home health issues

By JAINE TREADWELL

Features Editor

Oct. 20, 2000 10 PM

People who have chronic headaches, nausea, itchy eyes or other ailments might want to consider whether their home, apartment or workplace is the problem.

Just how one goes about considering these confinements is a question itself.

That question will be answered at the Healthy Home Seminar, Thursday, Oct.26 which will be held from 8:30 until 1 p.m. at the Family Life Center on Highway 29 north of Troy.

The topics of discussion will include asthma and allergies, poison prevention in the home, lead and asbestos in the home and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Dr. Patricia Block, Charles Henderson Child Health Center, will speak on asthma and allergies from 9 until 10 a.m. From 10 until 10:30 a.m. Lois Dorough, education director, Alabama Poison Control Center will discuss poison prevention in the home.

Gary Jones, Alabama Department of Public Health, will discuss lead and asbestos from 10:45 until 11:15 a.m. followed by Shannon Gooden, marketing and communications manager, and Joe Swain, sales representative, Southeast Alabama Gas. Gooden and Swain will discuss carbon monoxide poisoning.

Terry Watkins, outreach education coordinator for Edge Regional Medical Center, said indoor air can harbor many potentially hazardous materials.

"These materials can cause a variety of health problems – some common, some very serious – that people don’t associate with poor household air quality," she said. "Some of the more recognizable indoor air pollutants – because they can be seen or smelled – include cigarette smoke, asbestos, formaldehyde, carpet fumes, mold and mildew. Less easy to recognize are carbon monoxide, lead and radon. A variety of household products can also degrade air quality if used improperly."

Watkins said recent research has found that in homes around the country, the quality of home indoor air can actually be worse than outdoor air.

"That is why the ‘Healthy Home’ seminar has been planned for Pike County," she said. "Residents will be informed about the potential for household air pollution that can affect their health. The program is free but everyone should call to register at 566-0985."

Because indoor air pollution can cause serious health problems and because many homeowners know relatively little about the effects of potentially hazardous materials, the Healthy Home Seminar will provide a great service to homeowners, renters and business owners.

"If you know there is a problem, you can correct it," Watkins said. "This is a good opportunity to learn about the place where you live and work and the effects it could have on your health, on your children’s health or on the health of your employees."

The Healthy Home Seminar is sponsored by Edge Regional Medical Center, Charles Henderson Child Health Center, Pike County Extension

Office, Alabama Department of Public Health, Troy Housing Authority and Glaxo Welcome, Inc.