OK I'm gonna start this thread now cause I've been wanting to talk about it for a few days now. I've been thinking, with those teeth whitening 7 day overnight kits you put the white liquid into the trays then put them on your teeth at night for 7 days. The main ingredient is peroxide. As these go in your mouth and small parts are ingested into your stomach due to the mixing with saliva, although the dentist said its not poisonous and will be allright. I'm wondering what the long term effects or mid term effects will be. Isn't peroxide a bleach and harmful!!! Also, as we all know the US military has used chlorine gas in warfare before to kill enemies. Why do we use this in our pool?? Even in small amounts, if we go for a swim every day in our pool it will be absorbed through our skin!!! Also there are many other chemicals that are used to clean swimming pools aswell which would also be absorbed through our skin. Does anyone have any medical answers or discussions about these two health hazards??

I wouldn
t worry about it. Do you know how much chlorine is in the tap water you drink
wash your dishes and shower with?

Some communities have flouride mixed in with the water.

We have both chlorine and fluoride in our water but I don't think it is anything to worry about. However I really don't like drinking our tap water because it tastes bad.

Well, chlorine is used in swimming pools to control the growth of algae, kill bacteria and destroy
organic contaminants If it weren't used the water would grow stagnant very quickly.

hydrogen peroxide is what is used im assuming, and it breaks down into water and oxygen when exposed to heat, light, or open air. so im fairly sure its a pretty safe compound. remember - ANYTHING is toxic in sufficient quantity.

It's quite alright. .

There is a very big, very big difference between chlorine gas and regular chlorine, in order to be poisonous it chlorine has to be mixed with something, can't think of its name right now.

Bigger pools can mix chlorine with the water in its gaseous state. Home pool owners don't have that option, so they have to add cholrine that's been bonded with another chemical to stabilize it. The added chemical wil build up, whereas chlorine is broken down. That's why the water needs to be diluted periodically.

Peroxide is carcinogenic. My general rule of taking care of the body is if it isn't broken don't mess with it. If you must resort to medical intervention do the minimum required thing, because doctors are just as likely to make it worse as improve things. They are only all too human.

In truth nobody gives a rat's heinie what color your teeth are.

[Edited on 4-3-2004 by Condorcet]

Carsharp:

Some communities have flouride mixed in with the water.

yes, our state has the worst case of this in Australia. Our water is very chlorinated and has lots of fluoride in it.

LoL! I just watched Futurama Season 5 Episode1 'Crimes Of The Hot'. They are all hot so they add a sachet of inflatable pool water to a wading pool. Nibbler their pet drinks all the water, then burps spraying chlorine gas all over them and causing benders metal to deteriorate, hahahaha!