William Penn Life, 2006 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
2006-07-01 / 7. szám
HealthPage Environmentally friendly 5 steps to improving your personal environmental health It's not too much of an exaggeration to say, your environment is your health. So to improve your health, see that your family's environment is a healthy one. For an example of how society has improved health by environmental action, you have to look no further than our protected reservoirs and water disinfection plants. The purification of city water supplies has been the most significant reason that the average life span has very nearly doubled over the past century or so. Millions and millions of us live longer and better because of clean water and because our country and industries have reduced our exposures to lead and other substances. In addition to the environments we share, each of us has his or her own personal environment. Our personal environments can greatly influence our lifespans and how healthy we feel and are. Here are a few simple but important steps that you and your family can take-health-wise-about your environment. Read the label on house and garden chemicals Before you point that spray can, get your spectacles out and see if the directions or warnings have changed. They do, frequently. In fact, before you even buy a household or garden chemical, you can compare labels to be sure you're buying the safest product for your intended use. (You also may decide a bug-less, weed-less lawn isn't all that important.) Note whether a product is for inside or outside use, and what protectionsrubber gloves, respirators and suchare needed. What does the product do to birds, dogs and barefoot children? Read the labels for dry-cleaning solutions and other household chemicals, too. If a label says, "Open windows and ventilate," there's a reason. Likewise, read drug labels for warnings, and food labels for ingredients that don't agree with you, as well as to avoid excess calories and fat. In a rhyming folder for teens, we say, "Read the label, Mabel.") Labels have recently been added to some arts and craft supplies regarding ingredients posing a cancer risk. Charcoal has a new warning label. Prescription and non-prescription drugs often get new warning labels when a new risk shows up. Turn down the *!@# volume While occasional loud noises may just reduce your hearing temporarily, continuous exposures or very loud noises can cause permanent damage. Musicians know about efficient ear plugs that extend the life of their ears and perhaps their professional lives as well. You can buy them for your teens and for yourself. (You never know when your church is going to decide to do a production of "Jesus Christ, Superstar.") Firecrackers and small arms fire, if close enough, can damage hearing, immediately or over time. That is, hearing may decline and/or there may be ringing, buzzing or roaring in the ears or head. Additional information is available at the National Health Links For more easy steps on improving your personal environmental health, log onto the web site of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at: O www.niehs.hih.gov Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Clearinghouse, 1-800-241-1044. Put a carbon monoxide alarm in your home Carbon monoxide from cars in garages, space heaters and other home heating sources can be deadly. You need one or more smoke alarms, frequently checked of course, but they won't alert you to CO. For that, you need at least one carbon monoxide alarm. A few dollars, a trip to the hardware store and a few minutes' installation are all you need to forestall a possible tragedy. Grow plants Plants, including house plants, are not only nice to look at, there's evidence they clean pollutants from the air. Put drugs, drain openers, and vitamins out of kids* reach The iron-containing vitamins that many women take, as well as prescription and nonprescription drugs like aspirin or other pain relievers can kill kids who think they're candy. Lock them up (we don't mean the kids) or put them out of reach. Same with paint thinners, detergents, drain openers and other yard and home chemicals. Look in your telephone book for your local Poison Control Center and ask for information and for "Mr. Yuk" telephone number stickers to place on your telephone for use in a poisoning emergency. Or you can get the location of your nearest center at http:// urww.poison.org/find_x/our_local_ poison_center.htm. Getting this information now, before an emergency happens, can be a good family lesson in prevention by planning ahead. |wpl| 10 William Penn Life,July 2006
