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Finally a home remedy that will provide relief and may even be a cure for some.

Recent studies, spurred by the astounding announcement made by the U.S. swim team, at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, that more than one-fourth of the team suffered from some degree of asthma, have led to the discovery of one cause of asthma. Though they have long been known to be agitators of asthma symptoms, it is now known that chloramines and THM's not only contribute to, but actually cause occupational asthma. The scary part is that you and your family are probably exposed to these asthma inducing carcinogens everyday.

Chlorine, when combined with organic substances, like skin, hair, water born bacteria and even sweat and urine, forms Trihalomethanes or THM's. It is these substances that were put under scrutiny in two European studies finished in 2001. Nitrogen trichloride, one of many known THM's, appears to be the main culprit in some forms of occupational asthma. The good news is, that once removed from exposure to the harmful chemical, participants in the study showed dramatic improvements over a relatively short period of time, even so far as being relieved of the burden of steroid inhalers.

In one of the studies, done by, Dr. K. Thickett, of the Occupational Lung Diseases Unit at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, workers suffering from asthma or asthma symptoms at an indoor swimming pool were studied. Each of the subjects either, stopped taking inhaled corticosteroids altogether, or their asthma symptoms dissipated significantly, once they changed jobs, and moved away from the swimming pools. Dr. K. Thickett said, "it isn't just the exposure to the chlorine that is causing asthma in swimmers. More important," she said, "is the chemical reaction that takes place when chlorine mixes with sweat, urine, skin and hair, and releases derivatives such as aldehydes, halogenated hydrocarbons, and chloramines, all of which contribute to asthma."

The prolonged inhalation of levels of THM's and chlorine gas, similar to those found near an indoor swimming pool, or about ¼ the concentration found in the average shower, will not only cause asthma, but will irritate the sensitive areas in the eyes, nose and throat. She summed her study by saying, "Our results show, indeed, that nitrogen trichloride is a cause of occupational asthma in swimming pool workers like lifeguards and swim instructors." The good news is that the effects of exposure were reversible and that the asthmatic symptoms all but disappeared once the subjects were placed in a new environment, free of chlorine gas.

The second study, completed by, Dr. Simone Carbonnelle, of the industrial toxicology and occupational medicine unit at the Catholic University of Louvain, involved 226 healthy school children, with an average age of 10. They were followed to determine how much time they spent around swimming pools, and how that affected the condition of their lung epithelium, an absorptive tissue consisting of closely packed cells. The results were very conclusive, and went even further to show the link between the harmful THM's, chlorination byproducts, and asthma.

Dr. Carbonnelle's study had the children exposed to air around the school's swimming pool, for an average of just over fifteen minutes per day. It was then observed that there was a significant variance in the levels of certain proteins that were directly proportional to the amount of time the children spent around the pool. For one particular protein, the variance was 11.6 percent, which according to Dr. Carbonnelle, would be the same she would expect to find in a heavy smoker

"These findings suggest that the increasing exposure to chlorine-based disinfectants used in swimming pools and their by-products might be an unsuspected risk factor in the rising incidence of childhood asthma and allergic diseases," she said. These are the same THM's and chloramines we are exposed to in our homes everyday due to showering, washing clothes, washing dishes, flushing toilets, and running the tap.

Even Ralph Riley, head of the National Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group said: "We have known for a long time that chloramines can trigger, rather than cause asthma." These studies change that. Mr. Riley added the industry was constantly looking at ways of reducing the levels of chloramines whilst retaining the protection against infection in the water.

The same chlorine that creates the asthma inducing THM's and chloramines, used in our swimming pools is used in our tap water. The same substances found to be the culprit in the two studies, Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOC's) like trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, benzene,1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, ethylene chloride,1,1-dichloroethylene, bis-1,2-dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, & trichlorobenzene, are found in almost every municipal water supply in North America. The health hazard created in inhaling these substances is just now becoming known.

H.S. Brown, Ph.D., D.R. Bishop, MPH, and C.A. Rowan, MSPH, report that: "Assessments of drinking water safety rely on the assumption that ingestion represents the principle route of exposure." It was long thought that the greatest exposure to these chemicals came from eating foods prepared in or drinking water that was chlorinated. Recent studies, however, have shown that the greatest risk of exposure may come from inhalation.

The U.S. EPA, www.epa.gov, stated that every household in America on a chlorinated water system, has an elevated level of Chloroform gas in the indoor air. This elevated level is directly attributable to showering, washing dishes, washing clothes, and flushing toilets. Basically, every time you open a spout in your house, you are releasing these asthma causing substances into your household atmosphere.

A study by Dr. Julian Andelman, Professor of Water Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, found there was less chemical exposure from drinking chlorine contaminated water than there was using it to wash clothes or take a shower!

After swimming in a pool, we've all felt our hair, become rough and brittle, had our skin dry out and sometimes even gotten an itchy, flaky scalp. This occurs because chlorine chemically bonds with proteins in the hair, skin and scalp. It is recommended that you keep a swimming pool at a concentration of 1-3 parts per million of chlorine. What we don't all know, is that our tap water regularly exceeds these levels, especially during summer months when bacteria levels are at their highest.

The National Academy of Sciences has estimated that 200 to 1000 people may die in the U.S. each year (1986) from cancers caused by drinking or eating foods prepared in water with these contaminants. However, Dr. Julian Andelman's study showed the major threat caused by these water pollutants is far more likely to be as air pollutants in the home. He found that in the shower, hot water (109F), can liberate about 50% of the dissolved chloroform and 80% of the dissolved TCE into the air. Both the heat and the large surface-to-volume ratio of small droplets increase vaporization. Chlorine, TCE, chloroform, benzene and others are readily absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream contributing to the effects of asthma.

A study by the Environmental Working Group in conjunction with The U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that 100,000 women have elevated health risks because of chlorination byproducts in drinking water. The study said the risks include, but are not limited to, miscarriage, neural tube defects and reduced fetal growth. In the past two decades, incidence of childhood asthma has quadrupled. Asthma is now the leading cause of hospital admission in Canada, and the leading cause of absenteeism of students in the U.S. Yet, the gold standard in asthma treatment today is inhaled steroid products, not prevention.

Before you resign yourself or your child to a life attached to an inhaler, try improving your indoor air quality. A prevention tool and asthma and allergy treatment product that will reduce approximately 75% of these airborne pollutants released in the shower, is the Aquasana AQ-4100 Shower Filter. Besides the cosmetic benefits; softer, shinier skin and hair, of showering in dechlorinated water, exposure to these harmful contaminants is greatly diminished, resulting in a happy healthier family that will be less prone to the symptoms of asthma.

*- Dr. K. Thickett, of the Occupational Lung Diseases Unit at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, England

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