With good intentions we poison our children

You only have to turn on the TV to see how important cleaning products are to our society... There are hundreds of commercials advertising different specialised cleaning products for the home... Carpet cleaners, kitchen cleaners, bathroom sprays, bleach, furniture polish, floor detergent, oven degreasers, limescale removers, anti bacteria handwash etc...

The scale of the industry is immense... In Britain alone it is estimated that the industry is worth £3 Billion a year...

We are bombarded with adverts depicting evil little critters under our toilet seats and bugs in our sinks... we are told how they will make us sick unless we eradicate them using the latest brand of powerful cleaning agent... Often a happy mum will be seen wiping the grime off of a table, followed by a baby spilling food onto the table and then picking it back up and eating it... The mum watches with a smile and that knowing look of “ive protected my baby”

Well, you know the type of adverts


However, what would that mothers face look like if she realised that, although removing the risk of an upset stomach or a day of sickness, she has placed her child at risk of Cancer, Kidney failure, liver problems, infertility, respiratory disorders and a whole host of other serious illness??

Would the mother in the advert look so confident then??

Sounds extreme... but this is the reality...

Advertisers increasingly use subtle shock tactics to sell their products. At the end of one commercial i have heard the narrator say...

“Protects against 99.9% of bacteria and viruses including H1N1, E.Coli and MRSA”


This may be true, but it is also misleading and fear mongering...
E.Coli food poisoning can be prevented by following basic food hygiene guidelines and keeping surfaces clean using normal hot soapy water. H1N1 is mentioned simply because it is the disease of the moment and so plays on people’s fears. And MRSA is increasing due to the over use of Anti Bacterial products which allows the Bacteria to develop a resistance through co-selection.

This industry is playing on our fears of the unclean and selling us products that poison our homes, our children, and or environment.

Is it any wonder that cancer levels in the developed world are so high?

And even if we could completely sterilise our homes with these products, even if we could eliminate every single microbe, the results would be a disaster... Our body’s need exposure to bacteria... It is how our children strengthen their immune systems... There has been research that has shown that children who play outdoors, keep pets and get dirty have far less occurrences of illness than children who a kept in more sterile homes.

And these companies make billions selling us that which is not needed. They play on our fears and our pride telling us that we are falling to protect our young unless we buy their products. What they fail to tell us is that the agent we have used, to prevent an upset stomach, could kill our child in 30 years time.

“but they have tested all of these chemicals” i hear you say “These chemicals are only dangerous when ingested or through long term exposure”

Yes... but consider this... When testing these products they test the individual chemicals and the final product, which is a mix of these chemicals... Quite often it is know that “Naphthalene”, for example, can cause cancer if exposed to so many parts per million... so the manufacturer limits the amount placed in the product to keep it under the danger line. However, what they don’t take into account is the other 15 products in your kitchen that also contain Naphthalene... Nor do they test the effects of different products against each other. And more often than not they don’t take into account the accumulative effect of all of these different products being used around the home.

The amount of chemicals the modern human is exposed to is staggering!

There is an alternative to these products... for sterilization and cleaning...

Boiling water
Hot soapy water
Vinegar
Lemon
Baking soda
Olive Oil (alternative to furniture polish)

All natural products that are great for cleaning and less harmful to you and the environment.


www.channel4.com...

www.uk-energy-saving.com...

Here is few of the chemicals found in cleaning products...



2-Butoxyethanol

Often a primary ingredient in liquid soaps, cosmetics, window cleaner, dry cleaning solutions etc

In lab experiments 2-Butoxyethanol was found to cause adrenal tumors in animals.

In humans mild exposure can lead to irritation of mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and throat.
Heavy exposure (something not likely in the home) is known to cause hypotension, metabolic acidosis, hemolysis, pulmonary edema and coma.

methylene chloride

Common in many household product including use a an aerosol spray propellant and a degreaser in cleaning agents.

It is claimed to be carcinogenic and can cause respiratory disorders as well as skin and eye irritation.

There are also claims that it can cause fetal toxicity in pregnant woman.

Naphthalene

Primary ingredient for mothballs and other fumigants.

Causes damage to red blood cells and many children who have ingested mothballs have gone on to develop haemolytic anemia.
Large amounts of Naphthalene can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and Jaundice.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer also classifies it as a possibly carcinogenic.

Toluene

Used in disinfectants and can affect liver function and fertility.

Trisodium nitrilotriacetate

Used in laundry detergents and listed as a possible human carcinogen.

Sodium hypochlorite (Bleach)

Bleach is probably one of the most common household cleaning products due to its versatility and disinfectant properties.
However, mixed with other cleaning products, bleach can be deadly. When mixed with an acid based agent it can release deadly chlorine gas. Mixed with an Ammonia it can create dangerous Chloramines.

Bleach is one of the most common agents people use in their toilets... however, what most people do not realise is that Urine contains ammonia... you can work the rest out for yourself!

Bleach has also been suggested by some as a cancer risk.

Bleach is also acutely toxic to fish and can have a detrimental effect on the environment.

benzyl salicylate

Used in fragranced disinfectants and other cleaning products.

Can cause damage to the immune system and is linked to organ toxicity. Also flagged as having serious environmental impact.


This is just a taster, there are many other chemicals used in these products... to many to list... but you get the idea...


Other Links and references...

www.healthycleaning.com...

www.leas.ca...

www.cosmeticsdatabase.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

andmykitchensink.com...

www.medscape.com...

www.greenerchoices.org...






[edit on 15-7-2010 by Muckster]

Usually I like to take the opposite stance of the OP for fun and profit (I wish). However, even I can't say that it's a good idea to overuse these anti-bacterial products.

They have their place, but using them as much as they're used seems like we're going to get a repeat of what happened in the "meat" industry when they pumped livestock full of antibiotics.

" to cause adrenal tumors in animals."
We aren't animals, we are humans

"It is claimed"
People claim a lot of Bull# every day, like ATS proves every day.

" and many children who have ingested mothballs "

Who is so stupid to eat mothballs? I mean...really

" it can"

It can says all, right? It can, but it doesn't have to

" and can affect"

can affect, doesn't have to

"Can cause damage"

Can cause, doesn't have to

I think it's a bit paranoid to think that everything is bad, that everything destroys life, that we have to life like caveman to life longer (or maybe not, most people up until the dark ages lifed only for 30-40 years and died, they didn't have all those "bad" chemicals)
It's a bit to much fear mongering for my taste. I know, everything's a conspiracy, everything's bad, but the fact ist most people live a healthy life, even though they may use all the stuff you listed, that may or may not be unhealthy or bad.
So i suggest, as long as you have realistisc proves for all the claims, stop posting bull# like that

Cause i could also say "My cat died last night and it may or might not have to do anything with the food it eat before and as the food was based on meat it may or might not be harmful for humans to eat meat, because my cat died"

I mean really, i haven't read so many times the word "can" in one topic before...

[edit on 15/7/2010 by ShadowAngel85]

Thanks for the info, but I worry about what's in our food than in our cleaning supplies. On the other hand, if cancer is primarily a genetic susceptibility, then it stands to reason that one day all the "bad" genes will be gone. Those who can smoke like a freight train, drink like a fish, bathe in benzene and still survive...will pass on their genes. Those who can't survive, won't. Sounds cold I know. I have had close family members die from cancer, and for all I know I may succumb to it as well. But, just maybe their is a silver lining. If our goal as a species is to become essentially invulnerable, then I feel that cancer will sort the wheat from the chaff, in a sense.

reply to post by ShadowAngel85

Who is so stupid to eat mothballs? I mean...really

Er... Children?? Like i said in the post!!

The problem is that there is not enough definitive proof for many chemicals due to companies not being allowed to directly test on humans... so yes... they test on Animals (sadly) and then extrapolate from there.

To call this BS without investigating for yourself is ignorant!

I mean really, i haven't read so many times the word "can" in one topic before...

Raw chicken CAN cause food poisoning, not always, but there is a high risk... you get my point?




[edit on 15-7-2010 by Muckster]

This remeinds me of a funny story I posted a while ago in BTS:

"Normal" parents feed their children poison.

I was out with the kids the other day when we stopped in Target to do some shopping. As we entered the store, my youngest daughter asked for a drink so we stopped in the food area at the entrance. As usual, a stop for a drink turned into a full meal with hot dogs, soda and ice cream for the kids.

There was a woman with her small toddlers sitting at the table behind us, also getting some food. A few minutes into the meal, the woman got up to get something for her kids and while she was away, my 10 year old daughter said to me very angrily, “Daddy, that lady is WEIRD!”.

I hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the woman so I asked my daughter what was so weird about her. Her response was priceless;

She said “She doesn’t let her kids eat anything that she knows is bad for them!”.

I had a hard time to keep from laughing at that one. She went on to explain that she was angry that the woman wouldn’t allow her kids to drink Gatorade and she thought that was weird.


I think it’s funny that my daughter implied that “normal” parents feed their kids foods that they KNOW is bad for them. I guess she’s not too far from the truth. We often let them eat at McDonalds and other fast food places. Junk food is a regular part of most kids lives and, like most indulgent parents, I find I am unable to deny my children the simple joys of candy, ice cream and soda.

So next time you take your kids out for some fast food, remember that feeding your kids food that you know is bad for them is perfectly normal. You don’t want some nearby kid to call YOU a weirdo just because you want to feed your kids healthy stuff.

www.belowtopsecret.com...



[edit on 7/15/10 by FortAnthem]

I use vinegar and baking soda for much of my cleaning, and it also makes the best drain cleaner. I only buy the really strong ones for special cleaning jobs that nothing else will work on.

I also use bleach sometimes, but not very much, I was putting it in my toilet! Thank you for the reminder about urine containing ammonia. I used those two ingredients not together, but one the next day after the other on my bathtub and it stripped off the finish. :shk: That was a lot of expense to fix.

I will now only put vinegar and baking soda in my toilet from now on, bleach will eventually strip the finish, making it uncleanable.

Some of the cleansers recommended for bathrooms will also eat thru the silicone around the sink and tub. Found that out the hard way too. Wonder what the fumes on those do to us?

I have also noticed a sad trend with the baking soda makers, trying to sell a product for the fridge, a different one for the carpet, another for the kitty litter, and they charge more for these. They are just the same baking soda People buy them though.

I prefer the natural anyday, there are enough chemicals in our food, we don't need them in every aspect of our lives. So many different fumes in the air we breathe. The mixture of some are very lethal, and many cleaners don't even say all of what's in them.

Plus the cost of refinishing tubs, getting new toilets, redoing silicone seals, on top of the ridiculous cost of some of these cleansers......

[edit on 15-7-2010 by snowspirit]

reply to post by Muckster


S&F


Very good OP.

Natural remedies, essences always work- and turning OFF the biggest poison of all = TV.

reply to post by plutoxgirl


Thank you

And yes... TV = Poison of the mind!