Worried about Chemicals in products. Any proof it causes cancer????

[Adelle]

Hi, My HA has been at an all time high lately and Im scared to use moisturizer just incase all the chemicals in them ( which I cant even pronounce ) will cause cancer. Does the body absorb these chemicals and is there any proof that its not good for you. Also does anyone know what a great natural or organic moisturizer is or am I being stupid??? Thanks.

[looking4answers]

List of things that will kill you and are poison.

The air we breathe
the water we drink
the soap we use on our bodies plus laundry
the fumes from automobiles
the soft drinks we drink
the coffee we drink
the sugar we use
the clothing we wear
and so many other things.

Forgive me because everytime I turn around they are contributing death and poison to something. You aren't stupid but the items you use on your body do not containminate you enough to kill you.

Usually when they test something and find it bad for you they have had mice soaked in it for months or they have given it to mice to eat tons of for years. I would just use what you want to use and don't worry about it.

Its always good to be cautious but if you were you would sit in a high contamination place braathing filtered air and everything you would eat would be some type of special something probably tasting like carboard and well life wouldn't be worth living. Anyway forgive me for rambling but to answer your question ,Im pretty sure its not going to hurt you .Take care

[MandySlade]

I've been dealing with this a lot lately.. my phobias of everything causing cancer. Bottled water, other plastic containers, my fillings, deodorant, etc. etc. etc.....

It came to a point where I can not, and will not, allow myself to research these things anymore. Lookingforanswers already said what I'm basically trying to get across.

Everything is poisoning you. Seriously. Hell, BASIC foods have been found to be carcinogens.. mushrooms, carrots, peaches (the list is VERY long). It's all about a matter of -degree-.

I am trying to focus on doing what is considered "normal" for staying healthy. Meaning, I mostly eat right, I work out, etc. But, I have to limit myself to my best guess at what's a "normal" amount of time/thought put into these things. I was making myself miserable trying to live my life "avoiding" harmful things. What happens is you just find more and more things to put on that list, until you can't do anything you enjoy anymore. One of the things that separates us health anxiety sufferers from "normal" people is their ability to shrug things off. Most people you ask about things like this will say something like "eh, we're all going to die somehow". Which, I REALIZE is horrifying. I personally have no idea how people "accept" it... but I've learned that accepting it, or at least not focusing on it, is a big key in our treatment.

So, use some common sense, but try to actually LIVE your life. That's what I'm working on. I'm no longer going to deny myself the occasional junk food because it has MSG in it. I'm no longer going to obsess over which is killing me faster.. all the bottled water I consume or all the tap water. Etc. Etc...

[Adelle]

Thankyou to both of you who replied. It does make sense to me. Im going to go and buy the sweetest, creamiest moisturizer tomorrow instead of grabbing the olive oil out of the pantry and taking it into the shower. My husband thinks Im crazy. Oh and MandySlade. I have read a few of your posts and it seems as though our anxiety is very similar. I wish you all the best and hope we can both soon be more carefree. :)

[xfilme]

try buying vegan products. I went through a similar panic over SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulfate) as it is a hardcore cleaning agent used in almost all toothpastes and shampoos etc... there are links to it causing cancer but obviously those cases are probably a very very minute percentage. I started buying SLS free products from the health shop as the vegan products were chemical free. I have since calmed myself about these worries and gone back to using my normal shampoo and toothpaste etc. I also worried about Aspartame for some time as it has been banned in certain countries due to the alleged links to cancer. Aspartame can be found in almost anything containin sweetners instead of sugar. I amo not overly concerned about it, but I tend to try and pick products that do not contain Aspartame if it is a product I buy often (eg. squash). There is a website, I cant remember the name, but I used it when I had similar concerns to you. It rates all products by the chemicals inside them for safety. If you are interested in this site, let me know and I will try and find what it was called for you x

[pd]

I think if something is a KNOWN carcinogen they aren't allowed to put it in beauty products/food. Not sure about household cleaning products. I used to worry about this all the time, I bought natural organic shower gels, etc, then I had a fairly severe allergic reaction to the pure, natural, organic ingredients of one of them, and went back to my regular products.

[freudian nightmare]

Hello,
I too am concerned about all the chemicals that surround us and try to use natural products wherever possible. But i agree with mandyslade that we can only do so much to avoid them as everything in some way or another can be dangerous, the water we drink, the air we breathe, furniture, clothes the list goes on. We have to realise that there is only so much we can humanly do to live a so called "normal" life and that we will never eradicate all chemicals in a germ free/antibacterial obsessed world. I am of the unpopular thinking that mother nature provides all we need to live a naturally clean and healthy life, i also prefer the smell of natural products they are easier on the senses and i like the feeling of benefitting the enviroment and myself. But i also think that the higher cost of these things means they will never become universally popular which is a bit of a shame but also understanderble as many struggle to feed themselves nevermind anything else. Anyway we just have to try not to be too overly concerned about things we can do very little about, easier said than done i know but we can hope and dream can't we. :shrug: