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WASHINGTON, DC, March 6, 2001 - As a new study points out the harmful effects of household allergens on children suffering from asthma, The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) reminds parents that they can take steps through regular household cleaning to help control allergies and asthma.
SDA, the leading trade association for the North American cleaning products industry, has published "Clean and Healthy," a booklet that provides families with common sense cleaning tips to reduce flare-ups of allergy and asthma inside the home.
A new study by the Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati - published in the journal Pediatrics - says the elimination of household allergens could result in a nearly 40 percent decrease in asthma among children. The cost of asthma as a result of the residential exposures highlighted in the study is estimated to be over $400 million a year nationwide.
"Health professionals agree that cleaning is one of the most important ways of controlling indoor allergens and reducing symptoms for people with asthma," said Ernie Rosenberg, SDA President. "That's why SDA makes available materials - for consumers and educators - that offer lifestyle strategies to help prevent exposure to allergens that can cause asthma.
"Parents don't have to wait for programs to come to their rescue - they can act today to take simple yet effective steps in their own home to help reduce suffering from asthma," added Rosenberg, a childhood asthmatic himself.
SDA worked with ZAP Asthma, an Atlanta-based public-private partnership, to prepare "Clean and Healthy" and related support materials that allow families to take action at home to control allergens and asthma. The materials provide useful tips to help eliminate the leading "triggers" of asthma, including tobacco smoke, dust and dust mites, animal dander, pollen, cockroaches, and mold and mildew.
Among the tips provided in "Clean and Healthy":
Avoid tobacco smoke in homes where a person with asthma lives.
Set up a plan to clean one room at a time, beginning with where the allergy-sufferer sleeps.
Dust and vacuum.
Clean window seals and frames.
Wet-mop floors.
Clean shower stalls and bathtubs weekly; wipe up water around tubs and showers daily.
Clean the refrigerator regularly (cockroaches are attracted to food and moisture).
Clean food and grease from your stove daily.
Empty the trash daily.
Read and follow cleaning product label directions.
All of the helpful tips contained in "Clean and Healthy: Cleaning to Control Allergies & Asthma" are available on SDA's Web site (in both English and Spanish) at www.cleaning101.com. Just click on the "Health and Safety" section on the Web site's front page.
Printed versions of the consumer guides are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Educators and childcare providers can order SDA's teaching kit (1st copy free; additional copies $1.00 plus applicable shipping charge) at http://www.cleaning101.com/about/GeneralOrderForm.cfm
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