Protect Your Child From Environmental Health Risks

1. Protect Your Child From Environmental Health Risks

2. Why is your child at greater risk? • Your child’s body is still growing inside. • Your child takes in more air, liquids and food per pound than you. • Your child’s behavior exposes her to different environmental threats.

3. Your child’s changing body - • At birth, your baby’s nervous, respiratory, reproductive and immune systems are not fully developed. • Exposure to environmental risks can affect development. • Your child is more vulnerable to toxins and microbes than you.

4. What your child takes in - • Your child breathes in more air per pound of weight than you. • Your child takes in more food and liquid per pound of weight than you. • This causes your child to ingest more pollutants, making her more susceptible to toxins.

5. Your child’s behavior - • Your child spends more time on the ground or floor, exposing her to toxins in dust, soil & carpet. • She engages in a lot of hand-to-mouth contact. • She spends more time outdoors, which increases her exposure to outdoor pollutants.

6. Lead Poisoning • You can not see, smell or taste lead. It can be around without you knowing. • Lead can be in dust, paint, soil, drinking water or food. • Your child can consume lead when: • Crawling on the floor. • Playing in dirt around the home. • Putting toys in his mouth.

7. Lead Poisoning Effects • Lead poisoning can cause: • Decreases in IQ • Reading and learning disabilities • Impaired hearing • Hyperactivity • Decreased growth • Brain damage

8. How to protect your child • Have your home tested if it was built before 1978. • Test your child’s blood lead level. • Keep your home clean and dust free.

9. How to protect your child • Have your water tested for lead. • Do not use hot water for drinking or formula. • Run the cold water 60 seconds before use. • Feed your child iron and calcium rich foods.

10. Pesticides • Pesticides are used to prevent & kill pests. • Your child is at risk if she crawls and plays on pesticide sprayed floors and lawns. • Your child may put things that have touched pesticides into her mouth. • Your child may eat fresh produce that has been sprayed for pests.

11. Effects of Pesticides • Poisoning • Birth defects • Nerve damage • Cancer • Allergies and asthma

12. How to protect your child • Try something besides pesticides before using chemicals. • Store pesticides in the original container in a locked cabinet or shed. • Read the label and follow directions. • Buy limited quantities & give away excess. • Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly.

13. Toxic Household Chemicals • Toxic household chemicals include normal items such as bleach, lighter fluid, oven cleaner, batteries, mercury thermometers, shoe polish and gasoline. • Your child may be poisoned if he eats or drinks these household chemicals.

14. Effects of Toxic Household Chemicals • Toxic substances may: • Burn skin or eyes. • Make your child sick to his stomach. • Cause itching. • Long-term exposure can: • Slow your child’s growth. • Damage his lungs. • Cause cancer.

15. How to protect your child • Try safe products such as a plunger or vinegar before you use chemicals. • Store chemicals out of the reach of your child.

16. How to protect your child • Follow label directions. • Keep the Poison Control Center number near the telephone. • Never burn or dump leftover chemicals on your property.

17. Polluted Water & Contaminated Fish • Polluted water poses risks to your child when she drinks unfiltered water or swims in polluted lakes or streams. • Infants are most at risk because: • They drink more fluids per pound of weight. • Their immune system is still developing. • Freshwater fish may be contaminated with mercury, which can be harmful.

18. Effects on Your Child • Bacteria and viruses may cause upset stomach, diarrhea or more serious illness. • Nitrates in drinking water affect an infant’s ability to absorb oxygen. • Eating fish contaminated with mercury or PCBs may threaten a child’s developing nervous system.

19. How to protect your child • Have your well tested once a year. • Keep chemicals away from the well. • Read carefully the annual water quality report from your public water system.

20. How to protect your child • Properly maintain home water treatment systems. • Do not feed children freshwater fish if there is an advisory. • Always follow swim advisories.

21. Carbon Monoxide • Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas from combustion appliances and car exhaust. • Appliances that are not hooked up or working right may produce CO. • Children are at higher risk from CO. • Fetuses are especially at risk.

22. Headache Dizziness Weakness Nausea Vomiting Coma Possible death Effects of Carbon Monoxide

23. How to protect your child • Have a professional check furnace flues, fuel-burning appliances and chimneys once a year. • Do not use burners or gas ovens for heat.

24. How to protect your child • Do not use unvented gas or kerosene heaters where your child sleeps. • Do not idle cars or mowers in the garage. • Install a carbon monoxide alarm near your child’s room.

25. Asbestos • Asbestos fibers are dangerous when breathed in. • Asbestos fibers cannot be removed from the lungs once they are inhaled. • Asbestos was used in manufactured goods until the 1970’s. • Asbestos is often found in schools.

26. Effects of Asbestos • Known to cause cancer. • Continuing exposure increases the risk of developing cancer.

27. How to protect your child • Consider having your home tested if it was built before 1980 and you suspect asbestos. • Hire a certified contractor to remove deteriorating asbestos from your home. • Do not allow your child to play in areas where you suspect asbestos is present. • Talk to school officials to find out if there is asbestos in your child’s school.

28. Asthma from Air Pollution • Asthma is the leading chronic illness in children in the United States. • Outdoor air pollution triggers include ozone, plant pollen, and mold spores. • Indoor air pollution triggers include: • Pets kept indoors. • Damp basements. • Cockroaches.

29. Effects of Asthma • Asthma causes airways to narrow which makes it more difficult to breathe. • Asthma deaths are on the rise in children. • Exposure to air pollutants can trigger or worsen asthma attacks.

30. How to protect your child • Keep your child indoors during ozone level alerts or high pollen count alerts. • Clean carpets and floors often. • Keep animals outside or out of bedrooms.

31. How to protect your child • Vent combustion appliances outdoors. • Control moisture in your home. • Ban smoking in the home and car.

32. Radon • Radon gas is made when radium decays. • It enters the home though cracks in the foundation or porous blocks or walls. • Radon levels vary across the country. • It is estimated that 17 to 25% of Kentucky homes have high radon levels.

33. Effects of Radon • Inhalation of radon causes increased rates of lung cancer. • Children who play in basements are most at risk because levels are usually higher there. • Cigarette smoking multiplies the risk of radon-induced lung cancer.

34. How to protect your child • Test your home with a home test kit or have it tested by a professional. • Seal cracks in the foundation and increase ventilation. • Ban smoking in the home if radon is found. • Do not let children spend much time in the basement.

35. Tobacco Smoke • Tobacco smoke can impact the health of everyone exposed, especially children. • Smoking indoors or in cars increases the level of exposure.

36. Effects of Tobacco Smoke • Frequent exposure increases your child’s risk for: • Acute or chronic respiratory conditions. • Bronchitis or pneumonia. • Ear infections. • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

37. How to protect your child • Do not smoke in your home or car, or around your child. • If someone smokes indoors, open windows or use exhaust fans. • Talk to your teenagers about the dangers of smoking.

38. Getting Too Much Sun • Too much exposure to the sun may be dangerous for your child. • Severe sunburns increase the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. • A fair skinned child with red or blond hair and blue, green or gray eyes is most at risk.

39. Effects of Too Much Sun • Increased risk of skin cancer later in life. • Damage to your child’s immune system. • Eye damage and an increased risk of cataracts.

40. How to protect your child • Keep infants under 6 months of age out of the sun. • Use sunscreen on children over 6 months. • Limit your child’s time in the midday sun. • Encourage your child to wear sunglasses and a hat with a broad brim. • Warn teenagers about tanning beds.