Why UV Light Air Purifiers are Essential for Flu Prevention

Flu season is upon us. Influenza results in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and thousands of deaths per year. Are you doing everything you can to protect your loved ones from the flu?

UV Air Purifier: A new tool in the flu prevention arsenal

There are four key flu prevention tools recommended by Dr. Wladyslaw Kowalski, PhD, PE, one of the foremost experts and authors on airborne infection control, and Dr. Bryan Stone, MD, Internal Medicine and Nephrology, Chief of Medicine for Desert Regional Medical Center.

Chances are you’re already aware of three of these tools: vaccination, following careful hygiene and sanitation protocols and avoiding contact with obviously infected individuals.

What you may not know, however, is that there’s a powerful new tool in the flu prevention arsenal: UV light air purification, a pathogen-destroying technology found in air purifiers such as the RxAir UV Light Air Purification System. UV light air purification addresses airborne viruses, filling the gap left by the surface disinfection and hygiene protocols.

How UV light air purification fills the gaps left by other prevention tools

While vaccination decreases total exposure to flu viruses and protects people from certain strains, Dr. Stone explains that “it is impossible to produce a flu vaccine that will protect recipients against all strains because there are hundreds of strains that constantly mutate.”

UV light air purification technology, on the other hand, can destroys all airborne flu virus strains, including those that aren’t covered by current vaccines. It also reduces exposure for everyone in the room, whether they’ve been vaccinated or not.

Sanitation protocols, like spraying disinfectant on frequently touched objects and surfaces, can only do so much. The flu virus is commonly spread by coughing, sneezing or talking, which create tiny droplets that carry the virus and land in nearby individuals’ mouths, noses and eyes. As Dr. Kowalski notes, “Other people in the room are exposed to infection by the simple act of breathing, regardless of any sanitization that already occurred.” He adds that “pathogen-destroying UV air purifiers are the best way to combat the airborne pathogens on a continuous basis.”

The RxAir is the ideal choice among filterless UV air purifiers

“It is important to choose an air purifier that is proven by independent EPA- and FDA-certified laboratories to destroy viruses and bacteria, as there are many ineffective, low-cost systems that lack sufficient UV light intensity, UV exposure time or air flow rates,” says Dr. Kowalski. “Alternatively, air purifiers with high-efficiency HEPA filters effectively trap, but do not kill, the pathogens. However, when filters become full, the live pathogens may be re-circulated in the air, plus the consumer likely will be exposed to them when the filters are changed.”

The RxAir is the ideal choice for individuals looking to add a UV Air Purifier to their flu prevention arsenal. Its filterless UV technology (that’s right – no HEPA filters!) has been proven in independent EPA- and FDA-certified laboratory testing to destroy on first pass more than 99% of flu and other harmful viruses and bacteria that cause the cold, MRSA (staph), strep (whooping cough), TB, measles, pneumonia and a myriad of other antibiotic-resistant and viral infections.

This flu season, keep your home, school and work environment as flu-free as possible. Let the RxAir fight the flu so you don’t have to.