Food Expiration Dates: What Do They Really Mean?

By Ann Pietrangelo

Are you one of those people who pour the milk down the drain on the expiration date?

Expiration dates on food products can protect consumer health, but those dates are really more about quality than safety, and if not properly understood, they can also encourage consumers to discard food that is perfectly safe to eat.

A recent poll of more than 2,000 adults showed that most of us discard food we believe is unsafe to eat, which is a good thing, of course, but it is important that we understand what food expiration dates mean before we dump our food — and our money — down the drain or into the garbage.

Which five foods are most often feared as being unsafe after the printed date? According to ShelfLifeAdvice.com, we are most wary of milk, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, and eggs, and offers these helpful explanations:

•Milk: If properly refrigerated, milk will remain safe, nutritious, and tasty for about a week after the sell-by date and will probably be safe to drink longer than that, though there’s a decline in nutritional value and taste.
•Cottage cheese: Pasteurized cottage cheese lasts for 10-14 days after the date on the carton.
•Mayonnaise: Unopened, refrigerated Kraft mayonnaise can be kept for 30 days after its expiration date or 3-4 months after opening, the company told ShelfLifeAdvice.
•Yogurt: Yogurt will remain good 7-10 days after its sell-by date.
•Eggs: Properly refrigerated eggs should last at least 3-5 weeks after the sell-by date, according to Professor Joe Regenstein, a food scientist at Cornell University. Note: Use of either a sell-by or expiration (EXP) date is not Federally required, but may be state required, as defined by the egg laws in the state where the eggs are marketed.

Click here for the entire article!

Dirty Cars Can Pose Serious Health Hazard

By David Williams

Motorists are at danger from a barrage of germs like Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus “each time they enter their car”, a new study claims. Bugs linked with food poisoning, vomiting and skin infections were all discovered inside a “random” car when it was subjected to a range of tests, says Halfords.

Scientists who analyzed swabs taken from the car used by a couple and their two children discovered the bacteria Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus inside, including on the steering wheel, gearstick and door handles. According to Halfords, Staphylococcal infections are contagious and can be transmitted from person to person. They can lead to skin infections such as impetigo and to food poisoning.

Bacillus cereus, a bacteria which forms spores that lie dormant until ideal conditions arise – such as warmth and a source of nutrition – can also be responsible for food poisoning. It can cause severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Tests were carried out on car door handles, the steering wheel, gearstick knob, radio control buttons, under the seats and on car mats where shopping is often placed. The resulting swabs were analysed at a laboratory.

Staphylococcus was detected on the door handles, steering wheel and under the seats. Bacillus cereus – probably brought into the vehicle on the shoes of car occupants and the paws of pets – was on the door handles, gearstick knob, car mats and under the seats.

In a survey of drivers conducted for Halfords, half of those questioned said they cleaned the inside of their car less than once a month, while the same proportion admitted they had spilled food or drink in their vehicles and one third said they’d had animals in their cars.

Dr Anthony Hilton, reader in microbiology at Aston University, said: “Although many strains of bacteria are harmless, some can cause unpleasant illnesses.

“People would be horrified at the prospect of eating from a toilet seat; however they ought to be aware that eating from a contaminated dashboard may represent the same health hazards.

“It is important, particularly now the weather is becoming warmer, for people to ensure they do not leave food debris in their cars as bacteria can thrive on even tiny crumbs. Also if you have animals in your car they can contribute to the presence of harmful micro-organisms.”

Dr Hilton, a member of the Society for Applied Microbiology, warned: “Those who eat in their car should treat it as an extension of their home and maintain the same levels of hygiene as they would in their dining room.”

Read the full article here

Your Keyboard Can Give You Food Poisoning

TechNewsDaily -

Computer keyboards can get easily besmirched with food, dirt and germs just like other frequently touched items such as door knobs and money. But beyond just looking grimy, a filthy keyboard might actually make you sick, so it’s important to maintain some desktop hygiene.

In this article, TechNewsDaily will walk you through a proper do-it-yourself keyboard cleaning, but not before putting the fear in you of how scummy your keyboard might just be.

A U.K. consumer organization called Which? found in a 2008 study that keyboards can be up to five times dirtier than the average toilet seat. The major culprits for this grodiness are people not washing their hands after using the restroom and eating food at their desks. In the latter case, sticky fingers transfer sauces and edible particles onto and between the keys. Our fingers also rub skin oils onto the keys, and overall keyboards can become a great place for germs to fester, as several studies over the years have shown.

One common bug that researchers have turned up is staphylococcus aureus, a classic causer of food poisoning, signs of which include nausea and diarrhea. Accordingly, stomach sicknesses caught from computer equipment have been dubbed “qwerty tummy” after the “Q-W-E-R-T-Y” keys on a keyboard.

Unintentional food leftovers have also been found to attract more than just bacteria. Mice — the living, breathing, furry kind, not the point-and-click electronic mouse variety — scamper across keyboards looking for bits of keyboard-captured food, according to the U.K.’s Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

A London office cleaning company told the RSC about a client who noticed “seeds” popping out of her keyboard when she pressed its buttons. The woman was puzzled because she did not eat bread or any other seed-containing food items at her desk. Later, it was revealed that these seeds were mouse fecal pellets.

Read the Entire Article Here!

© 2010 TechNewsDaily

XMICROBE™ at Home

Did you know that your home harbors some pretty nasty germs and other surface and airborne contaminates?  Constant exposure to harmful bacteria and other microbes could you leave vulnerable to illness and infections.  Reduce your risk and take control of your indoor environment with XMICROBE™.

Here’s where you can start:

In the kitchen, keep counters, cabinets, walls, sinks and drains, light switches, and a multitude of other surfaces free of harmful bacteria.

In bedrooms, prevent bacteria, mold and allergy and asthma triggers from accumulating on your sheets, pillow cases, blankets, and window shades.

Use XMICROBE™ to prevent harmful bacteria and mold in your bathroom by applying it to your bathtub, toilet, sink, drains, and walls.

The places you can use XMICROBE™ are endless!

The Germiest Places in America

Health.com -
Content by Health.com editors

We call them the dirty dozen. It’s our laundry list of the germiest places you’re likely to encounter during an average day. Sure, there are outbreaks of microbes and viruses across the country, but these buggers are where you live. In the office, at home, at the gym, on your vacation. “It’s enough to make even the least germophobic person a little worried,” says Dr. Germ, a.k.a. Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. After all, some of these germs lurk where you least expect them, he says: “People are more worried about the trash can than the kitchen sink, when it should be the other way around.” Dr. Germ and a panel of other experts helped us identify the dirty dozen and devise ways for you to keep clean. After all, the fight is in your hands. Literally. Eighty percent of infections are spread through hand contact. So wash up, people, and get ready to wage a bit of germ warfare of your own.

1. Your kitchen sink
“Kitchen sinks are dirtier than most bathrooms,” says Kelly Reynolds, PhD, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona. There are typically more than 500,000 bacteria per square inch in the drain. In fact, in a recent study, half of the top 10 germiest spots in the home were (gulp!) in the kitchen. That sponge you use to clean the counter? Crawling with bacteria, as are the sink’s basin and faucet handles. Reduce the risk: “Clean your kitchen counters and sink with an antibacterial product after preparing or rinsing food, especially raw fruits and vegetables, which carry lots of potential pathogens like salmonella, campylobacter, and E. coli,” says Philip Tierno, PhD, author of The Secret Life of Germs and director of clinical microbiology at New York University Medical Center. Sanitize sponges by running them through the dishwasher’s drying cycle. “That killed 99.9 percent of the bacteria on the sponges we used in a recent study—and we’d gotten them really good and contaminated first,” says Cheryl Mudd, a microbiologist with the Agricultural Research Service’s Food Safety Laboratory. As for the sink, clean it twice a week with a solution of one tablespoon of chlorine bleach and one quart of water. Scrub the basin, then pour the solution down the drain.

2. Airplane bathrooms
It’s not exactly a shock that there are a huge number of germs in most public bathrooms, but experts agree that those cramped and overused airplane loos (with only about one toilet for every 50 people) are the worst. “There are often traces of E. coli or fecal bacteria on the faucets and door handles, because it’s hard to wash your hands in those tiny sinks,” says Dr. Germ, a.k.a. Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. But here’s the worst news: The volcanic flush of the commode tends to spew particles into the air, coating the floor and walls with, well, whatever had been swirling around in there. Reduce the risk: Toilet seats are surprisingly clean, but use the paper cover when available. After using the toilet, wash and dry your hands thoroughly, and use a paper towel to handle the toilet seat, lid, tap, and doorknob. Put the lid down before you flush. If there’s no lid, turn your back to the toilet while flushing and beat a hasty retreat.

3. A Load of Wet Laundry
“Clean clothes” is a whopper of an oxymoron. “Anytime you transfer underwear from the washer to the dryer, you’re going to get E. coli on your hands,” Gerba says. Just one soiled undergarment can spread bacteria to the whole load and the machine. Reduce the risk: Run your washer and dryer at 150 degrees, and wash whites with bleach (not the color-safe type; it doesn’t pack the same punch), which kills 99.99 percent of bugs. Transfer wet laundry to the dryer quickly so germs don’t multiply, wash underwear separately (there’s about a gram of feces—a quarter the size of a small peanut—in every pair of dirty underwear), and dry for at least 45 minutes. Wash your hands after laundering, and run a cycle of bleach and water between loads to eliminate any lingering bugs.

4. Public drinking fountains
Drinking fountains are bound to be germy, but school fountains are the biggest offenders, with anywhere from 62,000 to 2.7 million bacteria per square inch on the spigot, says Robert Donofrio, PhD, director of microbiology for NSF International. Other school hot spots: cafeteria trays, sink handles, desk-tops, and computer keyboards. Yes, kids are germy creatures. And, thanks to their slapdash hygiene, 22 million school days are lost each year to colds alone. Reduce the risk: Send your child to school with plenty of her own beverages. Teach her to wash her hands, especially before and after lunch, going to the bathroom, or using the computer. Send hand sanitizer to every school teacher and give extras to your child. And when it’s your turn to squeeze into that little desk for Open House? Swab it off with an antibacterial wipe, Gerba says. If schools did that every night, they’d reduce the child-absenteeism rate by half. And, of course, don’t drink from the water fountain!

5. Shopping cart handles
Saliva. Bacteria. Fecal matter. Those are just a few of the choice substances Gerba found on shopping cart handles. Carts rank high on the yuck scale because they’re handled by dozens of people every day and you’re “putting your broccoli where some kid’s butt was,” says the professor of environmental microbiology. And, of course, raw food carries nasty pathogens. Reduce the risk: Many stores, aware of the ick factor, have a dispenser with disinfectant wipes near the carts. If yours doesn’t, bring your own and give the handle a quick swab; that’s been shown to kill nearly 100 percent of germs. Or carry along a cart cover, like the Grip-Guard or Healthy Handle, a dishwasher-safe polypropylene cover that fits over any size cart handle. At the meat counter, follow the lead of Elizabeth Scott, PhD, co-director of the Center for Hygiene and Health at Simmons College in Boston: “I always put raw meat in a plastic bag. If I get some juice on my hands, I ask the person behind the counter for a disinfecting wipe.”

6. ATM buttons
If you’re not careful, you might pick up more than quick cash from your local ATM. Those buttons have more gunk on them than most public-bathroom doorknobs. (The same goes for vending-machine buttons, bus armrests, and escalator handrails.) After testing 38 ATMs in downtown Taipei, Chinese researchers recently found that each key contained, on average 1,200 germs. “ATMs aren’t frequently cleaned, and they are regularly touched—a perfect combination for a lot of germs,” environmental microbologist Kelly Reynolds, PhD, says. Reduce the risk: “Carry an alcohol-based hand-sanitizer with you and rub it on your hands after a visit to the ATM,” Reynolds suggests. Also, be sure to do it after you handle money. “Paper money actually carries quite a few germs, too,” she says.

7. Your handbag
Your Marc Jacobs? Dirty? Yep. Think petri dish. When University of Arizona professor of environmental microbiology Charles Gerba, PhD, and his team tested women’s purses not long ago, they found that most had tens of thousands of bacteria on the bottom and a few were overrun with millions. Another study found bugs like pseudo-monas (which can cause eye infections), and skin-infection-causing staphylococcus bacteria, as well as salmonella and E. coli. Your makeup case is every bit as bad, as are your guy’s wallet and personal digital assistant. Reduce the risk: Instead of slinging your bag on the floor, hang it on a hook whenever you can—especially in public bathrooms—and keep your bag off the kitchen counter. Stick with leather or vinyl purses, which are typically cleaner than cloth (less-porous surfaces are more impervious to germs). And wipe your bag down every few days with a mild soap or disinfectant, then let it air dry. Brand name, alas, makes no difference.

8. Playgrounds
There’s just no way to put this delicately: Children tend to ooze bodily fluids and then spread them around. “When we sampled playgrounds, we were pretty aghast at what we found—blood, mucus, saliva, urine,” Kelly Reynolds, PhD, says. Pair those findings with the fact that children put their fingers in their mouths and noses more than the rest of us, and it’s easy to understand why Junior (and maybe his mom or dad) has the sniffles. Reduce the risk: Carry alcohol wipes or hand-sanitizing gel in your purse, and clean everybody’s hands a couple of times during a park visit, especially before snacking. Pick warm sunny days for outdoor play: “The sun’s ultraviolet light is actually a very effective disinfectant. Most bugs won’t survive long on surfaces that are hot and dry,” says Howard Backer, MD, MPH, an expert in communicable diseases in Richmond, California.

9. Mats and machines at health clubs
“I see a yoga mat, and I worry,” says Elizabeth Scott, PhD, who has found antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus on yoga mats and cardio and resistance machines. “At high schools, antibiotic-resistant-staph infections have been transmitted through wrestling mats. The same thing could happen at health clubs.” Reduce the risk: Wipe down machines with antibacterial wipes before working out. Bring your own yoga mat or cover a loaner with your towel. “Shower after a workout and soap up your skin to rinse off any bacteria you may have been exposed to,” Scott says. “Thorough washing gets rid of antibiotic-resistant staph.”

10. Your bathtub
Shocking, but true: The place you go to get clean is quite dirty. In a recent study, Elizabeth Scott, PhD, found staphylococcus bacteria, a common cause of serious skin infections, in 26 percent of the tubs she tested, as compared with just 6 percent of garbage cans. Tubs typically had more than 100,000 bacteria per square inch! “It makes sense when you think about it,” she says. “You’re washing germs and viruses off your body. The tub is a fairly moist environment, so bacteria can grow.” Reduce the risk: Once a week, apply a disinfecting cleaner to the tub. “You need to actually scrub, then you need to wash the germs down the drain with water and dry the tub with a clean towel. If you leave the tub wet, germs are more likely to survive,” Scott says. Pay special attention to soap scum—a surprisingly germ-friendly environment, author Phiilp Tierno, PhD, adds. If someone who uses the tub has a skin infection, scrub it afterward with a solution of two tablespoons bleach in one quart of water.

11. Your office phone
This is enough to make you dial 911: Office phones often have more than 25,000 germs per square inch, and your desk, computer keyboard, and mouse aren’t far behind. “Phones, including cell phones, can be pretty gross; they get coated with germs from your mouth and hands,” says Robert Donofrio, PhD. Although we’d like to think of ourselves as cleaner than guys, women’s offices have twice the number of bacteria (but men’s are slightly more likely to harbor antiobiotic-resistant staphylococcus). In fact, Gerba calls desks “bacteria cafeterias,” because of all the food particles he found there. Most common office areas—kitchens, copiers—are not as dirty as individual desks, although the microwave is pretty bad.

12. Hotel-room remote
What’s the first thing you do when you settle in at a hotel? You grab the remote control and switch on the TV—you, and the hundreds of other guests who’ve stayed there. How dirty is it? Owen Hendley, MD, a professor of pediatrics and infectious disease at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and his colleagues recently tested various surfaces for the cold virus after a group of sick people had stayed overnight. “We found the virus on the remote, door handles, light switches, pens, and faucet handles,” he says. Reduce the risk: Clean the remote control, phone, clock radio, door handles, and light switches with germicidal wipes. While you’re at it, throw on a pair of slippers and throw off the bedspread. “We’ve found urine and semen on both carpets and bedspreads.” They may not make you truly sick, but it certainly is enough to make you feel queasy.

The Germiest Places in America

Health.com -
Content by Health.com editors
We call them the dirty dozen. It’s our laundry list of the germiest places you’re likely to encounter during an average day. Sure, there are outbreaks of microbes and viruses across the country, but these buggers are where you live. In the office, at home, at the gym, on your vacation. “It’s enough to make even the least germophobic person a little worried,” says Dr. Germ, a.k.a. Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. After all, some of these germs lurk where you least expect them, he says: “People are more worried about the trash can than the kitchen sink, when it should be the other way around.”

Dr. Germ and a panel of other experts helped us identify the dirty dozen and devise ways for you to keep clean. After all, the fight is in your hands. Literally. Eighty percent of infections are spread through hand contact. So wash up, people, and get ready to wage a bit of germ warfare of your own.

Read the Entire Article Here!

How to Stop Allergies at Home

Health.com -

Stop your sneezing
Your home harbors a surprising number of sneaky allergy-causing culprits. Here’s where they’re hiding, and how to send them packing.

Clutter gathers dust
A messy home = nice digs for dust mites, bugs, mold, and mice. Recycle old newspapers, magazines, cans, and grocery bags weekly—and keep the bins outside if you can.

Carpet harbors dust mites
Dust mites and pet dander love carpeting and rugs, so bust out your vac weekly. Make sure it has a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to trap tiny particles. (Non-HEPA vacs just recirculate ’em.)

Bedding
Banish mites and mold by washing bedding in 130-degree water weekly.

Bathroom
Moist bathroom or basement walls love to breed mold. In the fall, mold also moves indoors via wet leaves on shoes and damp firewood. Store wood in a separate dry space, like the garage, and keep the yard leaf-free.

Crumbs in the Kitchen
Crumbs and overflowing garbage lure mice and roaches—and their droppings can aggravate allergies. Keep your space clean.

Open windows bring outdoor allergies in
Refreshing fall breezes are great—unless they usher ragweed pollen indoors. Keep windows shut between the high-pollen-count hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. (If it’s warm, keep the air conditioner running; it filters out pollen inside your home.) Change the AC (or heater) filter monthly. And remove shoes outside to avoid tracking in pollen particles.

Houseplants can hold mold
Your potted plants can harbor sneeze-producing mold on their leaves. Remove any moldy leaves immediately, and don’t let water pool in the pot’s tray. Check with a plant-care specialist if the problem persists.

Pet dander
Pet dander and saliva spell trouble for 30 percent of allergy sufferers. Washing or brushing your pet weekly (do it outside) can lower your home’s dander level. Keep dogs and cats out of the bedroom, and cover air vents with cheesecloth to keep dander from spreading from room to room.

Fabric furnishings hold dust and dander
Dust weekly. Wash blankets and throw rugs in hot water (or have them dry-cleaned). Pick up pet fur with your vac’s upholstery attachment, and try to keep pets off furniture. Make sure the air temp is below 70 degrees, too: Mites, as well as fungus and roaches, dislike cool temps.

See the Slideshow Here

The Worst Places for Your Health

Prevention -
By Jessie Knadler

Store owners aren’t the only ones concerned with finding the perfect spot in which to situate their stuff.  Where you put your toothbrush, TV, workout gear, and more can make a huge impact on your habits and your life.
 
Researchers in a wide variety of fields know that how you organize your environment—from where you stand in fitness class to the place you choose to store your meds—has a surprising effect on everything from your weight to your chances of staying well.  In other words, when it comes to how you feel, it’s not just what you do, it’s where you do it.  Here, surprisingly bad locales for your health—and the best places to optimize it.

Read the Entire Article Here!

7 Things That Could Leave You Extra Vulnerable to Colds and Flu

Prevention -
By Nancy Kalish

Some people seem to survive cold and flu season with nary a sniffle. And yet plenty others seem to catch cold after cold; sidelined with a perpetually stuffed-up nose and hacking cough that lasts all winter long. So what’s different between these two groups? Research shows your cold and flu vulnerability may come down to a few important—and unexpected—habits, like how much sugar you eat or how dry your nose is. Assess your risk with these 7 signs of impaired immunity, and learn what you can do to stay healthy.

1. You have a sweet tooth.
Eating too much sugar doesn’t just pack on pounds …
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating 100 g of sugar (think three cans of soda) significantly hampered the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria for up to 5 hours afterward.

2. You don’t drink enough water.
There’s a reason moms and doctors always push fluids on you when you’re sick.
Your body needs plenty of water to flush out toxins—and yes, coffee and tea are acceptable sources. How much fluid you should drink daily varies from person to person. You’re drinking the right amount if your urine is pale yellow.

3. You’ve got a lot of weight to lose.
You know excess weight is unhealthy for your heart, brain and other organs. But it’s also bad for your immune system.
In fact, those who become most seriously ill with swine flu tend to share the same characteristic: a body mass index over 40, meaning they are morbidly obese. Excess weight can cause hormonal imbalances and inflammation that impairs the immune system’s ability to fight infection.

4. You drink water from a well.
Surprisingly, the cleanliness of your drinking water can play a role in whether or not you get sick.
As many as 25 million Americans drink well water that contains more than the safe levels of arsenic determined by the EPA. Arsenic has been linked to several different cancers, and affects the immune response to swine flu as well. When researchers from Dartmouth Medical School inoculated two groups of mice with the H1N1 virus, the group that had spent 5 weeks drinking arsenic-tainted water developed suppressed immune systems, and many died. The mice that didn’t drink the water got the flu but recovered completely. If your well water tests high, consider switching to bottled water or investing in a remediation system that will remove the arsenic.

5. Your nose is Sahara desert-dry.
As uncomfortable as it may be, a runny nose is actually a good defense against colds and the flu.
Sounds gross, but mucus traps viruses and clears them from the body. If your nasal passages are too dry, germ invaders have an easier time. If the dryness is a temporary problem, irrigate your nasal passages with a squeeze bottle or neti pot of saline solution. A humidifier can also help. If dryness is chronic, see your doctor to determine the underlying cause.

6. You’re always seriously stressed out.
It’s no coincidence that you tend to catch a cold after a big work deadline.
According to a report by the American Psychological Association, long-term stress weakens the responses of your immune system. In addition, “if you become stressed while you have the flu, your symptoms can get worse,” says Philip Tierno, PhD, director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University and author of The Secret Life of Germs: What They Are, Why We Need Them, and How We Can Protect Ourselves Against Them.

7. You’re always nursing a cold.
This means your immune system isn’t operating at top speed.
The average adult picks up one to three colds each season that typically last 3 or 4 days. If you get more, your resistance might be low. Getting more sleep, regular exercise and rounding out your diet to get lots of healthy veggies and these foods can help.

Damp House Linked to Kids’ Risk of Nasal Allergies

Children who live in damp, water-damaged homes may be more likely than other kids to develop nasal allergies, a study suggests.

Researchers found that of nearly 1,900 Finnish children they followed for six years, those who lived in homes with dampness or mold problems were more likely to develop allergic rhinitis during the study period.

Allergic rhinitis refers to symptoms of congestion, sneezing and runny nose caused by allergens such as pollen, dust, animal dander or mold.

In this study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, 16 percent of children whose parents reported dampness in the home went on to be diagnosed with allergic rhinitis over the next six years. That compared with just under 12 percent of children whose parents reported no dampness problems — that is, no visible signs of water damage to the ceilings, walls or floors, and no visible mold or mold odor in the home.

The researchers weighed a number of factors that might help account for the connection, including families’ socioeconomic status (asthma and allergies tend to be common in lower income children) and whether children were also exposed to second-hand smoke.

However, damp, moldy conditions in the home remained linked to an increased risk of children’s nasal allergies. Children whose parents reported any mold or water damage in the home at the outset were 55 percent more likely than other children to develop allergic rhinitis — connected to any allergen, and not just mold.

“Our study strengthens the evidence that exposure to indoor dampness increases the risk of developing allergic rhinitis,” lead researcher Dr. Jouni Jaakkola, of the Institute of Health Sciences in Oulu, Finland, told Reuters Health in an email.

Previous studies, he said, had measured children’s exposure to dampness and mold, and their rates of nasal allergies, all at one time — making it impossible to tell whether the exposure preceded the allergies’ development.

The fact that this study followed children’s rates of allergy development over time strengthens the case that household dampness is a risk factor for nasal allergies — though the findings alone do not prove cause-and-effect. It is still possible that there are other factors that explain the link.

However, Jaakkola said that based on other research, it is plausible that damp conditions in the house contribute to nasal allergies. Such conditions, he noted, encourage the growth of dust mites and fungi, and attract cockroaches — all of which can serve as allergy triggers. Moisture may also boost the emission of chemicals from building materials, according to Jaakkola, and those chemicals could potentially create inflammation in the airways.

The bottom line for parents, Jaakkola said, is that they would be wise to look out for signs of water damage at home.

“In general, we should try to avoid dampness problems in homes and repair (damage) as soon as the problems appear,” he noted, adding that parents of children who already have any form of allergy should be particularly careful to do so.

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