7 Dangers of Chlorine in your Shower
The Tech Diary · Lifestyle
Did you know that you can absorb 6 to 100 times more chlorine in a shower than you do by drinking the same water? A warm shower opens up your pores, causing your skin to act like a sponge. As a result, you not only inhale the chlorine vapors, you also absorb them through your skin, directly into your bloodstream.
Chlorine, which can be found in your shower water, can have all kinds of adverse effects on your health? Here are some of the following dangers you could be facing:
Skin Irritations
Chlorine in water dries out your skin, which can cause flakiness, redness, and itching. This is why you sometimes notice that you have blotchy skin after a hot shower. If you already have existing skin conditions like allergies, eczema, and psoriasis, it can worsen if you shower with chlorintated water. This is because the pores of your skin open up when you shower, and they absorb the chemicals in the water more easily.
Eye Irritations
Your skin isn’t the only part of your body that could get irritated due to chlorine. Your eyes can get itchy and red, too. It’s similar to how our eyes get inflamed. Your eyes can come into direct contact with chlorine from the water or vapour.
Aside from chlorine, there are other chemicals in hard water, such as magnesium and calcium, which are also incredibly drying. All kinds of allergens contaminate the water. It you suffer from eye irritation and redness because of the tap water, you may use a water softener to remove contaminants. For chlorine, you might have to use a reverse osmosis system or a carbon filter.
Dry and Brittle Hair
If you’ve never had problems with your hair before but suddenly experiences dryness, split ends, and fizziness after moving into a new house, it could be due to the water. The water from your shower could cause split ends because the strands are weakened after continuous exposure to chlorine. It can even change your hair colour and the strip off the natural oils necessary to keep your hair healthy and moisturized.
Itchy and Flaky Scalp
Dandruff and a dry itchy scalp are also other effects of chlorine in your shower, which is due to they drying chemicals and allergens. You might have tried all kinds of anti-dandruff shampoos to get rid of the problem; you may even have consulted with a doctor. If no other solutions are working, the problem could be your water.
Exposure to Free Radicals
Chlorinated water can cause even worse problems to your health. Chlorinated water also often carries free radicals, which can cause accelerated aging and a weakened immune system. This is because free radicals can damage cells. And as you age, you become more susceptible to the effects of free radicals.
Oxidative stress happens when the free radicals and antioxidants become imbalanced within your body. Unfortunately, oxidative stress has been linked to the following health problems:
Clogged arteries
Central nervous system diseases
Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
Diabetes
Physical signs of aging
Genetic degenerative diseases
Cataracts and other eye problems
Lung Problems
To take care of the air quality in your home, you often make sure that you install air conditioning and keep your home free of mold and dust. But did you know that you could also get respiratory problems from risks in the shower? Scientific studies have linked chlorinated water, when inhaled can, over time, contribute to such health-threatening conditions as cancer of the bladder, liver, stomach and colon. Heart disease, high blood pressure and allergies have also been linked with chlorine.
When you have a hot shower, it causes the vapour to fill up the bathroom. Unfortunately, this makes it easier for you to inhale chlorine, which is more dangerous that ingesting chlorinated water. Both have their dangers, but the lungs tend to be more vulnerable to harmful chemicals than your intestines.
Your respiratory tract can get irritated to the point where you could feel itching around your sinuses and lungs. It might even cause shortness of breath, headaches, and vomiting. If you already have asthma or other respiratory problems, inhaling chlorine in the shower could flare it up.
Cancer
Trihalomethane’s or THMs are thought to be some of the water contaminants that can cause cancer. Her are the four kinds of THMs:
Chloroform
Bromodichloromethane
Dibromochloromethane
Bromoform
If chlorine is present in water, it may also have these THms. These contaminants can enter your body through ingestion, inhalation, and absorption through the skin. It’s been said that these can cause a small spike in the risk of colorectal and bladder cancers. But it could also other health problems to the central nervous center, lungs, kidneys, heart and liver.
Conclusion
Taking a dip in a chlorinated pool from time to time might be okay. But if you regularly shower or bathe in chlorinated water, you could absorb, ingest, or inhale the harmful chemicals and other contaminants in your body. Taking the proper precautions and installing an appropriate filter could help. It pays to be cautious, especially because chlorine and the THMs can cause all kinds of irritations, and even lead to more serious health issues like respiratory problems, compromised immunity, and cancer.