 of 17 bronchitis sufferers; 11 of 12 hay fever victims; and 6 of 10 people afflicted with nasal catarrh reported that negative ion generators had noticeably improved their condition. A few claimed the generator had cured them.
Brazilian Hospitals have commonly used ionizing devices for the treatment of breathing problems, including allergies, following a test involving 36 children with asthmatic allergies. All of them had consistent and in some cases crippling problems before taking negative ion therapy; during the treatment only one of them suffered an allergy attack and afterward all were reportedly cured, at least to the point that they no longer suffered problems so long as they took part in occasional negative ion therapy sessions.
In 1966 at a hospital in Jerusalem, doctors performed a series of tests on thirty- eight infants between two and twelve months old. All suffered to about the same degree from respiratory problems. They were divided into two groups of nineteen, one kept as a control group in a ward without any ion charge and the other where a negative ion generator was in use.
The researchers reported that negative ions without any other treatment - that is, no drugs - seemed to cure attacks of asthma and bronchitis more quickly than drugs, antibiotics included. They also observed that there were none of the "adverse side effects" frequently found when treating such children with drugs. They concluded that the children treated with negative ions were less prone to "rebound attacks" (relapses). As to objectivity, the scientific report said that the tests "demonstrated that the atmospheric ions have an effect on infants, especially those suffering from asthmatic bronchitis." Less scientifically, they found that babies didn't cry as often and as loudly when they were breathing negative ions as they did in normal air. And there is nothing subjective about a bawling baby.
Respiratory Tract and Ions
In the mid-1960s, Experiments showed that the cilia of the trachea, or windpipes, of small animals are stimulated by negative ions and depressed by positive ions. Human cilia, like those of small animals are microscopic hairs that maintain a whip like motion of about 100 beats per minute while cleaning the air we inhale of dust and pollen and other matter that should not reach the lungs. Subjected to tobacco smoke, which absorbs negative ions, the cilia slow down. Tobacco smoke plus positive ions make this slow-down take place from three to ten times more quickly than does smoke alone. An overdose of negative ions, however, neutralizes the effect of smoke on the cilia. Although this experiment took place in a laboratory and involved mice, rats, and rabbits, the implications are clear: Smoking and other forms pollution that absorb negative ions may also damage the ability of the cilia to clean the air that finally ends up in the lungs. Does that mean their is a relationship between positive ions and the incidence of lung cancer, particularly in smokers? As Bach points out, that is one of the many things about ionization we don't yet know, though scientists are investing the relationship.
The effect of ions on respiration is more obvious. The U.S. experimenters Windsor and Becket gave sixteen volunteer overdoses of positive ions for just 20 minutes at a time and all of them developed dry throats, husky voices, headaches, and itchy or obstructed noses. Five of the volunteers were tested for total breathing capacity, and it was found that a positive ion overdose reduced that capacity by 30 percent. Exposed to negative ions for ten minutes , the volunteers maximum breathing capacity was unaffected. What is significant here is that negative ions did not effect the amount of air breathed, but positive ions made breathing more difficult.
Negative ion generators (sold in North America as Air Purifiers / with negative ion generator). You should only have to pay between $50.00 - $350.00 for a negative ion generator depending on room size, (In certain areas medical covers some of these costs.). Bionaire sells these in Europe, Canada and the United States. they can be found at some Department stores and some drug stores. The plus for someone with respiratory difficulties is the added air purifier with carbon filters. The newer models have a hepa filtration system in them. Make sure you change the filters as directed in the instruction manual.
Negative ion generators are not a cure all. They do cause the body to convert excess serotonin (the antagonist for most of the problems) into a harmless chemical called 5HA ( 5-HIAA ).
If you do have respiratory difficulties and use a negative ion generator in your bedroom at night beware that the negative ion generator will keep you alert and awake longer then you might want. You may wish to only use the air filter at night. Most negative ion generators have an on/off switch for the ion control so you can use only the fan/filter system.
The majority of this report on Asthma and Ions was taken directly form the book;
"The Ion Effect" by Soyka, Fred ( Lester and Orpen Limited, 1977) these references can be found on pages 31, 35, 45, 56-57, 63, 75, 76, 77, 79-80, 84, 85, 90, 128, 129-131.
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