Human Nose is not adapted for the present pollutants

The human nose and breathing system are not adapted to the present and quickly evolving environment. The harmful attacks on our breathing by all kinds of substances in our direct environment create a totally new and typically modern syndrome.

Without clean air the human engine does not function optimally resulting in:
Unhealthy blood levels - feelings of unease - raised stress sensitivity - continual feeling of tiredness - trouble with extremely dry or running noses - heightened allergic sensitivity - sneezing - concentration difficulties and in the long run all sorts of ailments. Clean air is a necessity for all.
 
Particles found in the air we breathe vary greatly in size. The greatest health hazard from particles comes from the smallest ones, less than 10 microns across, because we easily inhale these small particles into our lungs.

When we breathe in, the hairs in our nose and air passages remove particles larger than 10 microns in size. For people with existing respiratory conditions, such as asthma or bronchitis, breathing in particles can make the conditions worse.

The average person breathes in about 16,000 quarts of air per day. Each quart contains some 70,000 visible and invisible particles. That's over a billion particles per day that our lungs have to filter out! Keeping all this in view, breathing good air in this polluted world, we can use Athma-Pure Nosefilters for the betterment of our health, especially when we travel and during respiratory illness.
 
Air is for all and is for free but... Athma-Pure Nosefilters say a definite NO to the elements that attack the quality of it!

We are convinced that the current environment in many cases creates a need for an external aid to help our health to overcome the unwanted side effects of the air we breathe.

Tips for Pollen Allergy

My pollen allergy started around 1997. Every year, I suffer from bad pollen allergy symptoms (sneezing, stuffy nose and itchy eyes with redness) for only three months between April and June. I tried everything to prevent or treat this pollen allergy by using the over the counter medicines, prescribed drugs, nasal and eye drops, except the allergy shots. It didn't help that much to my body. Beginning of this year, I tried a little different approach using Ramen's well-being tips to eat more alkaline foods (visit his website: athma-pure.com for more information about alkaline foods). Drink more water. Daily elimination of your fecal waste materials is a must and should require little strain. Take a daily shower to get rid other body excretions. Eat 4 almond nuts after each meal. Stay away from refined sugar, processed foods and sodas. Eat more carbs, less protein and good fats (approximately 70 carb: 20 fats: 10 protein ratio plan of your meal). Prefer local honey to use. Eat less fresh salad and drink less fresh juice. Fresh apple is the best to eat. Take minimum dose of vitamins. Sleep well. Relaxed work-out in the gym. Every other day, I stay in steam/wet sauna for 10 minutes to sweat. Abstain from alcohol and coffee. Drink only tea.  No smoking.  Eat less or no meat protein daily. Every morning, when I wake up I started sneezing. To avoid sneezing, I just wear athma-pure nosefilters during my good night sleep. When I go outside, I started wearing athma-pure nosefilters and wear solarshield sunglass to prevent the pollen exposure. When you drive your car, close the windows. Bottom line is to limit the exposure of your body to pollen. Always breathe thru' nose only when you wear athma-pure nosefilters. Don't chase your mind. Just relax and stay positive and calm. Use HEPA filter fans in the bedroom. After following all this above, this year I don't have a pollen allergy at all. My wife and my friends surprised after seeing the results. Trust me. You experience it for yourself and feel better.

Athma-Pure concerns about Pollutant Particles

Pollutant Particle Size vs. Impact on Humans

Worldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases of respiratory disease. Enforced air quality standards, like the Clean Air Act in the United States, have reduced the presence of some pollutants. However that is not a worldwide effort and has at best only been partially effective. We must protect ourselves from the effects of these pollutants if we are to remain healthy while living in the present environments.

Sources of air pollution: The major single source of air pollutants is the combustion (burning) of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) to run industrial machines and generate electricity. All anthropogenic pollutants can be traced to some extent to this source. A second major source of pollutants is the incomplete combustion of fuel in cars, trucks, railroad trains, airplanes, and other forms of transportation. Smaller amounts of pollutants are released during the incineration of solid wastes and by a variety of industrial processes.

In some cases, pollutants are released by these sources directly to the air and are known, therefore, as primary pollutants. Sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon monoxide are all primary pollutants. In other cases, materials released by a source undergo a chemical reaction in the atmosphere and are converted to a secondary pollutant. Examples of secondary pollutants are ozone and peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs), major components of the form of air pollution known as smog.

Specialized forms of air pollution:   Certain forms of air pollution have developed that are so dramatic or so serious that they have been given special names. These conditions include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and ozone depletion.

The term smog actually applies to two quite different atmospheric conditions. The term itself comes from a combination of the words smoke and fog. One form of smog, known as industrial smog, is produced when sulfur dioxide, particulates, and other pollutants released by industrial and household burning of fossil fuels is trapped by a thermal inversion. A thermal inversion is an atmospheric condition in which a layer of cold air is trapped by a layer of warm air above it. Some of the most dramatic photographs of urban areas covered by air pollution are those that show a city smothered in a cloud of smog.

A second form of smog is photochemical smog, produced when oxides of nitrogen, produced largely by internal-combustion engines (those most often used in automobiles, for example), react with oxygen in the air to form a complex mixture of pollutants that includes ozone, PANs, and other organic compounds. Photochemical smog often has a similar appearance and similar effects to those of industrial smog. Indeed, in most cities, the two forms of smog occur in combination with each other.

A complete list of air pollutants would include nearly two dozen solids, liquids, and gases. It would include well-known pollutants such as sulfur oxides and carbon monoxide and less-familiar materials such as pesticides and fluorides. In terms of the quantities of pollutants released in a year, the five materials that cause the most damage are sulfur oxides, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds.

Sulfur oxides, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon monoxide are chemical compounds. Particulate matter and volatile organic compounds are groups of related pollutants. The term particulate refers to tiny specks of solid matter in the atmosphere, including smoke, haze, pollen, aerosols, and tiny particles of carbon. Volatile organic compounds are organic liquids, such as benzene, toluene, the xylenes, and trichloromethane that change easily (volatilize) to a gas.

Effect of air pollutants: By definition, all forms of air pollution have some harmful effect on humans, other animals, plants, or other materials in the environment. For example, carbon monoxide is a well-known toxic gas that reduces the blood's ability to transport oxygen. Prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide can cause heart and respiratory disorders; headaches, nausea, and fatigue; and, at high enough concentrations, coma and death. The oxides of both sulfur and nitrogen attack the human respiratory system, leading to irritated eyes and throat and impaired breathing (at low concentrations), and to emphysema, bronchitis, and lung cancer (at higher concentrations).

The effects of particulate matter are wide, from preventing photosynthesis (food production) in plants to clogging the breathing passages in lungs (leading to respiratory disorders). Particulate matter also soils buildings, statutes, and other objects, leading to their decay and deterioration.

The smaller they are, the harder we fall

The size of the pollutant particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is very concerned about particles that are 10 micrometers (microns) in diameter or smaller. These are the particles that generally pass through the nose and throat and enter the lungs. Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects. The EPA groups particle pollution into two categories:

"Inhalable coarse particles," such as those found near roadways and dusty industries, are larger than 2.5 microns and smaller than 10 microns in diameter.

"Fine particles," such as those found in smoke and haze, are 2.5 microns in diameter and smaller. These particles can be directly emitted from sources such as forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries, and automobiles react in the air.

How small is 2.5 microns? A single hair from your head averages about 70 microns in diameter - making it 30 times larger than the largest fine particle.

Particle pollution (also called particulate matter or PM) is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Particles visible to the eye are equal to or greater than 50 microns in size. Smaller particles can only be visually detected using a microscope.

Pollution particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals. Some, known as PRIMARY PARTICLES are emitted directly from a source such as construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires. Others form in the atmosphere from complicated reactions of chemicals such as sulfurous and nitrogen oxides that are emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles. These particles, known as SECONDARY PARTICLES, make up most of the fine particle pollution in the country.

The EPA attempts to regulate emissions of inhalable particles (fine and coarse). Particles larger than 10 micrometers (sand and large dust) are not regulated by the EPA.

Fibers - SLIGHT health effect
Fibers - visible, macroscopic filaments - are usually man-made. They come from clothing, carpeting, upholstery, or paper. One sees fibers floating in bright shafts of sunlight. They settle in calm air, drift along the floor and tangle into "dust bunnies" in corners and under beds. Coarse filters can strain fibers out of the air, but removing them isn't greatly important because they pose more of a housekeeping than a health problem.

Silts - MODERATE health effect
Silts - microscopic particles - stay suspended in calm air. Common silts are airborne soil, smoke, allergens (pollens, fungus & mildew spores), bacteria and viruses. They are not individually visible to the naked eye, but in large numbers, form visible haze or smoke. Silts are pulled out of the air stream and held tightly by the attracting fibers of electrostatic filters. Silts may cause allergies.

Molecules - LARGE health effect
Odors and molecular irritants - sub-microscopic molecules - are about 1/10,000 the size of the smallest silts. Molecular irritants are especially threatening because they travel into the lungs, dissolve and enter the bloodstream. They are the only pollutants which actually enter our bodies. Molecules are completely unaffected by particle filters. Fortunately, they are efficiently "sponged up" by adsorbents.

Particles size of different matter

Clay             0.02 micron to 2
Silt              2 microns to 20
Fine Sand     20 microns to 200
Coarse Sand 200 microns to 2,000
Gravel         2,000 microns to >2,000
Smog           0.001 micron to 2
Clouds/Fog   2 microns to 70
Mist             70 microns to 200
Drizzle         200 microns to 500
Rain             500 microns to 10,000
Plant Spores 10 microns to 30
Pollen          10 microns to 100
Viruses         0.003 micron to 0.05
Bacteria       0.3 micron to 30
Human Hair  30 microns to 120
Visible to the Eye     50 microns to >50
Gas Molecules           0.0003 micron to 0.005
Tobacco Smoke        0.01 micron to 1
Milled Flour              1 micron to 80
Nebulizer Drops        1 micron to 20
Combustion Nuclei    0.01 micron to 0.1
Metal Fumes             0.001 micron to 1
Ultrafine Particles    less than 0.1 micron

Our knowledge of particulate pollution, prompted our development of a handy new product. It is Athma-Pure Nosefilters, a means of breathing clean air. Our Athma-Pure filters are charcoal activated and MERV rated to filter and adsorb particulates from 2 to 500 microns. You can easily dispose of the device with the filters or reuse the device by cleaning it with regular liquid soap and replacing our refill filters.