There are many hazardous substances hidden in your attics. Most of them are found in cosmetics, cleansing compounds which when inhaled or consumed, may cause injury or prove fatal. Many chemicals act slowly. They affect your immune, and you'll realize after prolong exposure to these chemicals, you immune weakened. Today I am writing about 5 hazardous compound that occur in our day to day lives and which are often overlooked.
Images by:
www.freeimageslive.co.uk and wikimedia commons.
Mothballs
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| Mothballs | Wikimedia Commons |
These small pallets keeps moth and other flies chewing into their clothes. But they do have hazardous property. Para-di-chloro-benzene found in mothballs are found to be cancer causing. Skin Lesions, loss of appetite are some causes. Apart from that, prolong exposure to Mothballs can cause nausea, diarrhea and even destroy your red blood cells.
Deodorants and Air Fresheners
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| Deodrant | freeimages.co.uk |
Deodorant does make you smell good. Also does the air freshner but it depletes the quality of indoor air. Formaldehyde(terpenes in Air-fresheners combined with ozone forms these), petroleum distillates, aerosol propellants, and para-dichlorobenzene are chemicals found in air fresheners. All these compounds are known to cause breathing problems. Formaldehyde, petroleum distillates in addition also aggravates asthma. Air-fresheners may contain VOC or volatile organic compounds such as Nitrogen Dioxide. Nitrogen Dioxide is known to cause cancer. Similarly it also contains paradichlorobenzene.
Domestic cleaning products
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| Domestic cleaning products | freeimages.co.uk |
Domestic cleaning product are known to compose of many harmful chemicals. Detergents are found to kill fish eggs even in low concentration. It contains nonylphenol ethoxylate
known to affect estrogen hormone, thus considered extremely harmful to humans. In addition, it contains phenol and bleach. Phenols can cause damage to lungs, heart, liver and kidney. Phenols are easily absorbed by skin and are linked to serious health conditions. Bleach causes irritation to eyes,nose and throat and known to cause severe skin reaction.
Dust
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| Dust on Laptop heatsink fan | Wikimedia Commons |
Dust is almost everywhere. I may be scarce to be seen or accumulated under your sofa or inside your laptop. Often overlooked, dust causes sneezing, accumulation of mucus which results in coughing. Dust may contain many organic or inorganic compounds. Inhalation of inorganic dust containing coal or silica may cause Pneumoconiosis characterized by inflammation of lungs leading to fibrosis which stiffens lungs. Humidifier fever is most common effect of dust.
Toothpaste
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| Toothpast | freeimages.co.uk |
Everyday we start our day with brushing our teeth. But least bother to know about the harmful substances in toothpaste. Sodium Flouride is key ingredient in toothpaste. Surprisingly it is also main ingrediant in rat poison too. In kids ingestion of this compound causes vomitting, stomach pain. Moreover, a recent Chinese study says, low dose sodium fluoride in drinking water diminishes IQ, especially among children. It is recommended to use only pea size amount of paste for kids and avoid swallowing.
