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Cleaners May Trigger Asthma

Common household products blamed for 1 in 7 cases

By Asta Hostetter,  Newser User

Posted Oct 14, 2007 11:58 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Cleaning products with bleach and air fresheners may cause asthma, or aggravate symptoms, even if those products are used only once a week, according to new research. As many as 1 in 7 asthma cases may be caused by exposure to household cleaners, says a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Scientists speculate that chemicals in spray air fresheners, furniture cleaners, and glass cleaners act as irritants, but stress more research needs to be done to determine how these products trigger symptoms. Occupational use of cleaning products had previously been linked to asthma, but this study is one of the first to link common household cleaners to the illness.

Don't let the blue fool you - Windex(R) glass cleaner is actually green. Manufacturer SC Johnson reformulated the product with its patented Greenlist(TM) process, cutting 1.8 million pounds of VOC and giving it 30 percent more cleaning power. www.scjohnson.com(PRNewsFoto/SC Johnson)
Don't let the blue fool you - Windex(R) glass cleaner is actually "green." Manufacturer SC Johnson reformulated the product with its patented Greenlist(TM) process, cutting 1.8 million pounds of VOC and...   (Associated Press)
Clorox recently introduced a bathroom cleaner and a toilet bowl cleaner.
Clorox recently introduced a bathroom cleaner and a toilet bowl cleaner.   (KRT Photos)
  (Index Open)
Economists theorize that scarce public childcare, lower wages for women and lack of ambition all contribute to keeping women out of the workplace in the Netherlands.
Economists theorize that scarce public childcare, lower wages for women and lack of ambition all contribute to keeping women out of the workplace in the Netherlands.   (Index Open)
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Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
aafa.org

Green cleaning products, healthy alternative?
Consumer Reports

Abstract of the study
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

 
housework • asthma • air freshener • cleaning • bleach • irritant

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