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Chapter 4 Toxic chemicals and the human body Your body
is a very complex, very fragile system of chemical reactions and electrical
impulses. When you consider a single cell breathes, uses energy, and releases
waste much like your whole body does, you can begin to understand how even
small amounts of harmful chemicals can affect the performance of the body’s
processes. Chemicals enter the human body in three ways: ingestion,
inhalation and absorption. Ingestion Ingestion
brings to mind the image of a young child opening the cabinet under the sink
and drinking something deadly. Well, each year nearly 1.5
million accidental ingestions of poisons are reported. The majority of
the victims are under the age of twelve and have swallowed a cleaning or
personal care product. It amazes me how many deadly chemicals are stored
under sinks or on bathroom counters and baths within easy reach of young
children. Inhalation It may
surprise you to learn that poisoning by inhalation is more common, and can be
much more harmful, than ingestion. When something harmful is swallowed, the
stomach actually begins breaking down and neutralizing the poison before it
is absorbed into the bloodstream. However, when you inhale toxic fumes, the
poisons go directly into the bloodstream and quickly travel to organs like
the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys. Many
products give off toxic vapours which can irritate your eyes, nose, throat
and lungs, and give you headaches, muscle aches, and sinus infections. This
process of releasing vapours into the air is called outgassing.
Outgassing occurs even when a chemical is tightly
sealed in its container. If you doubt this, simply walk down the cleaning
aisle at your local supermarket and notice how strongly it smells of toxic
vapours even though all the containers are sealed tight. Absorption Finally,
you need to realise the potential threat absorption poses. One square centimetre
of your skin, an area less than the size of a ten pence piece, contains 3
million cells, four yards of nerves, one yard of blood vessels, and one
hundred sweat glands. We’ve all heard the ads for nicotine patches and
analgesic creams. These medicines work by being absorbed into the bloodstream
through the skin. Even some heart medicines are administered through transdermal (through the skin) patches. Any
chemical that touches the skin can be absorbed and spread throughout the
body. This can even happen when you come in contact with a surface that was
treated with a chemical days, even weeks earlier. I had no idea that my
children could be harmed by crawling across the kitchen floor my wife had
just cleaned. I thought we were being conscientious, not reckless. Since we
no longer have products which contain harmful chemicals in our home, I no
longer worry when I see my baby daughter crawling across the floor or putting
her fingers in her mouth. I know she is not absorbing or ingesting toxic
residues. |