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Is Your Home A
Healthy Home?
As
a parent, you do everything you can to protect your child's health and well
being, don't you? Of course you do. You feed your children nutritious food,
make sure they get fresh air and exercise, tell them to look both ways
before crossing the street, and protect them from well-known hazards such as
burns, electrical shocks, falls, and choking.
There is another hazard you may not be aware of: toxic chemicals that are
present right in your own home. Scientists and doctors have discovered that
there is a connection between our health and the use of common everyday
household chemicals. If your is the typical home, you probably use dozens of
cleaning and personal care products purchased at the local grocery store,
which contain chemical ingredients that could be harmful to you and your
children.
Since World War II, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of man-made
chemicals we use in our homes. The typical home now contains over
sixty-three hazardous products that together contain hundreds of different
chemicals.(1) At the same time, there has been an equally dramatic rise in
the incidence of certain chronic health problems, especially in children.
More children are afflicted with asthma, learning problems, and cancer than
ever before. I'll bet you personally know a child with one of these
conditions. Research indicates that it is more than coincidence that the
unprecedented rise in these various diseases has occurred in the same time
period as the increased use of hazardous, man-made chemicals in our homes.
Have We Always Been This Sick?
Around the turn of the century the cancer incidence rate was about one in
fifty. Today, one in three Americans will suffer with cancer. Cancer is the
number two killer of adults and the leading cause of death from disease in
children.(2)
The incidence of central nervous system disorders like Alzheimer's and
Multiple Sclerosis increases annually.
Birth defects are on the rise as well. Over 150,000 babies are born with
defects each year for reasons unknown. Another 500,00 babies are miscarried
early in pregnancy or stillborn.(3) Infertility is increasing and widespread
with over 2 million couples who want children and are unable to conceive.(4)
Asthma was also once a very rare disease. Now the condition is extremely
common. The asthma rate has tripled in the last twenty years with nearly 20
to 30 million Americans currently afflicted.(5)
Attention Deficit Disorder in adults and children is rising. In 1993, 2
million children took the drug Ritalin so they could sit still long enough
to learn. In 1995, that figure doubled to approximately 4 million.
The Autism Society of America reports that Autism is the fastest growing
developmental disability and will affect 1 in 166 births (6) which totals 1
to 1.5 million Americans.(7) There is a reported 10 - 17% annual growth.
There is no known single cause for autism, but it is generally accepted that
it is caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function. Researchers
are investigating the possibility that under certain conditions, a cluster
of unstable genes may interfere with brain development resulting in autism.
Still other researchers are investigating problems during pregnancy or
delivery as well as environmental factors such as viral infections,
metabolic imbalances, and exposure to environmental chemicals.
You or someone you know has probably been touched in some way by one of
these illnesses. What could be causing these and other health problems to
rise and afflict so many otherwise healthy people? Although other factors
are involved, more and more scientists are linking these ailments to
long-term chemical exposure. And, for most of us, our greatest exposure to
chemicals is right in our own homes! We breathe chemical vapors from
household products in the air; we absorb chemicals into our skin while
using household products to clean our homes or make our bodies clean and
smell good; and we swallow small amounts of chemicals when we gargle, or
when we eat food from dishes that have been cleaned with chemicals and still
contain a thin residue. The home is also where over 1.5 million young
children are poisoned each year and most of the time they are poisoned by a
cleaning or personal care product!(8)
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