Compass Chiropractic

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been sensitive to certain scents.  These are typically artificial scents that are found in perfumes and cleaning supplies.  One whiff of a perfume could cause a headache, cause a “foggy head” feeling or make breathing more difficult.  I’ve never been able to wear colognes and I’ve had to ask my poor wife to refrain from wearing perfumes and scented lotions.  I’ve been familiar with a condition called multiple chemical sensitivities for a number of years, but there seemed to be little science to support the legitimacy of this condition.

You start to wonder if you’re the only one who experiences this when you walk through the perfume section of a department store covering your mouth while other seem to have no problems covering themselves with these substances.

Lately I’ve been coming across more and more research that shows a correlation between exposure to some of these scents and serious health conditions.  A new report by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) looked at 17 fragranced products and found 38 chemicals that were not listed in the packaging of these products.  Some of these chemicals found in fragrances may be hazardous to your health, but  makers of popular colognes, perfumes, and body sprays often don’t disclose all the ingredients found in their products.

Of the 38 “secret” chemicals that were found, 10 have been linked to headaches, asthma and wheezing.  These are exactly the symptoms that I had been experiencing when exposed to these products.

How can the companies who make these products get away with not listing these potentially harmful chemicals?  According to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973, companies are not required to list the individual chemicals in fragrance, instead they can simply list “fragrance.”

Whether or not you find yourself feeling sensitive to these chemicals, it is likely that they are harming your health.  Even worse these chemicals may be harming you children and pets who are closer to the surfaces where they’re applied.  One way you can limit your exposure to these chemicals is to remove the fragrance containing cleaning supplies from your home. In a previous post I put a link to a “Health Home Checklist” to help you in removing these items from your home.  I am also a big fan of TraceyClean who sells locally made non-toxic cleaning supplies.

Spring cleaning is upon us and it is important to make sure you house is not only clean, but also healthy.  Many of the chemicals in our homes, including cleaning supplies have been shown to cause or contribute to health related conditions. In order to make sure your houses are as healthy as possible download this ewg-hht-checklist and grade your home.

A recent study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showed that exposure to air pollution while mom is pregnant can adversely affect the unborn child’s IQ. The pollution particles that appear to be to blame are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).  PAHs are found in high levels in urban areas because they are released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco.

“The decrease in full-scale IQ score among the more exposed children is similar to that seen with low-level lead exposure,” said lead author Frederica P. Perera, Dr.P.H., professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health.

PAH’s can be controlled with the used of eco-friendly sources of energy and policy that supports limited these emissions.   Unfortunately that doesn’t help the unborn children of today.

Once we step out of our home we have limited control over the exposure we have to airborne chemicals like PAHs, but we do have control in our home environment.  One of the best ways to create a healthy home environment is to add natures air purifiers, plants.  NASA did a 2 year study to determine the air purifying benefits of house plants. NASA research on indoor plants has found that living plants are so efficient at absorbing contaminants in the air that some will be launched into space as part of the biological life support system aboard future orbiting space stations.  For a list of  the most pollution fighting plants click here.

Click here for the original NIH study.