Irritants in Your Household

Do you sometimes feel allergic to your own home? Do you feel as if no matter how clean your home is, your eyes still get watery and your skin continues to itch, or your breathing does not improve?

Oxygen Always, the top vendor of oxygen concentrators, is here to assure you that you are not alone! Many customers have faced this same dilemma and it is not your home’s cleanliness that is effecting you, but rather the presence of certain items inside of your home.

You may not have noticed it yet; however, you are housing items that are common household irritants. Many of these irritants are the root cause of itchy skin, eyes, and respiratory issues that may be detrimental to those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

There are three main products in your home that may cause irritation: cleaners, laundry products, and air fresheners.

Household cleaners contribute the most toxins into your home. Furniture polish, carpet shampoo, mold cleaners, and toilet cleaners contain a range of chemicals that are carcinogens and irritate your respiratory track. Some often contain petroleum distillates, which can cause skin and lung cancer. Before purchasing home cleaning products, be sure to read the label to make sure that they do not contain harmful ingredients.

Products such as laundry detergent and fabric softener, can also worsen your breathing. When in contact with toxins commonly found in these products, you are likely to absorb them through your skin and risk damage to your mucous membranes, making breathing more difficult.

Air fresheners may smell great, but they only smell good because the freshener is coating your nostrils with a film that contains toxins like formaldehyde and phenol.

If you suffer from COPD or another respiratory disease that causes you to rely on an oxygen concentrator, Oxygen Always recommends that you are careful about which household cleaners you use. Most household products can be easily made using natural ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda, which are less likely to cause harm to the lungs and body.