What is Respiratory Care and How Can You Support It?
More than 34 million Americans–or the population of Texas–suffer from chronic respiratory conditions. These debilitating issues aren’t always preventable, but they can be manageable. And it starts in the home. By optimizing your indoor air quality through filtration and air purification, anyone can eliminate the most common triggers that affect breathing. If you’re looking to support your respiratory care, it’s time to look closer to home and make sure that clean air is the foundation of your overall strategy.
Most Common Respiratory Issues
Some respiratory issues are hereditary, such as cystic fibrosis, and some can be seasonal, like allergies, but almost all are a direct result of our environment and habits. The World Health Organization identifies the following among the most common chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs):
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), typically caused by long-term exposure to tobacco smoke or chemicals.
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Pneumonia
While smoking is the single most critical factor when it comes to respiratory disease, let’s not forget that most of us spend almost two-thirds of our waking hours at home. It might not come with a health warning, but the air we breathe at home could be the cause of chronic respiratory conditions. Unlike smoking, however, you don’t need to quit anything to make an immediate difference when it comes to air quality.
How to Prevent Breathing Problems
You’d think that anything we do 22,000 times a day on average would be an obsession, but most of us don’t give breathing a moment’s notice. That’s why taking a mindful, conscious approach to breathing is the first step in supporting respiratory care. How can we make every breath count?
- Try breathing techniques: Breathing techniques to ensure that we’re fully filling our lungs with every breath and cycling through as much oxygen and carbon dioxide as our body needs.
- Get regular exercise: Exercise can increase lung capacity, clear out the system, and provide the heart and muscles with the oxygen they need.
- Follow a healthier lifestyle: Whether it’s introducing more lung-loving antioxidants into your diet or eliminating bad habits once and for all, eg. smoking and vaping, a healthier lifestyle can help prevent and diminish breathing problems.
- Eliminating pollutants and irritants: Start by assessing what’s in your home already (asbestos, pets, VOCs, mold), then come up with a plan for a) removing respiratory irritants from inside, and b) screening pollutants from outside with filters and barriers.
- Practice proper hygiene: Post-pandemic, none of us needs a reminder on the importance of washing hands and avoiding cross-contamination in enclosed spaces. But think of pets too, as well as how often you’re cleaning carpets, curtains and linen.
- Maintaining good air quality: Here’s where Coway enters the chat. Whatever the size of your living space, Coway provides an efficient, affordable way to purify your indoor air and completely remove bacteria, viruses, dust, dander, pollutants and more. You don’t have to manage a checklist of targets. Just press a button and our units take care of the rest.
Spotting the Signs (and Getting Help)
Did you know that you could be living with a respiratory condition right now and not even be aware of it? Many of us just assume that occasional shortness of breath or a tight chest are simply the way we’re built. But these slow, chronic conditions can be neutralized completely if caught early.
What to look out for:
- Breathlessness or wheezing
- Fatigue and/or weight loss
- Persistent cough or sneezing
- Coughing up mucus or blood
Feel free to seek professional medical advice for any of the above. You don’t have to wait until you’re experiencing the more serious symptoms. Your doctor may prescribe medications, antibiotics, or test for allergic reactions. They may also recommend long-term lifestyle changes.
If you are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness, make sure to check the Air Quality Index regularly (or set up alerts on your phone), so that you’re forewarned and prepared for high pollen count, smog, wildfires or more. Luckily, Coway Smart Air Purifiers incorporate an air quality sensor for real-time monitoring so you can see how the air you’re breathing rates at any given moment.
How to Improve Air Quality with Coway
Our philosophy is that clean, safe air is one of life’s essentials, not one of its luxuries. Our air purifiers can mitigate the triggers for at-risk homeowners, and support a proactive approach to respiratory health for anyone who’s concerned about the quality of the air they’re breathing.
Our Smart Air Purifiers take the worry out of breathing, thanks to:
- HyperCaptive™ Filtration to remove 99.999% of fine particles.
- Dual purification for models such as the Airmega 300, 400, 200M and Mighty, featuring a pre-filter (to eliminate dust and dander) and Max2 Filter with Activated Carbon (to eliminate VOCs and smoke) and Green True HEPA filter (to trap viruses, bacteria and the finest dust particles on the scale).
- Real-time air monitoring, so that you’re empowered and informed about the risks.
To see Cowaymega’s full range of air purification systems, and find the perfect match for your living space, explore our innovative selection of next-generation air purifiers here.
Disclaimers
1Coway air purifiers have been proven to trap dust, pollen, dander, viruses and bacteria in the air based on KCL (Korea Conformity Laboratories) testing.They have been tested in a 30㎥ size chamber according to the Korea Air Cleaning Association standard (SPS-KACA 002-132:2022 Modified) to measure the 0.01㎛ size of particle removal rate. It was tested on maximum airflow speed in normal room temperature and humidity conditions. The performance may vary in the actual living environment of customers.
→ Tested with Airmega Aim, 100, 150, 160, AP-1216L, AP-1512HH, AP-1512HHS, 200M, Icon, IconS, 230, 240, 250, 250 Art, 250S, 300, 300S, 400, 400S, ProX
299.97% of viruses, bacteria, fungi and pollen were verified to be removed from the air for Coway air purifiers which have Green True HEPA™ filter applied based on the Japan Food Research Laboratories(JFRL) testing according to JEM 1467 standard.
→ Tested with Coway Airmega AP-1512HH, AP-1512HHS, 250, 250 Art, 250S, 300, 300S, 400, 400S
→ All tested by JFRL and received above result within below time.
All tested by JFRL and received above result within below time.
- Virus: Tested with Escherichia coli phage ΦX174 NBRC 103405, 60 minutes
- Bacteria: Tested with Staphylococcus epidermidis NBRC 12993, 60 minutes
- Fungi/Mold: Tested with Penicillium citrinum NBRC 6352, 60 minutes
- Pollen: Tested with Cedar Pollen extract, 60 minutes
3Aerosol test conducted in a Biosafety level 3 laboratory with two Coway air purifier models, Coway Airmega 250 and 400 for removal of SARS-CoV-2 Aerosol by US based MRI Global, a not-for-profit laboratory and partner of US Department of Defense. The test was conducted in a 13.1ft3 chamber. Virus was aerosolized for 15 minutes and the product was turned on high for 2 minutes. Result showed each product effectively removed over 99.98% of the SARS-CoV-2 in 2 minutes. This is a result from a laboratory experiment condition and result may vary in different conditions. This result does not imply it kills SARS-CoV-2 or prevents the transmission of Covid-19. Coway Airmega 250S and 400S are identical to the tested models and has equal performance with an additional mobile connectivity function.
4The concentration of ammonia, acetaldehyde and acetic acid were proven to be removed within 30 minutes by FCG Research Institute, Inc. Human Life Science Lab. It is not a demonstration result in the actual use space. Not all odors and gases may be supported. → Tested with Coway Airmega 150, 160, AP-1512HH, AP-1512HHS, 400, 400S
5The coverage area of the air purifier is based on an area where the air cleaner can make two air changes per hour (ACPH). An air change per hour translates to how many times an air purifier can clean an area, assuming the height of a ceiling to be 8 ft, in one hour. Therefore ** means two air changes per hour means that the cleaner can clean the area once every 30 minutes and * means air changes per hour means that the air purifier can clean the area once every 60 minutes.
10Terms and conditions apply. Discounts, including promotions, coupons, bundle discount and subscription discount, cannot be stacked on top of other coupons. During promotional periods, discount codes will not be able to be applied to orders. Promo codes may apply to products only—filters, accessories, and new products within 3 months of the release date are not included.
