Many homes across the United States regularly rely on using Bleach as their primary method for cleaning household items and environment. While Bleach is regularly advertised and frequently relied on for a multitude of household cleaning purposes, Spain can respectfully be compared to the United States common trend and usage of Bleach for multiple cleaning purposes—with Spain coming in at approximately 70% of more average global, common households relying on this products cleaning elements to-date.
In a recent study conducted on 2-April-15, in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, throughout Spain, Finland, and the Netherlands, over 9,000 children between the ages of 6 and 12 were observed per their frequency of illnesses, types, and exposure to Bleach as a cleaning agent in the home. This study reflected that the Flu, Sinusitis, Bronchitis, Otitis, Tonsillitis, and Pneumonia were potentially caused by such exposure under varying circumstances. The rating of frequency of each of these illnesses is between 25%-30%. However, the statistical results continue to drop regarding consistency in illness, lack of other elements or condition included, gender seemingly excluded, and demographic of total test-groups.
Is utilizing Bleach (concentrate) truly the most effective cleaning-agent for removing “microbes” within common day households? If so, are we not only killing the bad germs, but potentially the good-germs too? It is believed to be scientifically possible that Bleach is compromising the Immune System. However, with frequency statistics from test-groups showing a 25-30% average of consistency in ‘sicknesses’, without grounded evidence, such a limited test group, area, and consistency in testing there is much left for speculation.
With Finland’s lower amount of health-related cases speculated to be related to in-home Bleach Agent as cleaning, there is much room for speculation of validity of these claims. Although the results and common illness are much lower in Finland’s households, their children, estimating usage to be 10% or less, there still remains many factors to be considered for significance. Surely if not refuted that Bleach is causing these health-related illnesses, and sickness, we could assume that it is in fact the Bleaching agent, off of what may or may not be a common trend or result of in-home usage. However, perhaps the same could be said about polluted water, poor diet, lack of meat, lack of vegetables in diet, or perhaps enough not enough Bleach being used in the home? Without fully grounded surveying, Science, professionals, and short to long-term testing groups, only so much can be promised here in terms of consistency in results.
It is believed that the chemical compounds found in the Bleaching Agents may be causing not only a compromise in the Immune System, but that the Bleach in the air may actually be carrying germs, into the children’s bodies and causing them to become sick. Some additional instances are upper respiratory illness, as well as wheezing. Perhaps it’s the pollution in the air, a change in water-supply, or it’s a combination of these, along with other factors, and the Bleach is merely increasing the rate in which young children are becoming sick, rather than being the sole agent responsible for these illnesses—which in Science, would be awfully hard to prove, and require much more extensive studies and test-groups.
Image credit: Lana Langlois