Someone very close to our family has been in the hospital for the past couple of days with a severe reaction to a chemical peel done by her dermatologist. First came the swelling, the anapyhlaxis, next heart problems, and then seizure-like spasms occuring every hour or so. This is rare and the doctors are getting to the bottom of it as we speak. They are expecting a full recovery, but nonetheless, this is very, very scary.
This is a perfect example of how quickly and efficiently our skin, our body's largest organ, can absorb chemicals, and how quickly our bloodstream can move chemicals to other parts of our body. About 6 months ago, I read somewhere that it is quite common for a person to slather on, soap up with, and bathe in over 200 chemicals per day. I was urged to look in my medicine cabinet, in my shower, on my counter. I scanned bottles for anything I couldn't pronounce. Words like sodium laureth sulfate became bad words. I threw out bottle after bottle...items which said "natural" on the front label, but had a list of about 50 unrecognizable ingredients on the back.
Imagine how many times per day, per week, per year you use lotion, soap, shampoo. If there are chemicals in those products, imagine how much of them your body absorbs over a long period of time. Also imagine using those products on a child, whose body is smaller and weaker than yours.
Take a closer look in your bathroom. It potentially may house more harmful chemicals than your cleaning supplies cupboard.
I am trying to go chemical free with our cleaning products at the moment - the natural stuff seems to be better than any chemicals I have bought in the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree - the natural products are much better than they used to be. I can't imagine going back to the old-chemical stuff. I love Seventh Generation.
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