Formalin Is A Toxic Substance, Beware Of Its Existence At Home

Formalin can cause dizziness, coughing, skin irritation, risk of cancer, and worse, death. Besides being inhaled through the air, a person can be exposed to formalin from food and drinks. Short-term exposure to physical contact with formalin can cause skin and eye irritation. In addition, formaldehyde is suspected to be a carcinogen, which can cause cancer, especially on long-term exposure.

What Is Formalin?

Formalin is a chemical gas that has a pungent and colorless odor. Formalin is commonly used in wood that is used to make household furniture, such as wardrobes, beds, or walls. Therefore, homes can be the highest levels of formaldehyde exposure, especially those that have just been built or recently renovated. Formalin is also used as a household cleaning product and preservative of tissue samples in the laboratory. In addition, formalin is also found in cigarette smoke.

Impact of Formalin for Health

Apart from those mentioned earlier, there are still various negative effects of this substance. Among others are:

• Respiratory tract

Inhaled formalin can cause irritation to the respiratory tract. Patients with respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and asthma, can experience worsening symptoms if inhaled formalin. Patients with other chronic respiratory diseases are also more susceptible to formalin exposure. Sore throat, coughing, and nosebleeds are symptoms that may arise if you are exposed to these chemicals.

• Cancer

Formalin is also known as one of the triggers of cancer, especially throat cancer, nasal cancer, and leukemia. So far, research has not yet proven what the limit of formaldehyde levels can be said to be a trigger for cancer. But the higher the levels of formaldehyde that enter the body, the higher the risk of developing this disease. Children and the elderly are the age groups that are considered more sensitive to formaldehyde. They will get sick more easily when exposed to this substance.

How to Prevent and Reduce Formalin Exposure

You are advised to do these things to reduce formaldehyde exposure:

• Keep the air circulation in the house fresh by opening the window wide, especially during the morning until the afternoon.
• Make the temperature in the house at the lowest temperature that is still comfortable, you can use air conditioning.
• Encourage children and elderly people to get a lot of fresh air outside, especially if they suffer from respiratory problems, such as asthma.
• Do not smoke indoors. It would be better if you stop smoking completely.
• If you are using insecticides or cleaning products, be sure to use them in the open air.
• Wash hands and wash the body with soap and water after using an insecticide or cleaning product.
• Wash food ingredients properly before cooking.
• Cook food well because the formaldehyde content can be lost during the food heating process.
• If you buy fish, choose one that is still fresh. Avoid fish that have been hard, because of the possibility of using formalin.

Based on the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 033 of 2012 concerning Food Additives, in addition to formalin, some other ingredients which are prohibited from being used as food additives are nitrobenzene, dihydrosafrol, boric acid, nitrofurazone, and essential oils such as tansy oil and oils sasafras. You might not be able to completely prevent your family from being exposed to formalin. According to research, formalin in certain levels is even found also in some baby products, such as shampoo, soap and baby lotion. Nevertheless, at least you can still try to minimize formaldehyde exposure by practicing the precautionary measures above.