Relief for Asthma and Emphysema

Does someone in your home have asthma or emphysema or have difficulty breathing for some other reason?

As a child I had allergies that caused an asthma response. In “the old days” the doctor would tell my parents to make me breathe warm water vapor to relieve my asthma. I absolutely hated it! Instead of relief, the warm vapors caused me to feel more suffocated, not less. I would panic and fight, but since the doctor told my parents to do this, they fought back. It was a fairly taxing experience for all concerned, usually resulting in a middle-of-the-night ride to the hospital. The interesting thing was the cool night air I was exposed to on the way to the hospital gave me welcome relief. By the time we all arrive in the emergency room I could breathe again!

As a child I wondered why the doctor’s prescription of breathing warm water vapors made me feel so much worse. Now I know. It was the chlorine gases in the tap water vapor! Chlorine gas is a serious irritant to the lungs - so toxic and it was used as a weapon in WWI. No wonder I was suffocating!

I put two and two together when my mother told me that my father (in his mid-70s) felt exhausted after a shower. I thought about my childhood experiences and the light bulb went off! I had some
Premium Shower Filters in stock, and I wondered if a removing the chlorine gases from his showers might offer him some relief, so I gave him one to try. Voila! Immediate results! In fact, the results were so amazing my dad bought himself an SMF Whole House water filter just days later. As he thought about chlorine gases escaping from the dishwater, the kitchen sink, pots boiling on the stove, the clothes washer – all the ways large and small that add to the chlorine gases in the household air he decided that a whole house filter could really change the quality of his life, and indeed it has.

In the last couple of years, municipal water systems have been switching from using simple chlorine for water disinfection to using a chemical called chloramine. In fact, 60% of municipalities have now made this change. Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Have you ever mixed bleach and ammonia to clean? Of course not! The gases from that mistake can quickly become deadly!

The change to Chloramine is more reasonable than it may sound at first. When Chlorine contacts organics the reaction produces trihalomethanes (THMs or TTHMs) that are now known to cause birth defects. In an effort to eliminate this outcome, chloramine has become the disinfectant recommended by the EPA. However, the chloramine gases in your home are no less irritating to the lungs and, an aside fact, chloramine is much more corroding of your appliances and plumbing!

If someone in your home suffers from asthma or emphysema, installing a quality SMF Whole House water filter can offer them considerable relief, and as someone who used to have this challenge, I can’t overstate how frightening it was to struggle for a breath! So I mention the change from chlorine to chloramine for an important reason. Chloramine is much more difficult to remove than is chlorine. Most whole house filters either do not remove it at all, or they require an additional tank (and additional expense) in order to meet the challenge. Before purchasing any whole house water filter it is now necessary to find out whether your municipal water system is using chlorine or chloramine. If they are still using chlorine, I would recommend you find out if they have plans to switch in the next few years. Otherwise, the filter you buy today may be obsolete tomorrow.

About The Author-- Donna Hoffman is the owner of ezClearwater.com, provider of the highest quality, earth-friendly water purification products for home, office, pool and spa. Donna is dedicated to supplying healthy water for drinking, bathing, and recreation by sharing products that are “Good to You and Mother Earth Too.”

Article Source: Articles island - Free article submission and free reprint articles