Phthalates linked to childhood asthma in study

by Keith McDuffee (Subscribe to Keith McDuffee's posts) Feb 12th 2006 9:02AM

Categories: Health & Safety, Development

Scientists, pediatricians, teachers, parents and everyone are wondering about the huge rise in childhood asthma. A study done in Sweden may shed some light on this. Phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, tend to migrate out of the products (like cosmetics, cling wrap and soft plastic children's toys) and reside in the dust in your house. When the dust in the study households was analyzed, the higher the concentration of phthalates in the dust, the more likely there would be an asthma sufferer in the household. The amount of phthalates was also related to the severity of the asthma.

Um . . .yuck? And scary, too, that these chemicals are so crafty as to jump out of their original products (some being children's toys, which is a whole other level of yuckdom) and hide in the corners of your house, waiting to wreak havoc on your child's respiratory system.

The good news? Seventh Generation's newsletter has lots of tips on how to avoid phthalates in your home, and not all of them include changing to a natural lifestyle. There are simple cleaning tips that can help, too.

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Comments (3)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jenn 2-12-2006 @ 1:08PM

That is interesting...I wonder if there is a link as well to adults who develope asthma late.
I was thirty-three years old when I developed asthma (not severe, thank goodness). This was right around the time when our lives became so hectic that I stopped dusting the house as neurotically as I used to.

pbhj 2-12-2006 @ 9:14PM

These chemicals are simply plasticisers. They are added to plastic products to allow the long chain molecules to move past one another - ie, make the products less brittle.

Now, the cynic in me has always thought that these products could probably be designed without plasticisers. But as the plasticiser leaks out over time the product eventually gets brittle and is highly prone to breaking.

So that cutlery rack - or whatever - will break and provide the manufacturers with a second chance to grab your cash!

Missy 2-13-2006 @ 3:10AM

I wonder what life was like before this modern age of chemicals. Sure, people didn't live as long but dang, wouldn't it have been nice to eat a non-mad cow steak, drink clean water from that stream running by your land, breathing in fresh air with no particulates or ozone and walking to your neighbors to have a nice chat about...well, what did people talk about before cable TV and Blogging Baby?

Hmmm...on second thought...darn, I'm so conflicted!!

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