Whether we are apartment dwellers or live in new or old single-family homes, the quality of our indoor air is essential to our health, particularly as we all recently are spending a great deal of time indoors lately. Our bodies, particularly our lungs, are bombarded by major indoor air pollutants such as asbestos, biological pollutants, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde from pressed wood products, lead, nitrogen dioxide, radon, indoor particulate matter, pesticides, secondhand smoke and volatile organic compounds. 

During Southwest Florida’s hot and humid months of summer, spring and early fall, inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by failing to bring in enough fresh outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and carrying indoor air pollutants out of the home. High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants.

Today, it’s not just the indoor air that we need to be concerned about. As we travel outside for long or short distances to visit family or friends, to work or shop or to take care of personal business such as doctor appointments or beauty services, most people are concerned about personal safety. Wearing a mask may be mandatory in some places of business. For others where it is not, there may be other precautionary measures other than the CDC-recommended practices of washing hands, using a hand sanitizer and social distancing. 

The latest technology in personal protection, which can be worn as a necklace or clipped to a shirt or apron, is an ion-based active air technology known as SHIELD Aer. “The device creates a four-foot clean-air zone, or bubble, which repels and reduces my personal exposure to pathogens such as mold spores, bacteria, viruses and volatile active compounds,” says Caroline Thonon, owner of Beautiful Health, in Naples. “It was a psychological and physical comfort to me during my recent air travel to Europe and back, and I felt that it reduced my risks while being amongst crowds in the airports and other indoor spaces. While it didn’t interfere with my breathing, it did eliminate the negative effects of others’ perfumes, colognes or lotions, which I don’t normally tolerate well. I felt that it was a support to my mask, increasing the efficiency exponentially,” says Thonon, who also uses the device in her retail space. 

SHIELD Aer has a rechargeable lithium battery, providing more than 24 hours of use per charge. It includes a micro USB charging cable and a breakaway neck cord for comfort and convenience.

Beautiful Health is located at 4947 Tamiami Tr. N. Ste. 105, in Naples. For more information, call 239-241-5111 or visit BeautifulHealth.biz.