In our Part One, we told you how more Mainers are making their homes more energy efficient, and how that could affect their health...

Allergies, asthma, the common cold, are all things many of us deal with during a Maine winter.

Fresh Air, is something all of us enjoy in the summer time with the windows open and a breeze blowing through.

It changes the air you breath in your home every day.

Some Mainers are trying to find new ways to do that. Sales of home air purification units are on the rise, says Randy Renaud, owner of Aerus Electrolux in Brewer, "It's increasingly getting more of a demand, especially in Maine. The homes are more air tight, so allergies are on the rise. We see a lot more now than we did five years ago."

For some, like Ramona Carter of Old Town, purifiers help with symptoms of colds and allergies by taking the bad air out of your home.

But with more people burning wood and adding energy efficient doors and windows to reduce heating costs, homes are tighter than ever.

If you have asthma or allergies, that can lead to sickness says Dr. Paul Shapero. "The little bit of allergy is pretty harmless. A little bit of smoke by itself is pretty harmless. Tightening up the house by itself is pretty harmless, but like you said, if you add one little thing and you can handle it, you tend to add a second little thing until you've added too much."

Dr. Shapero is an allergist in Bangor. He thinks some of those winter time illnesses are caused by the air you breathe in your home, but that's not the only reason. "Your body can handle a certain amount of stuff and you'd never notice, but if you had a crummy day, you were late for work, your wife yelled at you, the kids were screaming, it's all that baggage that you and I carry to the office before you even get to the office."

Both Renaud and Dr. Shapero agree that at least in part, all of the things in our home can and do contribute to our health and well being.

"Absolutely, without a doubt," says Renaud. " Our homes are so airtight to conserve energy, but everything inside that home, off-gasses, your counter tops, your cabinetry, your paint, they all leak VOC Formaldehydes. You know all the wood glues, the lacquers, it's proven to cause cancer, and it's proven to cause heart disease, and it's proven to cause asthma and allergies. Every credible site out there says it's proven to make you sick."

But Dr. Shapero says it's not just those things. It's also how you live your life. "As your day gets more complicated and your life gets more complicated, you just keep piling stuff in because you have to, until eventually your body, with all it's backup systems, is spent it can't do it anymore."

So I asked him " Are we making ourselves sick?"

" Yes, Yes I think that you're right."

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