Until late June 2003, I, like probably so many others, knew only a little about Indoor Air Quality and the health impacts of VOC's (volatile organic chemicals) and formaldehydes. However, incredibly, our 9 year old daughter, just days before, had been turned into an asthmatic in the space of a single 30-40 minute exposure to chemicals within her grandmother's brand new Hervey Bay retirement estate home.
She suffered her first ever asthma attack within four hours of arriving at her grandmother's home. Soon after being put to bed with the door closed, our daughter started sneezing, then complained of itchy/burning eyes. Next she began punching her chest regularly because she couldn't breathe. The bedroom seemed very fumey with a new house type chemical smell - so we tried another bedroom, different pillows and bedcover. Antihistamines didn't help and neither did two puffs of a relative's asthma symptom reliever puffer. We were getting alarmed so we took her to Hervey Bay hospital casualty ward, where treatment with a nebuliser provided great relief. The doctor also prescribed an asthma symptom reliever puffer on discharge.
I was fairly sure that it was something to do with the new built in wardrobes as there was a very strong chemical smell in them. We also knew that when our daughter lay down on the floor - that she had another severe asthma attack - which raised our suspicion about the carpets as well. On the way to the Maroochydore Airport we visited a dear friend, who has been fortunate to recover from CFS-chronic fatigue syndrome. She confirmed our suspicions about possible health risks with chemicals used in particleboard, in built in wardrobes and also in carpets. Our friend also told us that adhesives used for carpets could contain chemicals that could cause problems.
In fact back to the night when we had returned to our own home, our daughter had another asthma attack, so I did an internet Google search to find out the likely cause(s) of her sudden onset of asthma. I was astonished to find that new homes, especially, could be a virtual chemical cocktail of health risks for children - with toxic formaldehydes & VOC's (volatile organic chemicals) being potentially right through every room.
On returning to our home, with no changes to her home environment and bedroom, our daughter continued to exhibit symptoms each night. When put down for the night she would begin to sneeze and this would then progress to a tightening chest and then a severe asthma attack requiring at least two or three puffs of her asthma symptom reliever puffer. She began asking me "Mummy, will I ever be the same again?"
We adjusted the bed height & pillows, then we tried to relax her with reading, eating dinner much earlier, being careful about acid containing foods/drinks at night, experimented with/without heating of the bedroom & the bed, taking earlier baths/later baths & baths the next mornng, and tried various medications - Prednisolone-Solone, Pulmacort/Nebuliser, Gaviscon, Zanteck, Claratyne, Polaramine. Nothing worked. Then we found that if she sat up when the sneezing started, that it could be stopped, and no asthma attack ! But this process can take up to 2 hours of trying to lie down and then sit up before she can finally drop off to sleep. Of course this means that our daughter was losing 1 to 2 hours sleep each night, which is not good for a growing 9 year old.
Finally prescription reflux medication stopped the nocturnal asthma attacks and in the meantime, allergy testing at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital confirmed the "highly reactive airways" that we had been observing.
As previously indicated, I began to suspect formaldehydes and VOC's as possible culprits - the New Zealand SNFTAAS - the SUPPORT NETWORK FOR THE ALDEHYDE AND SOLVENT AFFECTED Web Site, provided particularly comprehensive & worrying information.
Ironically, the whole issue of sick buildings and sick homes had featured in the Queensland Newspaper, the Courier Mail, only 2 days before Katrina's exposure in Hervey Bay, on Queensland's Fraser Coast. I was astonished to find that new homes, especially, could be a virtual chemical cocktail of health risks for children - with toxic formaldehydes & VOC's (volatile organic chemicals) being potentially right through every room.
So, as an elected City Councillor of Wollongong City Council, a scientist/technologist and as a mother, I wanted my daughter healed and to prevent this happening to other children. Coincidentally, a fortnight later my new cadet told me of his father's latest uni assignment, where he had reviewed the health risks of formaldehydes in the home. And so began my journey into an understanding of VOC's and formaldehydes.
My Favorite Web sites
Angelfire Home Pages
Free Web Building Help
Angelfire HTML Library