Highly insulated homes and Asthma

[Andrew Gabriel]

Some research at Exeter has found that people in highly insulated homes are 50-100% more likely to get Asthma than those who aren't. This research covered housing association homes.

The suggestion is that these homes are much better sealed (as all highly insulated homes are), and the standards result in inadequate background ventilation, particularly when used by the fuel-poor who minimise the use of manual ventilation in an effiort to reduce fuel bills.

This was mentioned by You and Yours on Radio 4, but I had to go and search on the web to find out what they were actually talking about. The report itself is in a paid-for journal though.

[Tim+]

Doesn't surprise me. I think in years to come removing chimneys from houses will be seen as a mistake.

Tim

[The Natural Philosopher]

I had serious asthma as a child in a house that was cold and had no central heating. It all disappeared when I moved to a centrally heated student accommodation, and never opened a window. Of course I also lost a rural environment and my mother, both of who I suspect had a serious effect.

[Martin Brown]

I expect the dust mites and various fungi will love the humid and continuously warm modern airless centrally heated home.

No reason why airchanges cannot be done through a heat exchange but they tend to be hermetically sealed (at least until subsidence occurs). Have you seen the salts that come out of modern brick build?

Insufficient ventilation encourages moulds and from them mould spores.

Regards, Martin Brown

[spuorgelgoog]

Or perhaps beer and kebabs have a prophylactic effect/

Owain

[harryagain]

Asthma has all sorts of causes. eg Pollen, traffic fumes. So keeping the place shut tight can help in some cases. It's possible to buy stand alone air filters to help asthma sufferers. Also demumidifiers.

[The Natural Philosopher]

dope and kebabs perhaps

[ARW]

I seem to remember the BMA publishing research that laminate flooring instead of carpets was a cause of asthma - however NHS direct suggest that laminate flooring is better than carpets for asthma sufferers.

[polygonum]

It could be, in a sort-of way, that both are true. The various substances of which both laminate, especially cheap stuff, and synthetic carpets are made might give off substances which cause asthma. Whereas mainly wood flooring and wool carpets might be good. So swapping either cheap flooring for either expensive one would be an improvement! (Obviously an ultra-simplified idea - surely reality is much more complicated than that.)

[ARW]

I do remember that the article said that carpets trap dust whereas laminate does not trap dust. Of course this was 13 years ago and was just about the time laminate flooring became popular and houses were been built without proper ventilation.

[Tim Watts]

My kids have slight asthma and carpets are definitely less good compared to solid floors. Assuming you actually bother to hoover your solid floors :) Because dust bunnies are dust bunnies either way.

[The Natural Philosopher]

What used to get me was human and cat dander - house mites and also fungal growth. DRY houses - and that usually means warm well ventilated houses - are the key to health.

Too much insulation with low heating and not enough ventilation will do the job as well.

[stuart noble]

AIUI low humidity is bad, and almost unavoidable with CH and good insulation