The Hidden Dangers of Ionic Air Purifiers

My six-year-old daughter has suffered from severe asthma and allergies since birth. It is for this reason that my husband convinced me to purchase an Eco Quest Breeze Ionic Air Filter, which retails for around $800. Over the past month or so I have developed a persistent cough and headache, while my four-year old son has started having nosebleeds, and we have lost several of our African Cichlid fish. One of the things we noticed were our fish gathering at the top of the tank, and they appeared to be gasping for air. About two weeks ago our family took a weekend trip out of town, amazingly my headache and cough disappeared. This got us to wondering could something in the house be making us sick? After ruling out several other triggers, we started wondering if it could be our air purifier. After doing some research, I was horrified to learn that the air purifier that was marketed to us to improve the health of our daughter was actually linked to more severe health problems.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ionic air purifiers can produce ozone, a major component of smog. Even at low levels exposure to ozone can trigger a variety of different health problems, including chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and throat irritation. This can lead to aggravated asthma and increased susceptibility to respiratory illness. One study even concludes that exposure to ozone can even contribute to the development of asthma. In addition, healthy people, as well as those prone to respiratory problems can suffer health problems due to exposure to ozone. Now isn't that ironic? These same ionic air purifiers are being sold to consumers like me to help prevent asthma symptoms, or at least that is what the manufacturers claim. So how does a product that the EPA states can aggravate asthma help to prevent asthma?