According to
Gus
Portokalos, the father
of the bride in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, just about any ailment can
be cured if you just put some Windex on it, and the root of any word
stems from the Greek.
While not trying to contradict the
patriarch of that fictional family (or the Hollywood scriptwriters),
researchers have found that if the ailment in question is asthma, Windex –
or any other cleaning spray – is not exactly what the doctor ordered.
The results
of the recent study suggests the heavy use of household cleaning sprays
could actually increase the risk of developing adult asthma by up to 50
percent. |
In the study, researchers analyzed data from 3,500 people
from ten European countries, assessing the participants for asthma and
wheezing, then following up in interviews nine years later.
One of
the main questions was how often they used cleaning sprays.
The
results found the risk of developing asthma increased with frequency of
cleaning and the number of sprays used; air fresheners, furniture cleaners
and glass cleaners had a particularly strong effect.
“Frequent use of household cleaning sprays may be an important risk factor
for adult asthma,” said Jan-Paul Zock, of the Centre for Research in
Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona.
It is
noted that Greece has one of the lowest rates of adult asthma in the
European Union, along with France, Germany and Italy, while the U.K and
Ireland have the highest rates – along with the highest death rate from
respiratory diseases.
While Gus
Portokalos’ Windex cure may not be for everyone, he is right about one
thing: the word asthma comes from the Greek word azein,
meaning sharp breath. |
