Toxic Homes: There are Safer Alternatives
Tags: Cleaning Products, Toxic Poisining
Cleaning products are not the same as the ones your mother or grandmother bought. They are “new and improved”, but not safer. The manufacturers keep making them stronger. One product’s label states that it is hazardous for humans and domestic animals. It goes on to say that someone should spray the product in one room and wait to see that no one has any adverse physical reaction. They do that so that if there is a health issue they can say, “but we warned them.” Not all the ingredients are listed on the bottles and many list the chemical name so it is hard to know what they are.Personal care products can also have toxins in them. It is important to know wht you are you on yourself or your children. They can have Formaldehyde or other toxins. The EPA has classified formaldehyde as a Probable Human Carcinogen meaning that it causes cancer in animals and likely humans.
Toxic poisoning takes place slowly and over a long period of time. The fumes and residue from our store bought cleaning products cause slow poisoning to your immune system. This regular exposure is what causes your immune system to be attacked and weakened over time, causing you to become more susceptible to infection, disease and chronic illness. We can not live in this world without exposure to some chemicals. The scientists don’t know how much exposure is too much. The concept is to reduce the exposure to your immune system by eliminating as many harsh chemicals as you can from your home and work environment
Eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders, and memory impairment are among the immediate symptoms that some people have experienced soon after exposure. Toxins have been associated with many diseases like asthma, cancers, Parkinson’s, learning disabilities, and heart disease along with many other conditions. They also have been associated with Eczema and other skin issues. Many times, once someone gets the toxins out of their home, their health improves.
There are safe alternatives. Some of these “green” products are found in stores, others through catalogs or online ordering. Many of these products are much more expensive than the toxic products while others are the same even less expensive. Some of these products work as well or better than the toxic products. Others do a less than acceptable job. It is wonderful to be able to breathe when cleaning and not have to worry about opening the windows or what my cats might get into. I feel anyone with children should definitely protect them from the chemicals.
Just by reducing (not eliminating) environmental carcinogens alone, we would save at least 50,000 lives taken by cancer annually. [Source: Dr. Lee Davis, former advisor to the Secretary of Health]
The typical American home uses dozens of personal care products and cleaning products that have harsh chemicals in them. If you look closely at the label of your cleaning products, the last thing you will feel is safe. Check the back of your cleaning products at home and you will findmultiple warnings, such as CAUTION, EYE IRRITANT, and KEEP OUT OF REACH FROM CHILDREN. Not only are most of these products environmentally unfriendly, but they are also toxic. Many children die each year from swallowing products found in the home. These products don’t have to be swallowed to cause a toxic reaction. You can get a toxic exposure in 3 ways: you can swallow a product, you can inhale the fumes or absorb it through the skin. Remember, someone can stop smoking or keep from getting pregnant simply by putting a patch on the skin with some medicine on it.
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Gail Malkiewicz, Life Style Mentor and Successful Entrepreneur, is helping many become the next success story. Whether you're looking to create an extra few thousand dollars per month, be an ex-corporate executive, or the next millionaire Mom Gail can assist you to create a second stream of income and greater peace of mind. For more information visit : Success and Freedom
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Comments
Sep 14th 2007, by
drlynne
Thank you for raising awareness regarding the toxicity of many of the products we use in our homes. It seems we have a sense that if the products we use on a daily basis contained dangerous chemicals, they would be labeled as such. That is not the case! After researching cancer prevention at length, I was shocked to discover two chemicals considered probable human carcinogens according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), present in the shampoo one of my children was using. And, these are chemicals that have been studied. Only 2 percent of chemicals used in commerce have been studied for carcinogenicity. We have since converted to products from our local health store. Our children are worth it!
Two great resources for evaluating products in the home are 1.) The Household Products Database from the National Institute of Health and National Library of Medicine can be searched at www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm, and 2.) The Environmental Working Groups has listed thousands of personal care products with regards to safety and carcinogenicity. This is available at www.safecosmetics.org.
Lynne Eldridge MD
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
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Thank you for raising awareness regarding the toxicity of many of the products we use in our homes. It seems we have a sense that if the products we use on a daily basis contained dangerous chemicals, they would be labeled as such. That is not the case! After researching cancer prevention at length, I was shocked to discover two chemicals considered probable human carcinogens according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), present in the shampoo one of my children was using. And, these are chemicals that have been studied. Only 2 percent of chemicals used in commerce have been studied for carcinogenicity. We have since converted to products from our local health store. Our children are worth it!
Two great resources for evaluating products in the home are 1.) The Household Products Database from the National Institute of Health and National Library of Medicine can be searched at www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm, and 2.) The Environmental Working Groups has listed thousands of personal care products with regards to safety and carcinogenicity. This is available at www.safecosmetics.org.
Lynne Eldridge MD
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
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