It's Allergy Awareness Week. According to data from Allergy UK, 44% of people in the UK have some sort of allergy and 80% of asthma sufferers have an allergy which causes their condition.
With the huge rise in chemical use over the past few decades, in particular around the home and in our food products, this may well have something to do with rising incidences of allergies, asthma and skin conditions. At the very least, exposure to allergens such as dust mites, mould, and toxic cleaning chemicals, will make symptoms worse for sufferers.
Keeping your home and workplace clean can help to reduce exposure to allergens, and switching to plant-based hypo-allergenic cleaning products will reduce exposure to the many chemicals that aggravate symptoms.
Our top tips for how to make your home less of a polluted zone:
- Quit the aerosols and air fresheners. These contain volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and phthalates, both of which have been shown in studies to cause health complaints, and they are particularly bad for lung health. Air fresheners just cover up smells rather than removing them, so consider finding and removing the source of any bad smells, or simply open a window for some beautiful fresh air! Essential oils and soya candles (with natural oils) are also better alternatives.
- Switch to plant-based hypo-allergenic products for washing your dishes, doing the laundry, and household cleaning. These will also usually be biodegradable and vegan friendly, so as well as being better for your health, they're also better for animals and the environment. A win-win!
- It doesn't have to be expensive to swap out your favourite branded chemical based products; many of the supermarkets now have their own-brand plant-based toxic free alternatives for washing up liquid, laundry liquid, hand soap and all purpose cleaners. However, our personal faves are Bio-D, Ecozone, Earth Friendly Products, and Faith in Nature.
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