Reduce Toxic Exposure In the Home to Reduce ADHD Behavior

According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is up to 70 times greater than outdoor pollution. Toxic exposure and heavy metals are linked to learning disabilities and adhd. Women who work from home, infants and the elderly, who spend the majority of their time in sealed toxic chambers (their homes) are at 54% more risk of cancer than those who spend their time out of the home, unless they take steps to reduce their toxic exposure.

Several years ago, I converted my home to natural cleaners and personal care products in order to reduce my family’s risk of cancer and to improve our general health. Before converting to natural alternatives, my son used to catch every virus. I had to keep him home from daycare frequently. He had frequent ear infections. I didn’t work from home, so I couldn’t afford to keep losing time from work. After converting my home, my son was a lot more robust. He stayed healthy most of the time, even through the harsh Minnesota winters.

My husband thought I was nuts and refused to help pay for the products. I bought the natural products with my own money, no matter what it cost. After a year of keeping neurotoxins out of our home, my husband’s manager asked him to clean some apartments with harsh chemicals that the company supplied. He came home with slurred speech, a throbbing headache and felt dizzy. His behavior was the same as if he was drunk: belligerent and angry. He concluded that the chemicals must have affected him. This toxic exposure actually drove him straight to the bar, when he had been trying to give up alcohol for several months.

Indoor air pollution is 70 times greater than outdoor air pollution. We have all heard about greenhouse gas emissions. The federal government spends billions of dollars to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas from cars. But, what about toxic outgassing from household cleaners? What about absorption of neurotoxins from baby shampoo and laundry soap? The federal government does not regulate the industry of personal care products. There are millions of toxic chemicals in personal care products that have never been tested for acute toxicity. We are poisoning ourselves in our own homes and we wonder why we have a health care crisis.

Toxic exposure and heavy metals are linked to learning disabilities and adhd. Chemicals are absorbed through ingestion, inhalation and absorption. Toxic chemicals are attracted to and stored in fat. The brain is composed of 60% fat. Children are exposed to toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, in their toothpaste, baby shampoo, mouthwash, laundry soap. Leading brands such as Johnson & Johnson (No More Tears?), Sesame Street and Huggies contain chemicals that convert to formaldehyde when exposed to water. Q-15 is one of these ingredients. Propylene Glycol is the main ingredient in antifreeze. It is also used in many soaps and shampoos. Read the label. Pesticides are rampant in our food supply, and are known neurotoxins. Food dyes are derived from petroleum or coal tar. Food dyes retard brain function, and are known to cause hyperactivity in many children. Yet they are included in many foods marketed to children, toothpastes, and children’s medicines, even antibiotics.

Would you let your child eat blacktop from the grocery store’s parking lot? If you allow your child to eat foods with food dyes, you might as well let him lick the parking lot. Would you bathe your child in formaldehyde? Bathe him with Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo, and that’s exactly what you are doing.

Women who work from home, infants and elderly are at a 54% greater risk for cancer than the rest of the population. Why? In the workplace, you are provided with rubber gloves for cleaning and a Material Safety Data Sheet, to warn you of the dangers of the chemicals you are using. Women who work from home are usually unaware of the dangers of toxic exposure from their cleaning chemicals. Infants are lying on sheets cleaned with Tide, changed on a changing table cleaned with Lysol, and sucking on toys cleaned with Clorox. It’s no wonder they get sick all the time. The elderly are often homebound, breathing the toxic air all day. The windows are shut to keep the home cool or warm. Homes are so energy efficient that all the toxic chemicals have nowhere to go but into the lungs.

Take steps now to reduce indoor air pollution and protect your child and yourself from futher toxic exposure. Toss out all your toxic household cleaners, cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, and air fresheners. Replace them with natural alternatives. You’ll have to call the EPA to find out how to get rid of toxic waste, because the garbage man isn’t allowed to take it. Open the windows. Eat food from local organic farms as much as possible. Rid your family’s diet of food dyes and other chemical additives.

If you do all this, you will be on the road to a healthy, happy ADHD home. You might discover that ADHD behaviors disappear when you rid your home of neurotoxins and reduce toxic exposure.

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Contact Penny Arcos

612-259-0068

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