Risk of Developing Asthma May Be Caused By Household Cleaning Products

I shared the info about the CDC 'going green'. Here is some research on why this is important and why YOU should also consider using non-toxic cleaning products.

Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of developing asthma in children. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in the developed world and has become more common in the last 30 years. In a 2004 study published in the journal Thorax, it was found that that many common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of developing asthma in children. It was concluded that, “Domestic exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at levels [even] below currently accepted recommendations may increase the risk of childhood asthma." VOCs are found in many household products and may also be embedded in the house itself as part of the paint, flooring, or furniture. Source: Rumchev, K. et al. (2004).Thorax, 59(9), 746-751.

Using household cleaning sprays and air fresheners as little as once a week can raise the risk of developing asthma in adults. The epidemiological study, the first to investigate the effects of cleaning products in occasional users rather than occupational users, found that cleaning sprays, especially air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass cleaners, had a particularly strong relation to increased asthma risk in adults. “The relative risk rates of developing adult asthma in relation to exposure to cleaning products could account for as much as 15 percent, or one in seven adult asthma cases,” according to Dr. Zock. Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 176. pp. 735-741, (2007)

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You can buy non-toxic cleaners here

Children Exposed to Toxins

Wow, I just read that Fire Retardant Chemical is found at 3 times the level in Children than in adults.

That is partly because children are touching things that have that chemical and then put their hands and other objects into their mouths so that the chemical then gets into their bodies.

Also, young children eat far more than adults relative to their body mass, exposing them to a higher relative dose of toxins through their diet.

Health problems related to this? It says in the article that "a single dose of PBDEs during brain development can lead to permanently altered behavior patterns."

You can read the article here

Are You Giving Your Child Toxins Each Day?

Naturally, we would not knowingly,give our children toxins, but do you know how safe your laundry and cleaning products are?

Each day you are exposed to more than 123 chemicals through your skin and mouth – the vast majority of which have never been screened for safety by the FDA.

Analysis of cord blood of newborn babies at Mt. Sinai Hospital found more than 200 chemicals already in the blood stream at birth!

What do we do when we bring a new baby home from the hospital? We make sure that they are safe – the best car seat, baby gates, electric plug covers, locks on cabinets to keep them safe from hazardous household chemicals.

But when the baby goes to sleep, we get those same chemicals out and spray them all over the baby’s environment – the high chair tray they eat off; the floor they crawl on, the air they breathe. It just doesn’t make sense!

There are 80 scary chemicals in many of the products we use every day.

Let’s look at some of the most common hazardous household chemicals and which ones may be hiding out in your bathroom….laundry room…or under your sink.

All the information I’m sharing here comes directly from a government watchdog group National Institutes of Health

Check out some of the products you may be using. One company you will find does not have any of these toxic chemicals is Shaklee. You can check out those products at http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm

Ok – let’s start off with Sodium Hydroxide:

*Causes 75% o all caustic injury to the esophagus of kids under 5 years old
*Can cause burns in tissues – eyes, skin, mouth and throat
*Can cause irritation to the respiratory tract
*Can cause liver and kidney damage.

You wouldn’t want this in your dish products.

What common products have Sodium Hydroxide? Tide, Cascade, Clorox, Palmolive Gel, Clorox Spray, Spray and Wash, Tilex, 409, Shout

Next - Butyl Cellosolve

*Linked to reproductive harm
*Can cause irritation and tissue damage from inhalation
*Exposure for 15 min. while cleaning shower, could inhale 3x the acute exposure limit
*toxic to kidney and liver
*Exposure through the skin

Here are products with Butyle Cellosolve:

fantasik, 409, windex, simple green, pledge, glass plus

There are some other chemicals that are harmful too. Be sure to check your products at the government watchdog url. Look up these - hydochloric Acid, potassium hydroxide, and sulfamic acid.

Now, I know some of you have these products in your home – not because you want those chemicals – but because you didn’t realize there is anything else out there that can do the job.

There is a simple way that you can get all the chemicals out of your home-- use greener, safer alternatives that really work and save money at the same time.

Check them out here: Safe Green cleaners

Always safe....Always green....always works.....