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FORMALDEHYDE
POISONING
SUSPECTED
IN
RV
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A
report
on
the
ABC
News
website
on
June
4th,
2007
alleges
that
a
Mississippi
couple
who
bought
a
trailer
"began
to
suffer
strange
symptoms:
burning
sensations
in
their
eyes,
splitting
headaches
and
even
nosebleeds."
The
RVer
contacted
the
Sierra
Club
and
the
club
provided
him
with
formaldehyde
test
kits.
| Formaldehyde
effects
on
health
(US
Environmental
Agency):
Formaldehyde,
a
colorless,
pungent-smelling
gas,
can
cause
watery
eyes,
burning
sensations
in
the
eyes
and
throat,
nausea,
and
difficulty
in
breathing
in
some
humans
exposed
at
elevated
levels
(above
0.10
parts
per
million).
High
concentrations
may
trigger
attacks
in
people
with
asthma.
There
is
evidence
that
some
people
can
develop
a
sensitivity
to
formaldehyde.
It
has
also
been
shown
to
cause
cancer
in
animals
and
may
cause
cancer
in
humans.
Health
effects
include
eye,
nose,
and
throat
irritation;
wheezing
and
coughing;
fatigue;
skin
rash;
severe
allergic
reactions. |
The
RVer
tested
and
found
formaldehyde
levels
of
0.42
according
to
the
article.
He
then
followed
the
Sierra
Club's
suggestion
and
closed
up
and
"baked
off"
his
trailer
with
heaters
and
then
ventilated
it
for
3
days.
It's
then
reported
that
retesting
found
levels
of
0.37
-
once
again
considerably
above
the
US
Environmental
Agency
figure
of
0.10
quoted
above
(in
the
red
box.) The
RVer's
doctor
told
him
that
there
are
no
tests
for
formaldehyde
poisoning
but
it
was
"highly
suspected"
in
the
case
of
him
and
his
wife.
What
do
you
think?
...
|
Readers'
comments:
Latest
first
beachbum
:
Does anyone have a list of either the worst brands or brands that are formaldehyde free?
Susan Rappoport
:
My brother bought a new travel trailer when he retired at age 54. He planned to live in it and travel to different parts of the country. After a short time, he started getting sick. He had slurred speech, loss of balance, severe depression and other symptoms. One side of his back started hurting. When we finally got him to go to the doctor, he had Stage IV kidney cancer. He died from it. I tested his trailer for formaldehyde over a year and half after he bought it. He had been airing it out all fall and into the winter. He was out of the trailer. My sister and I were taking care of him. The formaldehyde level in the trailer tested at .265 parts per million. A professional embalmer is exposed to .3 parts per million and is required to wear safety gear when using formaldehyde. He was my little brother. He worked so hard all his life. He was such a good person. My faith has been severely tested watching the pain and sickness he had to go through. The manufacturers of these trailers are not made to follow the law regarding the so-called "safe" level of formaldehyde, which I believe is .1 parts per million. There are those who think .1 parts per million is way too high for health safety. He died two years ago. I did extensive internet searches on formaldehyde. Today is the first time I have been able to get back on the internet and look up formaldehyde poisoning. My brother left three sisters and two sons broken hearted.
ALLEN FRALEY
:
I WAS POISONED BECAUSE MY CHEMCLEAN BOTTLE BY THETFORD RUPTURED AND RELEASED THE LIQID THROUGH OUT THE MOTOR HOME. EVIDENTLY THE BOTLE GOT TO HOT EVEN THOUGH THE AIR WAS ON. WE RETURNED IN THREE WEEKS OPENED THE DOOR, AND THE REST WAS HISTORY. I WAS BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS ETC. HAD TO QUIT MY JOB AS DID MY WIFE. THE BOOTLE RUPTURED IN TWO LIKE SLITS AT THE BOTTOM AND THETFORD IS SAYING IT IS A CUT NOT A RUPTURE? ALL I KNOW IS I CAN HARDLY BREATH AFTER ALMOST A YEAR. AND SHARE MOST OF THE SYMTOMS OF THE OTHERS. HOW CAN WE TEST THAT BOTTLE?
Minnesota
:
I think I had formaldehyde poisoning in the 1980s from my new home. It was not diagnosed at the time, I came to suspect it later after reading a newspaper article on the subject.
My symptoms were: splitting headache for one year, insomnia, tired in daytime, severe short-term memory loss, burning esophagus, trouble inhaling deeply, trouble swallowing, pounding heart, depression, aching muscles, trouble making simple decisions and extreme muscle weakness.
The memory loss was such that when driving I would forget the difference between red and green traffic lights. When going to the mailbox or downstairs to the freezer, I would have to talk aloud continually, telling myself where I was going, otherwise, I would forget before I got there. I could not enjoy a television show because my bad memory would not allow me to follow the plot. When reading a book (and I read every book I could find on depression), I would have to re-read each paragraph 5-10 times before it would sink into my memory.
The headache was so bad that I would tip-toe around the house, because any jostling at all increased the pain of the pounding headache.
The breathing problems were so bad that I was afraid to go to sleep at night, fearing that I would suffocate because it was such an effort to breathe.
It was so hard to swallow that I would carry a napkin around to spit in rather than subject myself to needless swallowing.
namsangels
:
Did anyone have memory loss, eye color change, muscle pain?
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