Hands up, who uses scented candles? What do you use them for? A nicely scented room? For relaxation? Have you even considered potentially damaging to health? A candle? Come on!!!! That's what I thought until hearing someone at the gym explain that she'd had to take her doctor to her gp with very laboured breathing, coughing and sore throat. The child was given medication to help alleviate the problem. The mother considered what could have set this condition off. She noticed that her daughter only started to have problems when she was sat in the front room and when the Yankee candles were lit. After a bit of research she discovered that she was in fact making her daughter's health poor by lighting them. And why was this? The production of formaldehyde!!!
New research has discovered that an ingredient called limonene that helps give the candles their scent is to blame. Now limonene in its natural state is very safe, it is found in cleaning products and added to foods but when it comes into contact with the air alters and becomes formaldehyde. Research showed that levels of limonene in candles was 100 times greater than had been previously thought. add to this the fact that our homes are now more airtight, what with double glazing etc, there is a lesser chance of the gas escaping our homes. The longterm effects of being exposed to high levels of formaldehyde is unknown. What is known that it can be formaldehyde by itself can be a cause of cancer.
Aside from opening a window when the candles are lit (defeats the object I agree) is to introduce some plants into the home that reduce formaldehyde levels. These include Ivy, Geranium, Lavender, & ferns.
til next week
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