Household Cleaning Products Hazardous to Your Health

In today's society, women are still doing over 70% of the housework and research is showing that certain chemicals in household cleaning products may be hazardous to their health. Children are also vulnerable to the toxins coming from the cleaning products because their immune systems are not fully developed. These toxic items can interfere with not only the immune system, but also the neurological and endocrine systems. Most labels on cleaning products will indicate that they may 'cause skin and eye irritation'.

A growing chronic health problem is allergic asthma and this can be linked to the chemicals in cleaning products. Allergic asthma (allergy-induced asthma) is the most common type of asthma in the United States. Other respiratory symptoms can also be traced to industrial cleaners.

So many households are inclined to use 'air fresheners' as part of the household cleaning process. What the average person does not think about is that these air fresheners may contain many hazardous chemicals, one of which is the fragrance. Many people can experience watery eyes, headaches, skin and allergic reactions just to the fragrance.

Air fresheners may also contain xylene, ketones and aldehydes along with benzene and formaldehyde, which are known as carcinogens.

Studies have been done in the UK at the University of Bristol with 14,000 pregnant women showing there is a link between the use of air fresheners, aerosol sprays and an increase in headaches and depression.

The study showed that when air fresheners and aerosol sprays were used in the home, 25% more headaches and 19% more post-natal depression occurred among the women.

It was even more surprising to find that babies under 6 mos old who were exposed to air fresheners had 30% more ear infections and a 22% greater chance of diarrhea. The results of this study have definitely raised concern about the safety of air fresheners and general household cleaning products. It is not yet clear which chemicals or combinations may be responsible, but nonetheless, the evidence has proven there is a definite link.

At this time, very little is known about how the exposure and long-term health impacts will be if women and children continue to be exposed to these toxins. If they are hazardous to human beings, just think what the impact is to our environment. Our ecosystems are in serious jeopardy as daily pollution occurs from the use and dumping of household chemicals.

The breakdown of products coming from laundry detergents was found in 70% of the North American streams by the U.S. Geological Survey. The chemicals cause harm to the fish, frogs, turtles along with other aquatic life.

It is the responsibility of companies to label their products and remove the hazardous items from the common household cleaners. A few of the chemicals found in cleaning products are listed below:

• Monoethanolamine (MEA) - a toxin found in some laundry detergents, all-purpose cleaners and floor cleaners and is a known cause of occupational asthma.
• Ammonium quaternary compounds - disinfectants found in some disinfectant sprays and toilet cleaners that have been identified as the cause of occupational asthma.
• Phthalates - is a carrier for fragrance in glass cleaners, deodorizers, laundry detergents and fabric softeners are linked to allergic symptoms and asthma in children.
  
  

Could these chemicals found in common cleaning products be contributing to your allergic asthma or other chronic health conditions?

A study was done in New York with urban minority asthma sufferers and it revealed that 61% of individuals working in janitorial jobs reported an escalation with their asthma symptoms.

Another study done in Spain found that women who either were doing or had done domestic cleaning, showed a much higher rate of asthma than women who had never done it. The researchers came to the conclusion that 25% of asthma cases were linked to domestic cleaning.

Take control of your health and create a healthy environment using only 'natural' or 'biodegradable' cleaning products and avoid the products that are hazardous to your health and maybe causing allergic asthma.

For further info, visit:  http://www.alternativehealthzone.com