I am concerned about the stories I’ve heard that cleaning products can cause allergies. Is there any truth in the rumours?
There is no sound evidence to link increased exposure to detergents and cleaning products to the rise in allergies. Whilst there has been little change in the level or nature of exposure to cleaning products, there has been a sharp rise in what are known as ‘atopic’ allergies e.g. hay fever, eczema, asthma and food allergies. It is interesting to make a comparison between cleaning product usage and certain allergies around Europe: household cleaner usage per person between UK, France and Italy varies little (by no more than 10%). Italy uses the most, yet it has only one quarter the asthma rate of UK, and France one half. So, whilst the true cause is not known, what is clear is that some factor or factors other than cleaning products must be responsible. In fact, studies show that cleaning products and anti-bacterial products play a critical role in controlling harmful allergens and protecting public health, including operating to combat allergies.
