Sick Building Syndrome

Sick building syndrome symptoms may include one or any combination of these negative health symptoms:

Sneezing, coughing, sore throat, difficulty breathing, sore or irritated eyes, headache, dizziness, stomach upset, nausea, diarrhea, confusion or difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering things, earaches, congestion, skin rash or itch, intolerance to heat or cold, uncomfortableness or irritability, muscle or joint stiffness, muscle or joint pain, fatigue, chest pain, or unusual heart palpitations.

You may be breathing in formaldehyde, asbestos, lead dust, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mildew, mold, radon gas, second hand smoke, pet dander, dust mites, bacteria, and other indoor pollutants. You usually cannot see or smell these contaminants, yet they could be in your home or workplace, and making you sick.

So where does all this indoor pollution come from?

Common household products, furnishings, and construction materials release invisible and toxic gases into the air around them. Items such as carpets, household cleaning products, manufactured wood products, paint, computer inks, varnish, glues, and many other products that are stored within the home, or used in its construction release their components into the air around them.

If these contaminants have no way of being diffused outward then they simply combine with the multitude of other indoor pollutants and accumulate within the building. Bacteria, mildew, and molds multiply. If the building does not have access to sufficient fresh air exchange, then the indoor air becomes increasingly polluted, and the people within the building get sick. If you were wondering what sick building syndrome officially is...this description is it.

In the early 1900's and throughout the mid 1900's building standards code required 15 cubic feet of fresh air per minute per person for appropriate ventilation within buildings. But the 1973 oil embargo and the resulting energy crisis changed all this. The price of oil increased sharply, and with oil shortages being threatened worldwide, legislation to conserve oil stocks were quickly enacted. One of these was a new set of building standards code which was put in place to insure that buildings would be as energy efficient as they could be.

New energy conservation measures were implemented in the 1970's. The amount of fresh air ventilation within buildings was reduced from the current 15 cubic feet per minute per person to a mere 5 cubic feet of air per minute per person. Newly constructed and renovated homes, offices, and schools, were to follow the new standards set out to insure that these buildings would be much more airtight.

It was believed that these new building standard codes would insure that buildings required less heating, and cooling costs, and so would therefore be more energy efficient. What no one could foresee then was that these new building code standards rather than being of benefit during the oil crisis, would instead served to trap bacteria and other pollutants within these buildings. These trapped contaminants then had the opportunity to multiply and rise to dangerous levels. It was this contaminated indoor air which then caused the people within these buildings to become ill.

The people who lived and worked within these newly renovated or newly built buildings began complaining of a wide variety of sometimes vague symptoms. For most of these individuals who were initially exposed to sick building syndrome, their symptoms alleviated somewhat upon leaving the affected building, but for many their symptoms lasted for lengthy periods after the initial exposure. Sick building syndrome had officially arrived.

In 1984 the World Health Organization released an official report on the possible symptoms and causes of sick building syndrome.

The mysterious illness affecting thousands of people was officially termed sick building syndrome and acknowledged as a very real medical issue.

The World Health Organization was now acknowledging that the air people were being exposed to within their homes and workplaces was indeed poisoning them. It was estimated that up to thirty percent of all newly renovated, or newly built homes and offices had the ability to cause sick building syndrome.

In 1989 the "American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers" revised it's building standards to increase the fresh air ventilation within homes and businesses.

The new recommendations were for a minimum allowable ventilation of 15 cubic meters of fresh air per minute per person within buildings. It was also recommended that the amount of fresh air ventilation be increased even further in offices and schools where large numbers of individuals would be, and also within smoking, or other more likely to be polluted establishments.

In addition to having a smoke detector installed in your home also set up a carbon monoxide detector to help insure your family's safety.

Test for radon gas in your home.

Store paint, varnish, glues, garden products, and other possible contaminants outside of your living space.

Use more natural household cleaners such as vinegar, baking soda, lemon, and baking soda rather than potentially dangerous household cleaners.

Try to get some fresh air daily. Go for a walk more often.

Keep a window in your home open at least one inch all year round.

If your home or workplace was built during the mid to late 1970's, or early to mid 1980's, you should check the fresh air ventilation of your furnace and other indoor ventilation systems. These buildings built during the energy conservation standards period are still very much in use today.

Green tea has antibacterial properties so not only is it good for you to drink but it is also useful as an environmentally friendly all natural household cleanser. You can purchase ready made Green Tea cleaning products or you can easily make your own.

Steeping one cup of green tea leaves in one quart of boiling water for fifteen minutes will make an green tea cleaning solution. Store the green tea solution in your refrigerator till you are ready to use it. The antibacterial properties in green tea make it an ideal cleaning solution.

Simply apply the green tea spray on any surface which needs cleaning and then easily wipe off excess moisture with a damp cloth. The antibacterial properties within Green Tea will kill bacteria as it cleans.

Listening to the evening news can sometimes be enough to give a sane person the chills. Rising crime rates throughout the country can make everyday events sound more like horror stories than real life.

You just want to shut the television off, put your arms around your family, and keep them safe from all that harm. So knowing, and avoiding, the most dangerous places to live in the US might help....Most dangerous places to live in the US.

The human body is capable of curing itself. There have been hints of the body's extraordinary healing power throughout history. Spontaneous remissions, people who suddenly walk or see again, these miracles have happened in the past and they can definitely occur again in the future.

We all have the power within ourselves. We just have to learn how to apply it....Extraordinary healing powers of the human body.

An elimination diet plan is a form of diet that is usually used to discover which foods, or food groups, an individual might have a sensitivity to.

Up to Seventy five percent of the population have an allergy or intolerance to a food that is generally considered safe for human consumption. These food sensitivities may cause nothing more than a mild case of gastrointestinal discomfort to the sufferer, but they may also be severe enough to cause harm to one or more of the body's organs....How To Set Up An Elimination Diet Plan.

When you participate in pleasurable activities like smiling, laughing, exercising or playing, your brain does an amazing thing and releases a little chemical message known as an endorphin.

These endorphins are feel good messages that have the power to actually remove physical and emotional pain. They travel down the spine, and then throughout your body, sending a feeling of well being as they go. These endorphins not only have the ability to relieve pain but they also have the power to make you feel happy. So remember to take time to play - It really is important.