Many people live every day with allergies, which are simply an immune response to allergen exposure. The body copes with this in many ways, but the increased mucus production and even illness-like symptoms can be hard to live with.
Everything from food allergies to plant allergies to pet allergies can be triggered by the air you breathe. Airborne particles, inhaled by people with allergies, make allergy symptoms worse. The good news is that you can alleviate discomfort and improve indoor air quality by using an air purifier for allergies.
This article will lay out all of the important facts, including how air purifiers help with allergies, what types of allergies air purifiers help with, and how to find the best air purifier for allergies.
Assembled by the expert team at Air Oasis, this piece supports our overarching mission to help you breathe easier. Visit www.airoasis.com for more information.
Do Air Purifiers Help With Allergies?
The first important question is: do air purifiers help with allergies?
Most allergens are small enough to become airborne. Indoor air has particles that include droplets, dust, pollen, pet dander, and traces of chemicals or gasses. For people sensitive to these items, breathing indoor air is hardly better than breathing polluted or allergen-dense outdoor air.
All outdoor air comes in, and regardless of what you’re allergic to, indoors isn’t a safe space unless you proactively reduce the quantity of airborne allergens. This is where air purifiers help with allergies: they actively take airborne allergens out of the air. By diminishing the volume of allergens in the air, the indoors becomes a safer space for people with allergies.
We’ll talk more about how air purifiers work in a minute, but first let’s breakdown which allergens can be swirling about in the air you breathe:
Airborne food allergens —
The airborne particulates of a food you are allergic to may cause milder symptoms than ingestion, but can still irritate. This is why most schools have banned peanuts: not because kids will share their PBJs, but because even the airborne remnants of peanuts may impact kids with severe allergies.
Airborne animal and insect matter —
You’ve probably heard that some people are allergic to cockroaches, but there is a whole array of airborne animal and insect matter that can trigger allergic reactions. Everything from feces and dander to fungal spores and dust mites can cause rhinitis and other symptoms.
Airborne plant allergens —
We’ll finish the list with perhaps the best known source of airborne allergens: plants. This includes pollen grains from all types of plants, which can be visible or invisible to the naked eye. These circulate through outdoor and indoor air, carried in by foot traffic or the wind, and can be an ongoing source of irritation. While regular cleaning is important, air free from plant allergens is really only achieved by a high quality air purifier.
Air Purifier for Allergies: Do They Work?
So, what does an air purifier do for allergies? It improves indoor air quality.
That’s important because the number one recommendation by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America for preventing allergies is to improve indoor air quality. They offer a twofold recommendation:
- Remove the source of allergens. This may mean finding and removing mold or mildew, controlling humidity better to decrease dust mites, and using clean air filters in your HVAC and furnace. There are also regular lifestyle changes, like more frequent washing of bed linens and textiles in hot water and keeping windows and doors closed.
- Use “air cleaning devices,” which is one way to describe air purifiers for allergies. Air purifiers improve indoor air quality, and the AAFA specifically recommends using a HEPA filter that is asthma and allergy friendly.
At Air Oasis, we’re proud to say that our air purifiers for home, work, or schools are loved by people with allergies every day. Here are some verified testimonials of Air Oasis air purifier owners that can offer up anecdotal evidence of how air purifiers work for real people with allergies:
High Quality. Not disappointed. Worth it! I have two of these filters in my dog daycare & boarding facility and let me just say that we get complimented on how good our facility smells. This is one part of our facility maintenance plan but these filters play a major role in our operations. They clean the air beautifully. I am beyond pleased with the results.
— Alicia V.
I'm satisfied with the product! The moldy smell is gone in my closet. The size is small so we can put it wherever we want. I'm very satisfied with the product.
— Chika K.
Our cat loved to bat at dust floating in the sunshine. There was so much dust it looked like a snowstorm. We set up the unit after dinner with the auto setting for 8 hours. In the morning the sun was shining through & not 1 speck of dust was in the air. Kitty is disappointed but we love it 💘
— Bunny
We love our fresh air indoors. Our home always smells fresh even though we have two cats and a dog. It helps with our allergies as well.
— Deborah M.
Air Purifiers for Allergies
There are many types of allergies. In fact, a lot of people have low-level allergic reactions to things in the environment on a daily basis. Often, the symptoms for undetected or undiagnosed allergies are minimal enough that you don’t pay attention to them.
For other people, however, allergic reactions are a daily problem. These can range from minor to severe, and impact everyday life. Some of the more common types of allergies include the following:
Fragrance Allergies
This can range from fragrance sensitivity to a full on fragrance allergy. People with fragrance allergies may get itching, dry skin, or even blisters from skin contact. They may also get a runny nose, rash, have difficulty breathing, or experience headaches. Common ingredients in fragrances include things like ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, and even formaldehyde. Sometimes people with fragrance allergies also have chemical allergies.
Chemical Allergies
Chemical allergies can be triggered by detergents, cleaners, and all types of chemicals you’d find in a working or living environment. You may be inherently susceptible to chemicals or have developed a unique immune response due to repeated exposure.
You can reduce the risk of exposure or contact with fragrances and chemicals by using air purifiers. This may be an especially important step if you work in a busy office where you can’t control people’s use of perfume, air fresheners, or industrial cleaners. We sell air purifiers for businesses, and you can learn more about those here.
Dust Allergies
Dust feels unavoidable, and it’s true that dust is everywhere. There are many kinds of dust that can trigger allergic reactions, and you may actually be looking at a plant allergy or a dust mite allergy. Both can cause sneezing, a runny nose, asthmatic symptoms, or difficulty breathing. A clean house and a high quality air purifier with a HEPA filter are a great line of defense against dust.
Insect Allergies
This is one of the lesser known types of allergies that still causes a big impact, including swelling, shortness of breath, hives, itching, rashes, and even cognitive issues. Insect stings (like bee stings) are an allergy people usually find out about pretty early in life. That type of allergy is a reaction to venom.
Perhaps the more insidious type of insect allergy, however, are the common types that don’t have a venomous sting to alert you about exposure. This includes flies, fleas, dust mites, beetles, butterflies, moths, and cockroaches. You will likely have an allergic reaction due to the dust or detritus that come off/out of insects’ bodies.
Pollen Allergies
In the south, they dedicate a whole few weeks of indoor time to “pollen season,” but it isn’t just the thick blanket of yellow you have to worry about. Many kinds of plants give off pollen. Usually, people who exclusively have pollen allergies have them seasonally, as symptoms only show up when pollen is in the air. Stuffy nose, runny nose, headaches, and even fatigue are associated with pollen allergies. It is especially important during pollen seasons to have an air purifier running in your home.
Hay Fever
Hay fever is also known as allergic rhinitis. You may feel like you have a cold and hay fever, like pollen allergies, is typically seasonal. Trees, grasses, and weeds can all cause hay fever symptoms.
Pet Allergies
People can be allergic to all kinds of pets, but the most common ones are the ones we love the most: our furry mammal friends. The tricky thing is you aren’t always allergic to obvious parts of the animal — like the fur. People can also be allergic to a pet’s skin cells, urine, and/or saliva.
Finding the best air purifier for pet allergies can definitely be a Google rabbit trail. These are among the most common types of allergies, and something people want to seek relief for (because, let’s face it, we’re not getting rid of the precious pup or kitty). To get more insight on air purifiers for pet allergies, save this article to read next.
Worst Areas of the U.S. for Allergies
Where you live may impact whether you are exposed to certain allergens. For instance, if you live in an area with a lot of new construction, you may be inhaling a lot of dust and fumes. If you live in a tropical climate, you may suffer more from the proliferation of plant life.
Some areas of the country rank worse for air quality, air pollution, and allergens. The metrics used to gauge how bad allergens are in a certain state include spring and fall pollen scores, over-the-counter allergy medicine use, and the availability of allergists and immunologists.
The allergy capitals in the U.S., ranked for 2022, were:
- Scranton, Pennsylvania
- Wichita, Kansas
- McAllen, Texas
- Richmond, Virginia
- San Antonio, Texas
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Buffalo, New York
- New Haven, Connecticut
- Albany, New York
Incidentally, many of the best places to live if you struggle with seasonal allergies are in the western and northwestern United States and include Fresno, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Provo, Utah; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon.
Knowing that there are areas in the country that are measurably worse for seasonal allergies doesn’t mean you’re going to relocate. Most people deal with allergies every day, and it’s important to mitigate these symptoms with clean indoor air and the right treatment prescribed by your physician or allergist.
Allergic Reactions
Allergic reactions may be all too familiar to you, but here are the basic ways your body responds if you encounter something you are allergic to:
- Sneezing
- Water eyes
- Itchy eyes
- Itchy skin
- General irritation
- Headaches
- Hives
- Eczema
These are all symptoms that something could be wrong, and if you notice them repeatedly when you’re in the same environment or around the same things, you should dig deeper to learn if you do in fact have an allergy to them.
Treating Allergies
There are a number of effective treatment options for allergies that range from lifestyle changes and avoidance to medication.
Physician and allergist recommended methods for treating allergies have to do with the type of allergy you have. Some allergies aren’t related to airborne particles, obviously, but for the purposes of our discussion here, that’s what we’ll focus on.
In that context, here are the basic guidelines:
Food allergy —
Avoiding food that triggers a severe allergic reaction is essential. Exposure could lead to the need for emergency room care and an epinephrine injection. For milder reactions, you may use antihistamine drugs to treat food allergies.
Contact dermatitis —
If you get a rash from exposure to something — like an airborne chemical or a specific plant — you’ll need to avoid the allergen and may need to use creams or salves.
Animal allergy —
You may have to avoid the animal species you’re allergic to, if your reactions are severe enough. For milder reactions, you may be prescribed medication or use over the counter medication to treat congestion and similar symptoms.
Allergic asthma —
Air purifiers for asthma are something we’ve investigated a lot, and people see great results. You should always work directly with your medical doctor and a specialist to ensure you are getting the right treatment for any asthma-related conditions.
Allergies make it hard to live life. Some people get crippling symptoms and others just deal with chronic irritation, which is also frustrating. Air purifiers reduce the count of allergens in the air, which is their key power to reducing allergic reactions.
Air Purifiers and Seasonal Allergies
Air purifiers are good for your home year round. Multiple types of air purifier technology effectively remove even the smallest particles from the air, which helps you breathe easier. You may notice that your allergies are worse at different times of year. This is common, and often relevant for people with plant allergies.
Seasonal allergies exist in part because of increased pollen count, which means they worsen during warmer months when plants are growing. You can be allergic to all sorts of plants, but the most common culprits for plant allergies are:
- Tree pollen
- Grass pollen
- Weed pollen
In addition to the big three, some people are allergic more specifically to the following plants and/or trees:
- Flowers/herbs
- Elm, poplar, oak, and pine trees
- Bermuda grass
- Sagebrush
- Ragweed
- Tumbleweed
- Nettles
- Bluegrass
- Various types of flowers, including daisies, chrysanthemums, and sunflowers
In the United States, spring pollen allergy symptoms are usually the worst for seasonal allergy sufferers.
Whatever type of allergy you suffer from, you want relief. The most consistent and reliable source of relief for many people comes from air purifiers for allergies.
Top Air Purifiers for Allergies
The top air purifiers for allergies use multistage filtration that addresses the full range of particles in the air. If you want to beat allergies with an air purifier, you need one that uses all of the latest technology and leaves no micron unfiltered.
Here’s what we recommend your air purifier for allergies includes:
HEPA —
For years, HEPA has been the gold standard of air filters. It’s exceptionally useful against allergies, as it uses a finely woven mesh filter to physically remove particles from the air.
Carbon filtration —
We mentioned that some people are allergic to gasses, which is what a carbon filter takes out of the air.
Bi-polar ionization —
Bi-polar ionization is an advanced air purification technology that uses negatively charged ions. In the air, these bind with positively charged ions (around particles that are floating) and weigh them down. Bottom line is they get taken out of circulation and out of the air you breathe.
Ultraviolet —
An added bonus to the best air purifiers for allergies is the benefit of ultraviolet light, something that came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. UV light can deactivate viruses, making a powerful addition to the tech team for ultimate air purification.
The aggregate effect of multi process air purifiers is clean, fresh, breathable air, free from major allergens.
Best Air Purifier for Allergies
At Air Oasis, we work year-round to make sure that everyone, with any type of allergy, has the relief they want and need.
We are on mission to help you create a safe haven indoors by improving air quality. To that end, we’ve manufactured the best air purifier for allergies: head here to learn about the iAdaptAirⓇ, and get ready to breathe easier.
