Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
【United Evening News / Reporter Li Shuren / Taipei Report】2013.05.16
Putting on freshly washed clothes and experiencing frequent skin allergies? Be careful—it might be caused by the chemical ingredients in household cleaning products. Dermatologists advise heightened vigilance when purchasing cleaning agents.
Is natural really better? According to surveys by scholars and doctors, over half of the commercially available cleaning products marketed as "natural" or "eco-friendly" are actually fake, containing petrochemical surfactants, artificial fragrances, and fluorescent brighteners. Some parents have used laundry detergents labeled as "natural" but with strong chemical additives, triggering asthma in young children. Others have seen their children develop acute hives after switching to a new body wash, requiring emergency treatment.
A joint survey titled "Household Cleaning Product Awareness and Purchasing Behavior" was conducted by Xu Zhaocheng, head of the Department of Cosmetic Science at Hungkuang University, and dermatologist Zhao Zhaoming. The survey found that one-third of parents consider buying cleaning products labeled as natural, with nearly 60% believing that if the packaging claims "natural," it must be true. However, Zhao Zhaoming emphasized that relying solely on packaging labels can be highly misleading.
Xu Zhaocheng analyzed numerous commercially available cleaning products and discovered that over 50% of those marketed as "natural" contained petrochemical surfactants, artificial fragrances, and fluorescent brighteners—essentially deceptive "fake natural" products. He warned that ordinary consumers cannot easily distinguish truly natural cleaning agents based on packaging alone. Long-term skin absorption of petrochemical surfactants, synthetic fragrances, and fluorescent agents can burden the liver and kidneys and increase cancer risks.
Zhao Zhaoming noted that among allergy patients in his clinic, up to 30% have experienced skin itching and allergic reactions due to cleaning products. One case involved a seven-year-old child who suffered from full-body itching and redness but had no identifiable allergen. Medical consultation later revealed that the culprit was the family’s laundry detergent. Though labeled "natural," the strong formula—chosen by parents to clean heavily soiled children’s clothes—triggered the child’s allergies.
The boy had a history of allergic constitution and atopic dermatitis. His parents believed switching to a "plant-based" and "natural" laundry detergent would improve his symptoms while keeping clothes cleaner. Instead, every time he changed into freshly washed underwear after bathing, he developed widespread itching and large hives.
Zhao Zhaoming pointed out that the hives matched the areas covered by the boy’s underwear, strongly implicating the laundry detergent. After discontinuing its use, the symptoms gradually subsided.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 7898799. shtml#ixzz2TRJEw59o
Cancer Risk! Half of Eco-Friendly Cleaners Fake Natural
Putting on freshly washed clothes and experiencing frequent skin allergies? Be careful—it might be caused by the chemical ingredients in household cleaning products. Dermatologists advise heightened vigilance when purchasing cleaning agents.
Is natural really better? According to surveys by scholars and doctors, over half of the commercially available cleaning products marketed as "natural" or "eco-friendly" are actually fake, containing petrochemical surfactants, artificial fragrances, and fluorescent brighteners. Some parents have used laundry detergents labeled as "natural" but with strong chemical additives, triggering asthma in young children. Others have seen their children develop acute hives after switching to a new body wash, requiring emergency treatment.
A joint survey titled "Household Cleaning Product Awareness and Purchasing Behavior" was conducted by Xu Zhaocheng, head of the Department of Cosmetic Science at Hungkuang University, and dermatologist Zhao Zhaoming. The survey found that one-third of parents consider buying cleaning products labeled as natural, with nearly 60% believing that if the packaging claims "natural," it must be true. However, Zhao Zhaoming emphasized that relying solely on packaging labels can be highly misleading.
Xu Zhaocheng analyzed numerous commercially available cleaning products and discovered that over 50% of those marketed as "natural" contained petrochemical surfactants, artificial fragrances, and fluorescent brighteners—essentially deceptive "fake natural" products. He warned that ordinary consumers cannot easily distinguish truly natural cleaning agents based on packaging alone. Long-term skin absorption of petrochemical surfactants, synthetic fragrances, and fluorescent agents can burden the liver and kidneys and increase cancer risks.
Zhao Zhaoming noted that among allergy patients in his clinic, up to 30% have experienced skin itching and allergic reactions due to cleaning products. One case involved a seven-year-old child who suffered from full-body itching and redness but had no identifiable allergen. Medical consultation later revealed that the culprit was the family’s laundry detergent. Though labeled "natural," the strong formula—chosen by parents to clean heavily soiled children’s clothes—triggered the child’s allergies.
The boy had a history of allergic constitution and atopic dermatitis. His parents believed switching to a "plant-based" and "natural" laundry detergent would improve his symptoms while keeping clothes cleaner. Instead, every time he changed into freshly washed underwear after bathing, he developed widespread itching and large hives.
Zhao Zhaoming pointed out that the hives matched the areas covered by the boy’s underwear, strongly implicating the laundry detergent. After discontinuing its use, the symptoms gradually subsided.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 7898799. shtml#ixzz2TRJEw59o