My House Is Causing Flu Like Symptoms

 

Flu Indoors

As we enter fall and a potential second wave, we should pay special attention to our indoor air quality. We need to make sure that the house is not causing flu like symptoms. We need to make sure we have good indoor air quality.

Fall is the start of the seasonal flu threat or influenza. This fall it is especially important to protect ourselves and our family members from the flu as well as what can mimic flu like symptoms as it could be misinterpreted as having contracted the coronavirus. This can lead to unnecessary stress, having to undergo testing as well as potentially self isolating for 14 days to make sure you don’t have COVID-19.

What are flu like symptoms anyway? According to lunghealth.ca here are a few of the common influenza symptoms.

The 5 most common indoor health symptoms:

1. Tiredness
2. Cough
3. Chills/fever
4. Sinus issues
5. Headache

Flu like symptoms can also cause a persistent runny nose and throat, lung and respiratory allergic type response.

Unfortunately, the flu and our friend the coronavirus can also cause these symptoms. Now to make things even more complicated, so can poor indoor air quality.

Feelings of tiredness, coughing, sinus irritation, respiratory issues and headaches can also be caused by poor indoor air quality caused by improper ventilation and poor air filtration. Just installing a 3M or high efficiency furnace filter is not enough to achieve good indoor air quality.

What are some of the causes of poor indoor air quality that can lead to flu like symptoms?

One of the most important factors in living in a healthy indoor environment, whether this is a home, apartment or office environment, is proper air flow and proper ventilation. If you have stale indoor air, all sorts of indoor air quality pollutants build up causing a variety of allergic reactions.

Poor ventilation can lead to an increase in chemicals or VOC’s, gases, airborne dust and particulate, mould spores, bacteria and viruses. These allergens then connect (hitch a ride) on small dust particles in the indoor environment and can then travel throughout the HVAC system and the building.  In the case of mould spores, bacteria and viruses, this can then cause flu like symptoms in anyone that is indoors.

The 3 most common indoor pollutants are:

•  Mould spores such as Aspergillus and Stachybotrys
•  Bacteria including Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Clostridium and Pseudomonas. E.coli and other coliform can also be a health threat indoors.
•  Fibres such as asbestos and fibre glass.

Poor air filtration or air purification systems can lead to a lack of air filtration or increase in airborne dust that can carry many of the above listed allergens. This can severely impact the indoor air quality leading to flu like symptoms caused by your home.

So how can we protect ourselves and our family members from getting sick this fall? Is there a way we can prevent suffering from flu like symptoms? There is!

Solution and prevention of flu like symptoms:

1. Get the flu shot. This will make it less likely that what you are feeling (if you do get sick) that it is the seasonal flu.
2. Get your indoor air quality tested. Making sure you have good indoor air quality, proper ventilation and the right air filtrations and purification systems will prevent health symptoms caused by poor indoor air quality.
3. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and properly clean and disinfect your home and your car.

At Verify, our indoor air quality testing solutions for Toronto and the GTA can give you peace of mind that you live and work in a healthy home. We can help you ensure good indoor air quality and an indoor environment that is conducive to keeping you healthy.

This Fall and coming winter, we will be spending more time indoors, we need to make sure we do so in a healthy indoor environment. Don’t delay air quality testing any longer. It could mean your health.

Healthy Home through Indoor Air Quality Testing