WELLNESS ENVIRONMENT
How Your Environment Affects Your Wellness
More than 200 disesases have been linked to pollution
in a recent study. We are actively poisoning ourselves
with chemicals and other pollutants released freely
into the environment.
Although the National Institutes of Health [USA] study
has recommended that American doctors and nurses be
given more environmental health training, there is a
lot of politics involved and sufferers from pollution
have a hard time getting their illnesses recognised.
Apart from industrial toxins released into the environment,
of particular note are:
- Second hand tobacco smoke
- Household toxins
- Dust Mites
- Toxic Producing Moulds
- Household Product Toxins
Second Hand Tobacco Smoke
The dangerous particles given off in second hand smoke
can linger in the air for hours. Breathing these toxic
fumes for as little as 20 or 30 minutes can harm your
health in a number ways. Health experts have acknowledged
the causal relationship between second-hand smoke and
health risks for many years.
Some of the health risks include:
Cancer - environmental tobacco smoke
is one of the most dangerous cancer-causing agents responsible
for roughly 3,000 deaths of adult non-smokers each year
in the United States. It is also linked to cancer of
the nasal sinuses, cancers of the cervix, breast and
bladder.
Heart disease – Second hand
smoke harms the cardiovascular system of non-smokers
causing coronary heart disease, damage to blood vessels,
and interferes with circulation increasing the risk
of blood clots. It's estimated that 35,000 non-smokers
die of smoking-related heart disease in the United States
every year.
Lung disease - Chronic lung ailments,
such as bronchitis and asthma, have been associated
with second-hand smoke. Exposure is also associated
with chest tightness at night and feelings of breathlessness
after physical activity.
Limiting exposure to second hand smoke is not always
easy, with social pressures the biggest culprit. Fortunately,
many countries are now implementing laws enforced with
strict penalties against smoking in workplaces, bars
and restaurants and other public places.
Household Toxins
Houses are a toxin collection pool, with construction
and finishing materials containing toxic preservatives
and paint chemicals, and then the layers of toxins we
add to the mix with dust mites, household moulds and
everyday household products.
Dust Mites
Dust Mites are not insects but are more closely related
to spiders and ticks and can be found in house dust
all over the world.. There are two common dust mites,
the American house dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae)
and the European house dust mite (D. pteronyssinus).
Due to their very small size, these dust mites are not
visible to the naked eye. They live in bedding, couches,
carpet, stuffed toys and old clothing, where they feed
on the dead skin that falls off the bodies of humans
and animals and on other organic material found where
they live.
When dust mites grow, they shed their skin. This shed
skin and faeces can cause allergic reactions in some
people, ranging from itchy noses and eyes to severe
asthma attacks.
Dust mites need at least 70 percent relative humidity
to survive, so maintaining household humidity below
this level is a good control measure. Unfortunately,
reducing humidity levels in microclimates, such as in
bed fibres or carpet fibres, is impossible. Regular
cleaning and vacuuming will have a greater impact in
these areas.
Toxin Producing Moulds
Many, but not all household moulds produce damaging
mycotoxins, which induce serious health risks including:
- Vascular system (increased vascular fragility,
hemorrhage into body tissues, or from lung, e. g.
, aflatoxin, satratoxin, roridins)
- Digestive system (diarrhea, vomiting, intestinal
hemorrhage, liver effects, i. e. , necrosis, fibrosis:
aflatoxin; caustic effects on mucous membranes: T-2
toxin; anorexia: vomitoxin
- Respiratory system: respiratory distress, bleeding
from lungs e. g. , trichothecenes
- Nervous system, tremors, incoordination, depression,
headache, e. g. , tremorgens, trichothecenes
- Cutaneous system : rash, burning sensation sloughing
of skin, photosensitization, e. g. trichothecenes
- Urinary system, nephrotoxicity, e. g. ochratoxin,
citrinin
- Reproductive system; infertility, changes in reproductive
cycles, e. g. T-2 toxin, zearalenone
- Immune system: changes or suppression: many mycotoxins
Source: http://www.mold-help.org. This site provides
excellent advice on identifying and removal of toxic
moulds from homes and workplaces.
Guide
to Household Moulds
Stacchybotrys Mould
Stacchybotrys mould, the peril of the “leaky
house syndrome” prevalent in Canada and New Zealand
can have long term irreversible respiratory damage.
Household Product Toxins
"Toxins in U.S. homes now account for 90 percent
of all reported poisonings each year," says Rose
Ann Soloway, administrator of the American Association
of Poison Control Centers. Many traditional household
products pose serious health risks.
Certain dangerous chemicals are frequently found in:
- adhesives
- paints
- carpeting
- upholstery
- manufactured wood products
- personal care products
- cosmetics
- pesticides
- cleaning products
Further Resources
For further information on Household Toxins: The
Household Toxins Institute
To find alternative
household products
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