Good Lifestyle

You probably never thought so much aboutDisinfect your houseYour car and your personal spaces as much as you have during the coronavirus pandemic. But as well as intentioned as your daily disinfection can be, your increased use of chemicals to fight Covid-19 is not without its own set of potential hazards."All chemical disinfectants are, by their very nature, potentially harmful or toxic to living organisms - including humans," explainsPsychiatrist and neurologistChris Norris®.

So what exactly do the disinfectants to your body and how can you protect yourself from COVID-19 without putting health on the line? We talked to Norris and other top medical experts to help you stay safe from coronavirus and disinfectants you use. And for more disinfectant advice, seeThe disinfection error # 1 that you do now.

"While the disinfectants are intended to protect ourselves from getting sick, they are a bit of a double-edged sword," saysdermatologist Brooke Jackson, MD. "Cleaning surfaces with disinfecting wipes can disrupt the skin barrier function when causes irritation, including skin rashes or tiny scissions in the skin, which invite pathogens to enter."

To help avoid this, Jackson recommendsuse gloves When wiping on surfaces with disinfectants. She also suggested that anyone slapped the skin applied a thick moisturizer to soothe his hands. "It covers the skin and helps repair and seal the cutaneous barrier compromised," she says. And for more ways to take care of your skin right now, check7 things you should do to deal with your dry hands.

Regardless of the surfaces you clean: Many products The most widely used disinfection contain chemicals that can be dangerous to breathe or touch, that you use them yourself or you are close to someone who is. "NumerousDisinfectants contain volatile organic compounds-No as a short VOC, "saysSeema sarin, MD, Director of Medicine of Life inEHE Health. "Many of these chemicals are in products that you may use to wipe the surfaces every day, such as chlorine bleach, aerosol spray disinfectants, detergents, crockery liquids and products. floor cleaning. "

The resulting health complications can include everything against chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions and professional asthma. Sarin recommends using disinfectant products only as indicated and using appropriate protective equipment such as gloves and masks, especially in poorly ventilated environments. And to find the mask that suits you, checkEach face mask you can buy, classified by efficiency.

Household disinfectants can be useful for keeping viruses and bacteria at the bay, butaccording toAmerican Pulmonary AssociationHard chemicals that many products use as ingredients can wreak havoc on air quality, trigger allergies and increase the risk of asthma or other respiratory problems.

"Prolonged and coherent exposure to chlorine-based bleach can beHarmful for your health, especially for young children, "saysRashmi Byakodi, BDS, a writer of health and well-being and the publisher ofBest for nutrition. "A particularly dangerous problem occurs when bleach is mixed with other household cleaners such as toilet cleaners and ammonia, resulting in the release of toxic chlorine gas - a potentially fatal aspirant - that can damage your respiratory tracts."

In addition to avoiding mixing cleaning products, you should also be careful using all spray disinfectants that can be easily inhaled, especially in poorly ventilated areas. "Instead of Spritzing, try opening the spray bottle and pour the disinfectant on a sponge or canvas," says Jackson.

The heavy fragrances of many cleaning products taste can create what seems to be a home with a clean feel, but these fresh perfumes can actually be the signs of something much more dangerous: phthalates and parabens. "Companies that manufacture these disinfectant products are not required to disclose what is in these" perfumes "or how they are made," explains Norris. "Many present toxic chemicals have been associated with cancer." It recommends searching for cleaning products before buying, specifically looking for everything that says "Paraben-Free" on the label. And for more ingredients, you must be aware, discoverYour hand disinfectant does not work if it does not have these four things.

Disinfecting routines can get rid of viruses and bacteria that you are trying to avoid, but the use of heavy disinfectants also kills microscopic bacteria that cover all surfaces around us. Unfortunately, bleach and ammonia can not tell the difference between the microorganisms that make us sick and those who are actually beneficial for our health. "Some bacteria are harmful and even fatal for humans, but others are needed to help digest food, protect us from other more harmful microbes, andChallenge our immune systems," to sayLeann Poston, MD, ofHealth Ikon.

Poston quotes a theory in the medical community known as "hygiene hypothesis, "which poses a possible correlation between an increase in allergies, asthma and self-immune disorders with the excessive use of antimicrobial products or disinfectants." Thought is that if the immune system is not busy fighting real pathogens, this could begin to attack its own cells - an autoimmune response - or attacking pathogens that are not harmful, otherwise called allergens ", she says. To stay safe, make sure to avoid sterilizing your home by establishing a realistic disinfection schedule. And for more cleaning tips, do you check. the7 Surfaces of the house most likely to be contaminated by coronavirus.