Almost every person in the world has heard of pesticides and knows what they are used for. Nowadays, there are not that many foods which are being raised without the use of pesticides. More and more farmers do not care about the possible dangers that these chemicals found in pesticides can happen to people. The goods thing and the only that the farmers seem to care about is that of the bettered productivity. Pesticides are known to remain inside the fruits and other foods and if a person intakes an amount which is greater than normal, certain effects which are not good for the health will occur.
Pesticides are dangerous to humans
Almost all people are exposed to pesticides but there are some who are more exposed than others and these people are farmers. Even the slightest exposure to pesticides can provide a lot of negative effects on a person if his or her health is not the strongest. Not every person is the same and due to that fact some may experience no effects at all from a certain amount of exposure to pesticides, while other may experience severe effects from the same amount of exposure. There are a lot of health effects which are caused by pesticides. Some of these effects are chronic, while others are acute. The most commonly seen acute symptoms in a person are headaches, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, skin rash, asthma attack and an irritation of the respiratory system. It is a known fact that these symptoms are seen in various other diseases and that is why it is not uncommon for someone to be misdiagnosed. For instance, all of these symptoms are the same for the flu and a pesticide-related disease. On the other hand, when chronic conditions are considered, a person can go on living normally for days, weeks, month and even years without experiencing any of the signs. Chronic effects of pesticides are a lot harder to be identified. It is important to know that the most commonly seen chronic illnesses connected with exposure to pesticides are cancer, birth defects, disorders of the nervous system and even immune deficiency.
Why are children more exposed to pesticides than adults?
According to the doctors, children are a lot more exposed to pesticides than adults. There are a lot of reasons why that is so. One of the main reasons is because children eat a lot more than adults. By doing that a child introduces more food and increases the exposure to the pesticides. Another reason is the difference in the diet of a child and an adult. A child needs to consume a lot more vegetables and fruits than adults and by doing that a child also increases the exposure to pesticides. Parents need to know that not only pesticides can cause damage to the health of their children. There are is a fair number of ingredients which will also cause damage to the health of the child, for instance certain industrial contaminants like dioxins and mercury, microbial contaminants like E. coli and various natural contaminants like aflatoxin. Parents should also be aware of the fact that the Pesticide Data Program does not analyze the foods for these contaminants. However, some of these contaminants are being sought out in foods by some other programs of the government. Health professionals and health advocates are against school pesticide because the use of them can provoke some serious health problems for the children. Both their immediate health and the long-term one are endangered by school pesticide. A resolution was passed in the year of 1999 which advises schools not only to forbid the use of highly toxic pesticides but reduces the overall use of pesticides and involves parents a lot more in the making of decisions when pest management is considered. Thanks to this resolution more attention is being paid to the topic of the effect of pesticides on children’s health all over the United States. Children are a lot more prone to suffering from the effects of pesticides than adults because they are still in the early stages of organ, nervous, reproductive and immune system development. In addition to this, the concentration of pesticide in the fatty tissue of children might be greater due to the fact that fat as the percentage of total body weight is not as high as it is in adults. The behavior of children is another factor which makes them more prone to pesticide exposure. Children are a lot more likely to play and get in contact with floors, lawns and playgrounds. The children’s breathing zone is a lot closer to the ground than it is of the adults and that is another reason why children are more prone to pesticide exposure. Carpets are known to be long-term reservoir for pesticides which are being used inside the house. Carpet dust contains a lot of pesticides and this is another problem for children because their breathing zone is closer to the ground.
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