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- Toxic chemicals found in hand sanitizers and other disinfectants, as well as household items like furniture and electronics, could be harming brain development in children
- Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found quaternary compounds, or QACs, were damaging to oligodendrocytes, a type of glial cell in the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord
- After 10 daily doses of a QAC called cetylpyridinium chloride — starting just five days after birth — mice had reduced numbers of oligodendrocytes in their brains
- Typically, oligodendrocytes keep developing from before birth into adulthood, but the study suggests QACs may kill them
- The researchers also analyzed levels of the flame retardant metabolite, BDCIPP, in children, revealing those with the highest levels were more likely to experience adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes
(Mercola)—Toxic chemicals found in hand sanitizers and other disinfectants, as well as household items like furniture and electronics, could be harming brain development in children and future generations. This includes quaternary compounds — used widely in disinfecting agents — and organophosphate flame retardants, which are found in many household items.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found quaternary compounds were damaging to oligodendrocytes, a type of glial cell in the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, while flame retardants increased the risk of neurodevelopmental problems.1 Both chemical classes are widespread in the environment, raising the risk of population-wide health risks.
Hand Sanitizer Compound May Harm Brain Development
Quaternary ammonium compounds, also referred to as QACs or quats, are a popular ingredient in hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes. Usage of both products has increased significantly in recent years.
Clorox increased production of its disinfectant wipes to 1.5 million packs per day during the pandemic,2 while an industry trade group survey found 83% of households had used disinfectant wipes at least one time in the past week and 92% of consumers had used a cleaning, disinfecting or sanitizing wipe.3
Use of hand sanitizers also rose during the pandemic, with usage as high as 25 times per day in children and more than nine times daily for adults.4 You may also be exposed to QACs in a number of other common products, including wood preservatives, mouthwash, detergents, shampoos, fabric softeners, eye drops and herbicides.
The cumulative effects of such exposures are unknown, but in a study on mouse pups, researchers found the chemicals in the animals’ brain tissues just days after administering an oral dose. Not only does this suggest that QACs cross the blood-brain barrier, but they may also cause damage to oligodendrocytes in the brain.5
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Oligodendrocytes play an important role in forming the myelin sheath, a fatty layer that surrounds the axons of nerve cells. This myelin sheath is essential for the fast transmission of electrical signals, allowing for efficient communication within the nervous system. Damage to oligodendrocytes, which act similar to insulation around electrical wires, can lead to several neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis.
After 10 daily doses of a QAC called cetylpyridinium chloride — starting just five days after birth — the mice had reduced numbers of oligodendrocytes in their brains. Study author Paul Tesar noted, “Loss of oligodendrocytes underlies multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. We now show that specific chemicals in consumer products can directly harm oligodendrocytes, representing a previously unrecognized risk factor for neurological disease.”6
The scientists also tested QACs in brain organoids, which are three-dimensional cell cultures used as a model for studying brain development and disease mechanisms. Similar damage was found.7 Typically, oligodendrocytes keep developing from before birth into adulthood, but the study suggests QACs may kill them.
“We found that oligodendrocytes — but not other brain cells — are surprisingly vulnerable to quaternary ammonium compounds and organophosphate flame retardants,” study author Erin Cohn said in a news release. “Understanding human exposure to these chemicals may help explain a missing link in how some neurological diseases arise.”8
QACs Also Linked to Immune System, Respiratory and Reproductive Adverse Effects
When you use QAC-containing products like cleansers, disinfectants, personal care items and more, you can be exposed by ingesting the chemicals, inhaling them or absorbing them through your skin. Beyond damage to brain cells, QACs are also linked to multiple adverse health outcomes including:9
- Dermal (skin) and respiratory effects
- Developmental and reproductive toxicity
- Disruption of metabolic function such as lipid homeostasis
- Impairment of mitochondrial function
In fact, the National Pesticide Information Center states that children should not use antimicrobial wipes because they contain QACs, and children are more likely to have higher rates of exposure due to putting their hands in their mouths.10
Separate research found the chemicals also contribute to antimicrobial resistance and pollute the environment, including causing acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms.11 Writing in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers explained that QACs are a “chemical class of emerging concern”:12
“QAC use is increasing, without high-quality evidence of their effectiveness in reducing transmission of infectious disease in many settings and applications. Meanwhile, greater indoor usage is consistent with higher indoor exposure, which is a concern given the recent discovery of adverse health outcomes in laboratory animals at relatively low (ambient) exposure concentrations.
Increased production and usage is anticipated to result in higher QAC concentrations in wastewater, which is a pathway for broader environmental exposure and potential risks to biota. This is especially concerning given that some environmental concentrations already exceed protective aquatic toxicity thresholds.”
Flame Retardants Associated With Neurodevelopmental Disorders
The Case Western Reserve University researchers also analyzed levels of the flame retardant metabolite, BDCIPP, in children. Data from 1,763 children between the ages of 3 to 11 revealed that nearly all had BDCIPP in their urine.
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However, Science Alert reported, “Those with the highest levels were two and six times more likely than those with low exposure to experience adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes such as motor dysfunction or requirements for educational assistance.”13
Past research also linked greater exposures to flame retardants during pregnancy with lower intelligence in the child. Specifically, for every 10-fold increase in prenatal exposure to another type of flame retardant, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), there was a 3.7-point decline in IQ test scores in children.14
Past research has also demonstrated that children born to mothers with higher levels of flame retardant chemicals in their body had a 4.5-point average decrease in IQ,15 while exposure in childhood is strongly associated with poor attention span, reduced fine motor coordination and a decrease in cognitive ability.16 Flame retardants may even change important processes, including tryptophan metabolism, in the placenta that can affect the developing brain.17
“Our findings suggest that more comprehensive scrutiny of the impacts of these common household chemicals on brain health is necessary,” Tesar said in a news release. “We hope our work will contribute to informed decisions regarding regulatory measures or behavioral interventions to minimize chemical exposure and protect human health.”18
What Else Is Lurking in Hand Sanitizer?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains a running list of “hand sanitizers consumers should not use.”19 It includes products that were tested by the FDA and found to contain benzene, acetaldehyde, methanol, acetal or other toxins.
Others on the list were found to have microbial contamination, were made at the same facility as products that contain benzene and other toxins or were packaged in containers resembling food or beverage containers, posing an increased risk of accidental ingestion.20
Valisure laboratory also tested 260 hand sanitizer products, including liquid and non-liquid products. They found that 44 batches, or 17%, contained benzene. The highest benzene level detected was 16.1 parts per million (ppm), which is more than eight times the FDA’s interim limit of 2 ppm.21
Benzene is found in crude oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke, and is also widely used to make chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics, synthetic fibers, lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs and pesticides. Benzene interferes with cells, causing bone marrow to not produce enough red blood cells, triggering anemia, for instance. It can also cause immune system damage, including changes in antibody levels and loss of white blood cells.
After long-term exposure, benzene causes cancer in humans, particularly leukemia, and is known to lead to irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in ovary size in women.22 In their guidance on how to use hand sanitizer safely, the FDA also states that hand sanitizers are drugs,23 which can cause alcohol poisoning in children if even a small amount is consumed.
Writing in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, researchers with Vellore Institute of Technology in India called for the development of natural alternatives to replace toxic hand sanitizers, noting:24
“The unintended exposure of children to hand sanitizers poses a high risk of potentially fatal complications. Skin irritation, dryness, cracking, peeling, hypoglycemia, apnea, and acidosis are examples of unintended consequences of hand sanitizer. The sanitizer reportedly kills normal microbial flora on hands, which usually promotes innate immunity among children under 12.
Children are more susceptible to the toxicity associated with the chemical constituents of marketed chemical-based hand sanitizers; however, the studies to develop sanitizer formulations for children are rudimentary … Additionally, it is reported that many chemical-based hand sanitizer formulations, especially alcohol-based ones may also contain contaminants like methanol, acetaldehyde, benzene, isopropanol, and ethyl-acetate.”
Use Hand Sanitizer Sparingly, If at All — Wash Your Hands Instead
Overuse of hand sanitizers and other disinfectants can backfire. There are potential adverse effects to human health from inhaling disinfectants, as such chemicals are known to accumulate in the lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach, brain and blood. Exposures were certainly elevated during the pandemic for many people, who were exposed to disinfectants by inhalation and oral routes, as well as via the skin and eyes.
There are also significant environmental concerns due to the “unusual release and dissemination of higher concentrations of biocide-based products into the surface and underground waters and also wastewater treatment systems.”25 When disinfectants and biocides enter the environment, they can wipe out beneficial bacterial species that are keeping drug-resistant microorganisms in check.
“[I]f the biocide concentrations reach the sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (sub-MIC), this event may augment the selective pressure, boost the horizontal gene transfer (HGT), and drive the evolution of AMR [antimicrobial resistance],” scientists warn.26
Remember, there’s little hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes can do that soap and water can’t. Unless you’re in a hospital setting, where disinfectants are sometimes necessary, you should use hand sanitizers sparingly and only when truly necessary, which typically will be hardly at all.
In most cases, simple hand washing is all that’s necessary to keep your hands clean. In a study that compared the effect of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and hand washing using ozonized tap water or soap and water to remove E. coli, washing with soap and water was the most effective.27
As an added bonus, one week of hand washing reduced individual exposure to flame retardants by about half. House cleaning for one week to reduce dust was also an effective way to significantly reduce exposure to dangerous flame retardant chemicals.
- 1 Nature Neuroscience March 25, 2024
- 2 The Clorox Company, 2021 Integrated Annual Report
- 3 Cleaning Institute, July 14, 2021
- 4 Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology Volume 33, pages 1004–1012 (2023)
- 5, 7, 13 Science Alert April 2, 2024
- 6, 8, 18 EurekAlert! March 25, 2024
- 9, 11, 12 Environ. Sci. Technol. 2023, 57, 20, 7645–7665
- 10 National Pesticide Information Center, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds ADBAC and DDAC Fact Sheet (Archived)
- 14 Environmental Health Perspectives August 3, 2017
- 15 Environmental Health Perspectives May 2014; 122(8)
- 16 Environmental Health Perspectives, 2013 Feb;121(2):257-62
- 17 Toxicol Sci. 2020 Jul 1;176(1):203-223. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfaa046
- 19 U.S. FDA, FDA updates on hand sanitizers consumers should not use March 14, 2024
- 20 U.S. FDA, FDA updates on hand sanitizers consumers should not use December 1, 2021 (Archived)
- 21 Valisure March 24, 2021
- 22 U.S. CDC, Facts About Benzene
- 23 U.S. FDA, Safely Using Hand Sanitizer
- 24 Crit Rev Toxicol. 2023 Dec;53(9):572-599. doi: 10.1080/10408444.2023.2270496. Epub 2023 Dec 5
- 25, 26 Front Microbiol. 2020; 11: 1020, Public Awareness
- 27 J Hosp Infect. 2020 Jun;105(2):213-215. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.03.014. Epub 2020 Mar 27
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
