Is your home safe?

[momritter]

Each year, over 1 million children are accidently poisoned in their homes. More than 250,000 of these victims are hospitalized. Thousands of children and adults are permanently disfigured or injured through contact with chemicals in the home each year. You probably have dozens of bottles of cleaners, containg hundreds of chemicals. 
Could an accident happen in your home? Check off the products you use in your home and evaluate your risks. Short-term health risks are listed first. Long-term risks are listed with the number 2.
All information comes from actual manufacturer's Material Safety Data Sheets and National Poison Control Center.

AIR FRESHNER (aerosol)
WARNING! Contains highly flammable propellants. Can cause moderate irritation to the eyes. Can cause mild to moderate lung irritation, including asthma-like symptoms.
2. Contains butane, propane, ammonia, phenol, and formaldehyde. Harms include cancer, central nervous system damage, liver damage and tumors.

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
WARNING!  Strong lung irritant. Can cause mild to moderate damage to the eyes. Fumes can cause weakness and dizziness.
2. Contains ammonia, 2-butoxy ethanol, and phenol. Linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, kidney and liver damage. Can cause chronic lung irritation.

AUTOMATIC DISHWASHING POWDER
WARNING!  Stong eye and skin irritant. Contains corrosive bleach that can burn mouth and throat. Most common reported poison among children.
2. Contains ethyl alcohol, bleach, and heavy fragrances. Vapors can cause central nervous system depression, nausea, lung irritation and in severe cases, death.

DRAIN CLEANER
WARNING!   Burns mouth, tongue, throat, and stomach, causing permanent damage. Can cause severe eye damage and blindness.
2. Contains bleach, lye. Vapors can cause central nervous system depression, can aggravate heart conditions, asthma and bronchitis.

DUSTING SPRAY (aerosol)
DANGER!  Flammable. irritates the eyes, lungs. Five thousand people visit emergency rooms each year with an aerosol can related injury.
2. Propellants are butane and propane. exposure can cause central nervous system disorders. Can irritate lungs, triggering asthma-like symptoms.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT (powdered)
WARNING! Can burn the skin and eyes, can cause corneal damage. Dust can cause headaches, dizziness, labored breathing, and in severe cases, death.
2. Contains sodium silicate, sodium carbonate, bleach. Exposure to dust can cause central nervous system depression, labored breathing an in severe cases, death.

TOILET BOWL CLEANER
DANGER!  Contains hydrochloric acid which is highly corrosive. Burns the skin, mouth, and throat. cause blindness.
2. Vapors have been shown to interfere with brain function and produce asthma-like symptoms. Can cause muscle spasms, damage to blood tissue, and reproductive disorders.

MOUTHWASH
CAUTION!   Eye, nose and throat irritant. Ingestion can lead to dizziness and stupor. Most products contain 20% ethyl alcohol. Each year a number of young children die from ingestion.
2. Contains formaldehyde (a suspected carcinogen), ethyl alcohol. Can cause central nervous system depression.

These are just a few household items that are dangerous.
The labels on products only have to warn of the acute(immediate) harms from ingesting, breathing the fumes, or contact with the eyes or skin. They don't reveal the harms presented by chronic(long-term) exposure to the chemicals in these products.
These cleaners are just as dangerous when they are used properly and even when they are not being used at all. Most products "outgas" chemical vapors that may produce profound chemical harm.
Cancer is on the rise. Infertility is on the rise. Asthma has tripled in the past 2 decades as well as cancer in children. ADD and learning disorders have skyrocketed. All of these conditions have been linked to chemicals in the home.
Consider how many different chemicals are in your home's air and the potential danger of that "toxic cocktail."
Are you really safe?

For more info, email me or see my site, www.switchingstores.com/christyritter