Chlorine contained in pipeline water has a great connection with the occurrence of food and environmental allergies, scientists from the American College of Immunology found out. In a new study conducted with the participation of more than 2 thousand people, they found that the main source of the negative properties of chlorine is its component, dichlorophenol, a sodium salt that provokes adverse reactions in the body to certain odors and food products. The latter include cow's milk, wheat, soy, eggs, mustard, celery, kiwi and other fruits and vegetables.
The main danger of these types of allergies is their ability to suddenly take a severe form, which poses a serious threat not only to health but also to human life. Vivid examples of the consequences of this are anaphylaxis, eczema, and itchy rashes.
Most often, dichlorophenol enters the human body from chlorine consumed with untreated water - not boiled or not purified by special filters. However, experts note that the harmful component can also be part of some household and cosmetic accessories, including some lipsticks, toothpastes, soap, and other chemicals.
According to the study, the risk of both types of disease in people who regularly drink untreated water is about 80%. This became known through a survey of 2211 adult Americans who had been drinking tap water for a long time and using potentially dangerous drugs, that is, those in which dichlorophenol could be present. It turned out that 411 of them had a food allergy, while 1016 people had other types of allergies.
"Recently, the number of people with these diseases has been growing rapidly around the world. The reason for this is the expansion of the scope of dichlorophenol. We can’t remove the products that are used to make them at the store counter, but we should definitely be more careful about it and remember that drinking tap water is unreasonable and dangerous, "the study report says.
