Your home should be a safe haven, but are you actually sharing your dwelling with invisible toxins? Due to unacceptably lax regulations, your home may be full of carcinogens and over time exposure can put you at a much higher risk of cancer. That’s why it’s important to know where these chemicals hide, so that we can protect ourselves and our families from

Offgassing Objects

When you install new carpet in your home or buy cheap furniture made of particleboard and the like, you may notice an odd smell. Often, that smell comes from the formaldehyde used to manufacture these products and is released through a process called offgassing. At first you may just notice some upper respiratory problems or eye irritation, but down the line these products can put you at a high risk of cancer as formaldehyde is a known carcinogen. By then, the responsible products may be long gone, but their effects aren’t.

Radon’s Risks

Like formaldehyde, you can’t see radon, as radon is a clear and odorless gas – and that’s what makes it so dangerous. There’s no way you can know if your home has a radon problem with your naked eye or other senses – you need a radon detector in the same way you need a smoke alarm or a carbon monoxide detector.

What you may notice if you have a radon problem, however, is a high incidence of respiratory problems, including a persistent cough, bloody mucus, wheezing, and frequent infections. While you should take steps to manage radon levels immediately, don’t panic when you see these symptoms. Though very similar to symptoms of lung cancer – and radon can cause lung cancer – these symptoms should go away once the problem is addressed through radon mitigation.

What Makeup Is Made Of

It comes as a surprise to most women that the beauty products sold in your local pharmacy often contain dangerous substances. Shouldn’t products specifically designed for application to the body be safe? In the EU, many of these product additives are banned, but in the USA they’re considered acceptable.

One dangerous product everyone should be aware of is talc. Talc – found in things like talcum powder or baby powder, as well as many deodorants, lotions, and cosmetics – is known to cause cancer, yet is still popularly used, even on infants. Other known carcinogens like coal tar are used to treat dandruff, while the parabens in many soaps are not only carcinogenic but can damage the endocrine system and cause reproductive problems.

It’s important to be on the lookout for dangerous products in your home and to do your research on things like home improvement projects that may expose you and your family to dangerous chemicals. Any time you bring a processed or chemically-laden product into your home, you may be increasing your future risk of cancer.