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Home & Garden Articles
How Your Home Could Be Making You Sick!
Mon 22 Dec 2008 - 14:29
How Your Home Could Be Making You Sick!
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lorenia_Muwwakkil]Lorenia Muwwakkil
You probably never thought that we spend 80% to 90% of our time indoors, and most of that time is in our home. Our own home is where we are most likely to be exposed to toxic chemicals. This is especially true for young children, who spend even more time indoors than adults and older children. You are probably asking yourself why are our homes so toxic?
In the last two decades the same period during which childhood illness has increased there has been an alarming increase of toxic chemicals in household products, and for the first time we have been insulating our homes for energy efficiency. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulates the air outside our homes, we regulate the air inside our homes. Studies have shown that the air quality inside our homes is 70 times more toxic than the outside air. This is due to a process called outgassing (sometimes called offgassing). Outgassing occurs when certain gases are trapped in an object and they begin to slowly release. To make it simpler, think of the last time you were in a new car or house. What did you smell?
There has been a 26% increase in breast cancer since 1982. Breast cancer is the #1 killer of women between the ages of 35-54. The National Cancer Association & EPA released results of a 15 year study contained that women who work in the home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who work outside the home. The study concluded that the increased rate was due to daily exposure to the hazardous chemicals found in ordinary household products. Be aware that breast cancer is no longer just a women's diease. In the U.S 1 out of every nine women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. The EPA reports toxic chemicals in our home cleaning and personal care products are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outside pollutants. The Toxic Substance Strategy Committee warns 90% of all cancers are triggered by toxic chemicals in our home environment. The Consumer Product Safety Commission connect 150 toxic chemicals in our homes to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities mostly because of outgassing. The primary suspects are laundry detergent and bleach, household cleaners and pesticides. There are 3 ways a chemical can enter the body:
Ingestion-Each year nearly 1.5 million accidental ingestions of poisons are reported to U.S Poison Control Centers. The majority of the victims are under the age of twelve and have swallowed a cleaning or personal care product.
Inhalation-Anytime you inhale a foreign chemical into your lungs (that's not medically prescribed) could cause injury or even death. Air is drawn through the mouth and nose then into the lungs. An average person will breath in and out about 12 times a minute. Each of the 12 inhalations brings in about 500 ml of air, corresponding to 6 litres of air per minute, together with any contaminants that the air contains.
Absorption-The skin is the largest organ of the body and the fastest way to get something into the bloodstream. Any chemical that touches the skin can be absorbed and spread throughout the body. This can happen when you come in contact with a surface that was treated with a chemical days, even weeks earlier. This is especially a problem for children, as they may be touching or crawling around on recently cleaned surfaces with toxic residues. Did you ever stop to think about the nicotine patch or the birth control patch? The skin is so absorbent that these two patches have been design to administer medications into the bloodstream through the skin to prevent smoking and to prevent pregnancy.
What can you do to cut down on outgassing in your everyday life? There are several things that I've been learning and have implemented in my home. For instance when I pick up my clothes from the dry cleaners I leave them hanging in the garage to air off. Think about the last time you hung clothes up in your closet from the dry cleaners. Do you remember what your closet smelled like? I purchase household cleaners and my personal care products that do not contain toxic harsh chemicals. Opening doors and windows, even in winter, goes a long way to circulating the air. Actually I keep a window cracked open all the time now. Whenever discussing things like outgassing, the most important thing we can do as individuals is to not be misinformed. There is always something we can do to reduce such risks to ourselves and our families, and all it takes is knowledge. Always remember knowledge is power!
I have been committed to spreading the word about the daily use of toxic household cleaners and personal care products since 2002. I have joined with a wellness company in order to bring safer products into my home. To find out more about this wellness company and what it has to offer please visit http://k_russell.Healthyhometour.com
For a FREE guide to Indoor Air Quality please visit http://www.epa.gov/iaq
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lorenia_Muwwakkil [http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Your-Home-Could-Be-Making-You-Sick!&id=1784739 ]http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Your-Home-Could-Be-Making-You-Sick!&id=1784739
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