Cleaning with bleach at home linked to some childhood illnesses

Health conscious parents who keep their homes clean and disinfected may have a new worry: a new study suggests that the home use of bleach might be linked to an increased risk of infections in children.

After surveying the parents of more than 9,000 children from three countries researchers saw a modest 20 percent increase in influenza, a 35 percent increase in tonsillitis and an 18 percent increase in any kind of infection, among kids between the ages of 6 and 12, according to the report published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Even after accounting for factors such as passive smoke exposure in the home, parental education, the presence of household mold and the use of bleach to clean schools, the researchers determined home use of bleach was linked to the illnesses..

This is why you will never see Honest Maids using harsh compound chemicals – we care about our little ones – pets and children.
The researchers, led by Lidia Casas of the Centre for Environment and Health in Belgium, suspect that irritating compounds released into the air by bleach are breathed into the lungs by children, leading to inflammation and a higher susceptibility to infections. Also, independent experts say the findings fall in line with other reports linking cleaning products to adverse health effects in children with asthma.