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7 Surprising Illnesses You Could Catch Just Because You Don’t Clean Your Living Room Weekly

Don’t take this lightly!
25 Oct 2019, 05:12 PM
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7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

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The living room is a special place for families. It’s the place where you relax and strengthen your bond with each other whether through talking, watching the TV or having your minum petang.

It’s also an important place for your child to play and explore. A study by Nippon Paint Malaysia showed that 70% of Malaysian parents said that their kids spend an average of 8-20 hours indoors daily, so it’s very likely that the living room is where they spend most of their time in.

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

Image via Shutterstock

But did you know that the biggest surface for germs is on the walls? The same study reported that 80% of Malaysian parents agree that their children touch the walls during play, and 76% of them reported that their child uses the wall as a support to learn how to walk.

This means that they’re almost constantly exposed to pollutants that could affect their health negatively.

You’re probably thinking: Doesn’t that mean we should just clean our living room?  

However, only 49% of Malaysians clean their living room once or twice a week—which isn’t good, because you’re exposing yourself and your family to air pollutants such as VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which is released from furnishings and building materials, mould and bacteria, chemicals from cleaning products, dust mites, animal hair and dander, and tobacco smoke.

And all that cause these illnesses, some of which are surprising to us:

#1 Asthma

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

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Airborne particles could enter your lungs and trigger asthma! Long-term and short-term exposure to them could reduce your lung function and cause more asthma attacks.

#2 Allergies

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

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Allergy symptoms from air pollutants in your living room include coughing, sneezing, skin rash, itching and watery eyes.

#3 Acute lower respiratory infections

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly
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Some symptoms of acute lower respiratory infections are shortness of breath, fever, coughing and fatigue. Exposure to smoke at home increases the risk of acute lower respiratory infections, especially pneumonia, in children. In fact, household air pollution is the cause of more than half of all deaths from pneumonia in children below five years old.

#4 Cataracts

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

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Epidemiological studies from World Health Organization (WHO) shown that household air pollution exposure is associated with cataract formation. A cataract is when there’s a progressive clouding of your eye lens, which leads to your vision weakening. The level of vision loss varies from one person to another.

#5 Ear and upper respiratory infections

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

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Symptoms you can get from an ear infection are dizziness, nausea and vomiting. If you’re suffering from upper respiratory infections, you’ll feel a shortness of breath, runny rose and coughing.

#6 Tuberculosis

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

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This infectious disease is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis and usually affects the lungs. Watch out for these symptoms: coughing up blood, fatigue, fever and unintentional weight loss.

#7 Nasopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

Image via Shutterstock

Nasopharyngeal cancer occurs in the nasopharynx, which is located behind your nose and above the back of your throat. Be wary if you suffer from frequent ear infection, headaches, bloody discharge of your nose or bloody saliva.

Laryngeal cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of your larynx, which is a part of your throat between the base of the tongue and trachea. Some of its symptoms are a sore throat/cough that persists, pain when swallowing, earache, and a lump in your neck or throat.

How can we prevent these illnesses from happening?

It’s impossible to have a home that’s free of air pollutants, but there are many ways we can take to reduce our exposure to them. For example, vacuum your living room twice a week (daily, if you have pets to remove dirt and other allergens). Also, instead of using curtains, hang blinds to that you can dust them often.

Now that you know walls are surfaces where a lot of these pollutants live, you can also get cleaner air by choosing paints that contains ultra-low VOC & low odour properties such as below if you are considering to paint your living rooms walls:

Nippon Paint Green Choice Series

7 surprising illnesses you could catch just because you don’t clean your living room weekly

Image via Nippon Paint Malaysia

Besides being environmentally friendly, the Green Choice Series has a near-zero VOC content, provides tough resistance against moulds, and protects walls from bacteria.

Nippon Paint Child Wellness Range

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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VOCs are harmful to everyone, but especially to kids. To protect them from harmful elements, the Child Wellness Range can absorb harmful formaldehyde, stop viruses from spreading on the walls, and has anti-stain technology that makes cleaning easier.

For more info on the paints and indoor air pollution study, check out the Nippon Paint Indoor Wellness Program website.

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