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Where to begin? It seems like every day there’s a new study coming out linking household chemicals to children’s health problems. And though it validates Healthy Child’s 20-year position that the “Precautionary Principle” just makes sense when protecting our kids, as a mother, reading these studies was particularly gut-wrenching.
Last week, researchers reported that exposure to chemicals in consumer products may lower children’s responses to vaccines. Perfluorinated chemicals are water and stain repellant (PFCs) found in furniture upholstery, microwave popcorn bags, and rain gear. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found PFCs reduced the effectiveness of childhood vaccines; in some cases, the immune response was so low that the child at age 7 years was no longer protected against diptheria, tetnus, and pertusis despite having been inoculated by the DTaP vaccine up to four times.
The study’s lead author, Phillipe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health is a Healthy Child Healthy World advisory board member. Dr. Grandjean told Time Magazine, “This is the first study to say that by [exposing children to these chemicals], we are screwing up a major aspect of disease prevention in our society. I’ve been in the field for quite a while, and this is a very strong signal.”
PFCs are ubiquitous in the environment and are found in humans; 99 to 100% of pregnant women have detectable levels of PFCs in their bodies, according to a study conducted by the Program on Reproductive Health and Environment at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Grandjean’s study found that a high presence of PFCs in expectant mothers was linked to a lower amount of vaccine protection for their children up to age 5 years, compared with children whose mothers had lower PFCs levels during pregnancy.
Dr. Grandjean’s study noted that it has long been known that vaccinations do not always ‘take’, and the necessary formation of antibodies varies much between children. Environmental chemicals, such as dioxin, have only recently been considered as a possible culprit. These results suggest that this issue deserves greater attention.
There’s not a lot you can do to eliminate PFCs from your body but you can take some steps to avoid them:
- As PFCs from textiles are known to accumulate in dust, frequent vacuuming may help limit children’s exposure to the chemicals.
- Stay away from greasy or oily packaged and fast foods, as the packages often contain grease-repellent coatings (like microwave popcorn bags, fast food packaging, and pizza boxes).
- Find out what's used in "stain-resistant" treatments for clothing, furnishings and carpets before buying.
- Ask for raingear and other textiles that are PFC-free.
- Avoid personal-care products containing ingredients that include the words "fluoro" or "perfluoro."
- Avoid Teflon® cookware. If you choose to continue using, be careful not to let it heat to above 450ºF. Discard if coatings show signs of deterioration.
For further information:
- USA Today
- Time Magazine
- Reuters
- Environmental Health: PFCs and Vaccine Response: Interview with Dr. Philippe Grandjean via YouTube
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/checblog/~3/BnFFoFsY7oI/
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