FINDING 7:
FINDING 5:
Damage is cumulative over time.
The study hypothesised that the primary ingredients causing the harm may be ammonia, chlorine bleach, and quaternary disinfectant compounds. The researchers stated, “one could hypothesise that long-term exposure to airway irritants such as ammonia and bleach used when cleaning at home could cause fibrotic or other interstitial changes in the lung tissue, thereby leading to accelerated decline of FVC [forced vital capacity].”
When dangerous chemicals are regularly inhaled into the sensitive tissues of the lungs, it makes sense that the long- term consequence would be serious respiratory problems. “Exposure to cleaning chemicals,” the researchers wrote, “could result in accelerated lung function decline and chronic airway obstruction; low-grade inflammation over many years could possibly lead to persistent damage to the airways, alternatively, persistent damage could result from continued exposure after onset of cleaning-related asthma.” They added that it is already well documented that, “airway irritants such as ammonia and bleach” cause “fibrotic” changes to the delicate lung tissue, essentially scarring the lungs. Simply stated, regular exposure to the toxins within the home never allows the respiratory system an opportunity to heal, creating a condition where internal damage accumulates. Dr. Cecilie Svanes, a professor at the University of Bergen and senior author of the study, said, “We feared that such chemicals, by steadily causing a little damage to the airways day after day, year after year, might accelerate the rate of lung function decline that occurs with age.”
FINDING 6:
Women who regularly use cleaning products have increased rates of asthma.
Researchers found increased rates of asthma within the groups who used cleaning products regularly. This echoes multiple recent studies that have clearly linked the use of dangerous chemical cleaning agents with the onset of asthma.
THE INTRICATE INTERLACING OF YOUR LUNGS
Like all systems in your body, the respiratory system is miraculous in its design and function. Each breath draws in essential oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere and pulls it deep into your lung tissue. Here, large passageways branch into increasingly smaller and more intricate structures. Eventually, air is funneled into microscopic channels ending in specialised alveolar sacs that are surrounded by a complex network of interlaced capillaries. The surface of these little spherical bellows is where gas exchange takes place. The average human has about 700 million of these sacs, but due to their size, they can be easily and irreversibly damaged if exposed to the wrong elements.
1. Øistein Svanes et al., “Cleaning at Home and at Work in Relation to Lung Function Decline and Airway Obstruction,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, February 16, 2018. 2. Edwin K. Silverman et al., “Gender-Related Differences in Severe, Early- Onset Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 162, no. 6, December 1, 2000. 3. Marilyn G. Foreman et al., “Early-Onset Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Is Associated with Female Sex, Maternal Factors, and African American Race in the COPD Gene Study,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 184, no. 4, August 15, 2011. 4. G. Jacobsen et al., “Longitudinal Lung Function Decline and Wood Dust Exposure in the Furniture Industry,” European Respiratory Journal, 31, no. 2, February 2008.
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SEPTEMBER 2018 | MELALEUCA.COM
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