Cleaning products linked to adult asthma?

A Spanish study involving more than 3500 people has determined that there is an increased risk of adults developing asthma from the use of household cleaning products (now that is the truth!). The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The study found that using household cleaning sprays and air fresheners as little as once a week raised the risk of asthma in adults. The risk of developing asthma increased with frequency of cleaning and the number of different sprays used.

The report from the BBC News indicated that the heavy use of such products has already been linked with occupational asthma, but this study indicates that the occasional use of chemical sprays in the home is also a threat for those who are susceptible to respiratory illness.

The type of products that tend to cause these problems include furniture polish (such as Mr. Sheen) and window sprays (such as Windex).

Personally, I would also add the use of mould killers and fly sprays because these can also have an effect upon the development of asthma within the home.

At this stage it is not known what irritants are the cause of the development of respiratory symptoms.

Chemicals at home and at work can have an effect upon anyone who has respiratory sensitivity. This is something that to me is not new, since I have had reactions to Mr. Sheen, Windex, and Mortein fly spray, as well as to the most popular mould killer. In the case of the mould killer it was the strength of the chlorine in the product and the fact that it was being sprayed in tiny droplets that was the cause of my distress. When this happened to my, my upper airway passages would block off, and I could not breathe unless I had something over my face. I have also reacted to paint fumes, methylated spirits and similar products. On the other hand, I have not had such a severe reaction when using the pump sprays. Another product that I would add to the mix is hair spray, since this can also cause allergy in a highly sensitive person.

Obviously there is work to be done in identifying the irritants, but at least now there is a study that proves what I have said for more than 30 years regarding cleaning products and other chemicals in the home – they are responsible for my respiratory reactions.

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An Open Letter to Steven Knapp at George Washington University

An open letter to Steven Knapp, president of The George Washington University

Whilst I do not consider American politics to be my business, I do think that sometimes it is necessary to blog on subjects where the left have been caught lying. What happened at GWU is a good example, therefore I have copied the open letter to Steven Knapp regarding the distribution of flyers that were in fact the responsibility of left wing students, who had the malignant intention of getting conservative students at the university expelled.

October 10, 2007

President Steven Knapp
The George Washington University
2121 I Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20052

Dear President Knapp,

Seven students at your institution falsely attributed the “Hate Muslims? So Do We!!” fliers
to The George Washington University chapter of Young America’s
Foundation. When the fliers initially surfaced you said, “There is no
place for expressions of hatred on our campus. We do not condone, and
we will not tolerate the dissemination of fliers or other documents
that vilify any religious, ethnic or racial group.”

We agree. Vicious personal attacks levied on students are
intolerable, and should not go unpunished. The question remains: what
will you do about such blatant character assassination now that the
truth is out? How will you demonstrate that you don’t “condone” or
“tolerate” the dissemination of hate?

To be clear, liberal radicals on your campus accused conservative
students of engaging in racist activities, and to buttress those
baseless claims, these same radicals manufactured actual racist
activities to pin on the young conservatives.

Student Association Executive Vice President Brand Kroeger told the GW Hatchet that
he “would support expulsion. These acts are completely heinous.” Again,
we agree with this statement if Kroeger believes it is the job of The
George Washington University to protect the reputation of students who
are wrongfully maligned. In an open letter to you, the culprits admit
to distorting the views of the conservatives on campus. They wrote, “We
want to reach out to our Muslim brothers and sisters in the Holy Month
of Ramadan in hopes that they will embrace our misrepresented, but honorable stand against racism” (emphasis added).

There is, of course, a clear difference between ordinary Muslims who
positively contribute to society and radical Jihadists who boast about
murdering people indiscriminately. It’s a typical left-wing tactic,
however, to just call names, such as “racist,” rather than engage in a
serious debate, in this case, over radical Islam. Only the
intellectually deficient revert to such slanderous attacks.

The seven who put up the phony fliers are frauds.

You should issue an apology to the conservatives unfairly targeted.
It was obvious that the fliers were spreading lies, but your
administration, led by Bridgette Behling—the assistant director of the
Student Activities Center—sent emails to the young conservatives
pressuring them to sign statements disavowing any hate speech that may
originate at any future Young America’s Foundation event.

That’s astonishing. Maybe she forgot that the presumption of
innocence is an American hallmark? Or maybe your administration should
pressure leftist groups to sign statements disavowing any future dirty
tricks on conservatives?

The political profiling of conservatives MUST stop. You need to
organize a forum immediately that embraces intellectual diversity and
denounces the Left’s attempts to create hostile learning environments
for conservatives. The campus leftists wrote that Young America’s
Foundation “should not [be] allow[ed]” to host conservative speakers.
These seven students are trying to squelch robust dialogue and free
speech. We believe this to be the goal of their scheme. As president of
The George Washington University, we hope that you will create an
atmosphere where all students, including conservatives, feel welcomed.

Don’t waste the opportunity.

Ron Robinson, President of Young America’s Foundation

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