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 Children in The Netherlands, Finland and Spain who were regularly
exposed to bleach-cleaned environments had higher rates of
respiratory-tract infections, including influenza, bronchitis and
tonsillitis.
“We should be aware that some of the products (like bleach) that we
use in our homes for cleaning are chemicals that may have also some
effect on our health and also on our children's health,” said Lidia
Casas of the Center for Environment and Health in Belgium who led
the study.
Previous studies have also linked cleaning products to respiratory
health issues in children. This may be because inhaling fumes from
bleach can damage the trachea, Casas said.
However, other research has found bleach use to be linked to lower
rates of asthma and allergies in children, the researchers write in
Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
To sort out the effects of bleach exposure on kids, Casas told
Reuters Health in an email, “We aimed to investigate if children
living in homes cleaned with bleach had more infections than those
living in homes where bleach was not used.”
The study team contacted the parents of over 9,000 children between
the ages of six and 12 who attended schools in Spain, the
Netherlands and Finland.
The research team administered a questionnaire asking how often the
children had experienced infections such as the flu, bronchitis and
pneumonia over the past year. The survey also asked if parents used
bleach at least once per week to clean the house. The researchers
also asked certain schools about their use of bleach for cleaning.
The results showed that bleach use was most common in Spain, where
almost three quarters of households cleaned with it weekly. Bleach
was used least often in Finland, where only 7 percent of households
cleaned with it. The same divide was seen in the schools, with all
Spanish schools being cleaned with bleach, while none of the Finnish
schools used it.
Overall, respiratory tract infections were most common among Spanish
children, although children from the Netherlands had the highest
rates of flu.
Across all three countries, children of bleach users were more
likely to experience infections. Children in homes cleaned with
bleach were more likely to get the flu once per year and were also
more likely to have recurrent tonsillitis.
In Finland, children living in homes using bleach were more likely
to have recurrent tonsillitis and sinusitis than kids in homes that
didn’t use bleach, while in Spain, they were more likely to have any
recurrent infection.
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Dutch children who were exposed to bleach in the home were more
likely to have gotten the flu once in the last year. In addition,
children in Dutch schools using bleach to clean were more likely to
have any recurrent infection.
Casas noted that although the study shows a link between bleach and
childhood illness, it does not prove that the use of bleach was what
caused the infections.
If exposure to bleach is contributing to children’s infections,
Casas explained, it may be because certain compounds in bleach such
as chlorine can irritate and cause damage to parts of the
respiratory tract. This damage may cause swelling and can facilitate
infection, she said.
Alfred Bernard, a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain in
Belgium, cautions that explanation may not be the only possibility.
In the current study, as well as in some of his own research,
Bernard said, “the effect of bleach on bronchitis risk was very
small.”
In a study he recently published, Bernard did not find evidence of
respiratory damage in adolescents living in homes cleaned with
bleach. In fact, the respiratory damage he saw in teens was caused
by swimming in chlorinated pools, he told Reuters Health in an
email.
Bernard noted that bleach is a powerful disinfectant and can be
useful in eliminating allergens as well as germs. However, he
recommended that bleach should be used with caution and with proper
ventilation “during and after cleaning until there is no chlorine
smell left.”
Casas said that parents should be aware of the possible ill effects
that cleaning products may have on their children’s health and
advised that they “temper a little bit the idea that living in a
totally disinfected home is good.”
SOURCE: bmj.co/1DKdQxh Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
online April 2, 2015.
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