Your home is a busy place. People are constantly working, cooking, playing, cleaning, washing and moving things around. That kind of activity is completely normal, but it can generate small particles and chemicals that accumulate in the air you breathe. Whether your home is large or small, old or new, the interior air could be causing breathing problems, in particular for people with allergies and asthma.

There are simple things that you can put in place to clean up the air inside your home, so that everyone can breathe easier. If you have allergies or asthma, you are sensitive to particular triggers. These triggers can ignite a reaction in your lungs and other parts of your body. Triggers may be found indoors and outdoors. They may be simple things like:

• Illnessescolds and influenza
  

• Tobacco smoke and wood smoke from the fireplace
  

• Allergens such as dust mites, cockroaches, pollen, molds, animal dander, tiny scales or particles from hair, feathers, or dead skin cells and saliva from pets
  

• Perfumes, paint, hair spray, or any other strong odors or fumes

It is important to identify your triggers. This isnt always easy, so you should experiment by staying away from one suspected trigger at a time. You can tell if it is a problem if you see improvement when it is removed. It is much more difficult to control your triggers outdoors. So, if the air pollution and pollen levels are high, it is an excellent idea to stay indoors. The air in your home is easier for you to control. In some cases, people with asthma and allergies become aware that their symptoms deteriorate at night. Controlling triggers in the bedroom is the best place to start.

There are air cleaning machines that you may purchase that can eradicate some of the triggers in your home. Unfortunately, they will not remove them all. Some air cleaners utilize an electrical charge that makes ozone, which many manufacturers claim will purify the air. Sadly, ozone irritates the lungs, and is a particular problem for people with asthma. The American Lung Association does not recommend the use of air cleaners that produce ozone, and is printed in their brochure, Facts about home control of allergies and asthma. They advise that you look for a mechanical air cleaner with a HEPA, or preferably a hyper-HEPA filter, that does not produce ozone and can efficiently trap large and small particles.

Judy Phillips

Jash Botanicals is located in California, under Judy Phillips, Master Herbalist and Naturopath with over 25 years of experience and dealings in alternative healing and herbalism. Emerging from humble beginnings, Jash has been and always will remain family owned and operated. Our highest priority is integrity. We are dedicated to being a company with a conscience and our commitment includes using only the highest quality, most environmentally responsible product possible. We know that you are concerned about what you and your family use, so we want you to know what makes Jash Botanicals so special. We strive to provide accurate and up to date herbal information by searching the world over and bringing safe and effective herbal formulas to consumers that are looking for natural alternatives in the development of personal health and well-being.

Most commercial manufacturers use low-quality herbs imported from Third World countries, where they have been sprayed with pesticides. The herbs are again sprayed or irradiated upon entering this country because of U.S. Customs laws. By contrast, we use only high-quality organic herbs grown in this country and certified organic by the Oregon Tilth. In addition, our tinctures contain 4 to 6 times more herbs than the National Formulary Standard. We also use an aging practice that has been abandoned by most herb manufacturers in favor of more ?efficient? and less costly methods. They press out their products in matter of days or, at most a couple of weeks. Lastly, our tinctures are hand crafted in small batches, not mass-produced by machines like most tinctures so that each batch may be given the proper care, agitated on a daily basis over a period over no less than 6 months.

We believe that our past, current and future successes come from a total dedication to excellent service to those who buy our products. Satisfying our customer and consumer needs in a superior way is the only reason we are in business, and we shall proceed with an obsession to give wholeheartedly to those who buy our products. Our clients and our customers have been, and always will be, our highest priority.