Thanks for your thoughts, cilly. This is an article describing the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative:
www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/12/509315426/california-nail-salons-start-to-invest-in-worker-safetyWhy do some people develop multiple chemical sensitivities, and others do not? Certainly there are individual differences between people. But it's my opinion that formaldehyde plays a critical role in this, that until now has largely gone unnoticed. I mentioned above that formaldehyde is known as a potent sensitizer, but there is another factor, known as "toxic load." Toxic load describes the overall exposure of toxins over a period of time, and their potential for retention, or reaction, in the body.
Data show autoimmune disorders affect approximately 8% of the general population. 78% of those patients are women. Women tend to use personal care products and cosmetics more regularly than men. Are these products contributing to their toxic load of formaldehyde, and predisposing them to autoimmune disease? Perhaps these products are not in themselves the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. But if an individual with regular, albeit minimal daily contact is exposed to additional environmental sources, such as furniture or construction materials, are those heavier concentrations then enough to trigger disease?
Studies have observed the difference in symptom prevalence between spouses, with the stay-at-home spouse being more likely to be affected by formaldehyde because of their increased exposure. And since, in many cases, those stay-at-home spouses are women, perhaps this is enough evidence to warrant awareness and extreme caution. Additionally (and ironically), as someone gets sicker and spends more time at home, they are exposed to more formaldehyde than they would have, had they been away from home working.
Another factor to consider with toxic load is the type of furnishings purchased in one's home...and even the type of home itself. Those who live in manufactured homes place themselves at more risk, because the amount of formaldehyde present in aspenite, particle board, and the glues used to adhere various components can send levels much higher than a framed house.
I live in a framed house, but the high amount of formaldehyde coming from a sofa, computer desk/hutch, and computer chair, as well as from kitchen cabinets made from particle board, were collectively enough to trigger disease.
I hope I can raise awareness about
this. I am convinced that the increased prevalence of childhood allergies, asthma, and perhaps even some cases of autism, are due to formaldehyde. A study released in 2013 found that food allergies in children increased nearly 50% between 1997 and 2011.
Another thing of note: until 2013, Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo contained formaldehyde, hidden on the label as "Quaternium-15"!
Bruce