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Study: Home Cleaning Products May Cause Breathing Problems in Children

研究表明家庭清洁用品可能导致儿童呼吸困难

New parents who clean their homes very often to protect their babies from bacteria and other organisms might want tocut backtheir efforts.

初为父母者会经常打扫房屋，以保护孩子免受可能想破坏他们努力的细菌和其他有机体的侵害。

A new study suggests that high levels of contact with cleaning products are linked to an increased risk of the childhood breathing condition known as asthma.

一项新研究表明，大量接触清洁用品会增加儿童呼吸疾病——哮喘——的风险。

Researchers asked a group of parents how often they used 26 common household cleaners during their babies' first three to four months of life. By age three, the children who hadcome in contact withcleaning products the most were more likely to be diagnosed with asthma. The researchers said that children who had a lot of contact with cleaners were 37 percent more likely to have asthma than children with the least contact.

研究人员询问了一些家长在孩子出生后的三到四个月里使用26种常见家用清洁剂的频率。接触过清洁用品的儿童，到三岁时更可能患上哮喘。研究人员表示，就患哮喘的可能性来说，多次接触清洁剂的儿童比接触最少的儿童高出37%。

The study also found that a lot of exposure to cleaning products caused children to be 35 percent more likely to have chronic difficulty breathing. In addition, they were 49 percent more likely to have chronic allergies.

这项研究还发现，大量接触清洁用品会使儿童患上慢性呼吸困难的可能性增加35%。此外，儿童患上慢性过敏的可能性也增加了49%。

Tim Takaro, who helped lead the study, is a doctor with Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He told the Reuters news service he understands that parents want to make their homes safe for their children. But he suggests that they should question the belief that their home is clean only if it smells like chemical-based cleaning products.

蒂姆·塔加罗协助领导这项研究，他是加拿大温哥华西蒙弗雷泽大学的博士。他对路透社表示，他理解父母想让孩子拥有安全的家。但他认为，父母应该质疑这种信念，即只有当他们的家闻起来像化学清洁产品时，他们的家才是干净的。

"Instead, we propose that the smell of a healthy home is no smell at all," said Takaro.

塔加罗表示：“相反，我们认为健康家庭的气味根本不是异味。”

Takaro said parents should read labels and look for products thatare free ofsubstances like chemical colors and smells. Also, they should consider natural cleaning products instead of chemical ones.

塔加罗表示，家长应该阅读标签，寻找不含化学颜色和气味等物质的产品。另外，他们还应该考虑用天然清洁产品代替化学清洁产品。

The study appeared in the medical publication CMAJ earlier this month. The researchers wrote that the first months of life are very important for development of the body's natural defenses, known as the immune system. The same is true for the organs involved in breathing.

这项研究发表在本月早些时候出版的医学刊物《加拿大医学协会杂志》上。研究人员写道，生命的头几个月对于人体自然防御系统（即免疫系统）的发育至关重要。对呼吸器官来说也是如此。

Chemicals in cleaning products can cause chronic inflammation that maylead toasthma. It also may make symptoms appear more often and intensely, the researchers noted.

清洁产品中的化学物质会导致引发哮喘的慢性炎症。研究人员指出，这些化学物质还可能使症状出现得更加频繁和强烈。

Asthma can be difficult to diagnose with breathing tests involving young children. So researchers also tested the children's skin for allergies and asked parents how often children experienced symptoms like trouble breathing.

幼儿哮喘难以用呼吸测试来诊断。所以研究人员还测试了孩子是否皮肤过敏，并询问家长孩子出现呼吸困难等症状的频率。

The most commonly used cleaning products in the study were dishwashing soap, multipurpose cleaners, glass cleaners and soap for washing clothes.

研究中最常用的清洁用品是洗碗皂、多用途清洁剂、玻璃清洁剂和洗衣皂。

The American Lung Association recommends avoiding cleaning products that contain volatile organic substances and other irritants. But companies in Canada and the United States are not required to list all the chemicals in cleaning products. Some products labeled as environmentally friendly, or "green," may contain harmful substances.

美国肺脏协会建议避免使用含有挥发性有机物质和其他刺激物质的清洁产品。但加拿大和美国的公司不必列出清洁产品中所含的所有化学物质。有些贴上环保或“绿色”标签的产品可能含有有害物质。

Elissa Abrams, who wrote comments on the study, is a doctor with the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. She admitted that the effects of cleaning products are not well understood. But she believes these products and the chemicals they contain act as irritants to growing children.

伊莉莎·艾布拉姆斯为这项研究撰写了评论，她是加拿大温尼伯市曼尼托巴大学的博士。她承认，人们没有充分了解清洁产品的影响。但她认为这些产品及其所含的化学物质会刺激发育中的儿童。

Young children who spend a lot of time indoors may be at greater risk, said Abrams.

艾布拉姆斯说，长时间呆在室内的儿童可能面临更大的风险。

"The take-home message is that parents should be careful which cleaning products they use in the home," she added.

她补充说：“关键信息是，父母应该小心他们在家里使用的清洁产品。”

I'm Pete Musto.

皮特·穆斯托报道。