New research out of the US shows that nursing staff can have an increased risk of asthma if they have regular exposure to hospital cleaners and disinfectants. The findings were published recently in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
US researchers reviewed 3,650 medical professionals, including a group of approximately 1,000 nurses. Nursing staff often have positions that require regular and consistent use of a number of possible breathing irritants, including cleaning products, latex gloves, aerosol treatments, solvents and glues. All these substances were included in the study.
Results show that nurses using latex gloves had a 6% higher rate of asthma diagnosis since starting their current job, compared to other health care professionals.
Another factor – not covered in this study – is that health care professionals regularly develop allergies to substances to which they are frequently exposed, which can shorten or destroy a medical career. New latex allergy is one of the most common new allergies in medical staff. Clearly, allergens can also act in most cases as asthma irritants.
That wasn’t all: researchers also noticed that nurses in frequent contact with general cleaning products and disinfectants were 72 per cent more likely to report a new asthma diagnosis. Nurses also reported symptoms of asthma almost 60 per cent more than other medical staff.
The research team reviewed the results and controlled for other factors that could explain the finding. The trends remained.
Hospital environments make use of a wide variety of cleansing or antibacterial products. Researchers looked at topical cleansers and antiseptics, glutaraldehyde for sterilization and all purpose cleaning products like bleach.
The research team suggested, “Substituting … environmentally friendly ‘green chemicals’ and using appropriate personal care protection could help minimize occupational exposures.” The movement by hospitals to more green solutions would benefit both patients and medical staff. While patients have shorter exposure times to hospital chemicals, any movement to healthier alternatives will improve the conditions for all.
Source: IrishHealth.com
