How asthma can be related to water contaminants?
As we know, asthma is an airway disease that can cause a person to wheeze, cough, be short of breath, and experience tightness in the chest. Common triggers of its symptoms in some people are pet dander, dust mites, mold, pollen, respiratory infections, exercise, cold air, tobacco smoke, stress, and drug allergies. For your information, exposure to water contamination may also affect people with asthma. Some water contaminants which may worsen respiratory and other health conditions for some people are as follows:
- Chlorine - Chlorine helps fight waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid, but can lead to respiratory problems as well. Yale University researchers have found that inhaling chlorine-disinfected drinking water triggers a nerve receptor that protects healthy people by inducing sneezing, coughing, and irritation, but can cause major problems for people with asthma.
- Fluoride - Fluoride is added to most municipal drinking water supplies to help fight tooth decay in children, but it can cause health issues for people with allergies or respiratory conditions. There are documented cases of adults as well as children who suffered severe allergic reactions to fluoride.
- Nitrogen oxide - Nitrogen oxide is one of the chemicals in acid rain or acid precipitation. It is produced in firing processes involving extremely high temperatures, such as in utility plants and automobiles, as well as in chemical industries such as fertilizer production. When this dangerous gas gets into the groundwater supply, it can cause damage to the respiratory organs by attacking the membranes in them, increasing the chances of respiratory diseases, and in some cases worsening the health conditions of people who have already been diagnosed with respiratory issues.
Drinking filtered or purified water can improve the conditions of some people with asthma or other respiratory diseases. There are a few alternatives to purifying drinking water. Water distillation is moderately successful at removing many contaminants, but they are expensive and wasteful. Bottled water can sometimes contain more contaminants than tap water. The best technology today for treating water contamination is reverse osmosis filtration. When compared to any other treatment alternatives, it will remove most contaminants to make the water healthier. The most common types of water filters in use today are drinking water filters, whole house water filters, and shower water filters.