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Over the last decade or so, there has been a significant increase in allergic reactions to the various household products and harmful chemicals which we come into contact with every day. Over 60% of households have some sort of an allergy or indoor air quality problem which cause wheezing, headaches, and streaming noses. This article will highlight common problems arising from household chemicals, and ways for you to protect yourself against them. Hair colourants have been a major problem for years and have been known to strip hair from the scalp as well as causing severe skin allergy problems which is why dye producers now advise you to test their product on an area of your skin before proceeding. Dyes from clothes have also been known to cause skin related problems like rashes, so you really should wash new clothes first before you wear them to be on the safe side. Several dangerous household chemicals contain petroleum, normally detected in glues, nail varnish, emulsion paint and wood varnish. These can cause respiratory difficulties and symptoms can include tiredness, dizziness and nervous reactions. It is always wise to try and read the labels on these chemical based products, but more often than not they are not much help. Allergies towards materials like rubber/latex are more common than people think and recently there has been a rise in these type of allergies within hospital employees who must wear rubber based gloves to perform their health care duties. These latex materials should be avoided at all costs if you have any type of aversion to rubber because they can cause nasty reactions and serious skin complaints. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odourless toxic gas which is another real danger at home which can come from gas running appliances like heaters and cookers. It can cause symptoms similar to flu and make you dizzy when exposed on a lower level, and higher exposure can kill. Boilers and all gas fuel burners in your household should be checked on a regular basis by gas safety professionals who hold a valid certificate. Harmful common household chemicals can float in to your home from the outside traffic especially if you live in a built up urban area for example - it can slowly increase poor air quality in your home. There are many preventative actions you can take, for instance air purifiers and anti allergy vacuum cleaners can help to reduce the amount of pollutants you breathe in on a regular basis. Formaldehyde is a large part of our everyday lives because it lives in many materials that are already present in our homes. Carpeting, certain types of household glues, wall boarding, manufactured wood and insulation materials that keep us warm in winter all have a certain amount of Formaldehyde within that can harm our breathing and bring on 'household chemical reactions' and respiratory problems, but these symptoms reduce over a length of time as the slow release of these chemicals disperse with age. This is one reason that allergy sufferers are reluctant to bring a new carpet into their home, because the very structure of these materials which contain formaldehyde, have an adverse negative effect on those with asthma or any other breathing related problems, this can also be said of any other type of new furniture that comes into an allergy sufferers home. Although not exactly household chemicals, dust is the single most unhealthy aspect of our homes today, which affects asthma/allergy sufferers badly. It's not the actual dust itself but the faeces from these dust mites that live in the particles of dust, that contribute to the most negative experience in terms of poor indoor air quality. See the top 10 water filter systems you can buy.
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