Occupational or household chemical exposures during pregnancy? « Back to Group Discussions

[Serafina33]

Does anyone else have stress about chemicals they may be around at work?  If so, which?   I'm using aqua regia at work, as well as potassium dichromate, to test the purity of precious metals.  I use plastic gloves and try not to breathe too close but....  :(  I'm stressing
What about dealing with the litter box, for you cat owners?  I'm having my partner clean it but sometimes he's out of town for many days!  I guess I'll try to have my 9 year old take over.

What about household cleaning supplies?  Are you guys using only Baking soda and vinegar?   I wish I could buy those items in large quantities.  They only sell them in small cooking amounts here, that I've found.  :(

[chispita]

I'm worried about darkroom chemicals - wondering whether it's worth the risk if I wear a glove in the hand that might touch wet stuff (which I already did), and avoid the darkroom if people are doing lith printing (it's well ventilated, but the lith stuff is pretty smelly anyway).

Right now I've been staying out of the darkroom at all, but I really miss it and know that once the baby comes it's going to be impossible to go. So the way I see it is that I basically have a few months to keep doing this thing I love for who knows how long, and I can't decide whether it's a risk worth taking (in fact, I can't even find out what level of risk we're talking about, since all anyone ever says is just "don't do it").

[letniaLynne]

You can pick up a mask that protects against many kinds of chemicals. You would have to check what kind of mask you would need for your type of chemicals. Here is an example mask with twist on cartridges to protect against Organic Vapors, the type of vapors you find in paints. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004Z4EB/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
The company 3M sells all sorts of cartridges. Worth every penny if it lets you continue doing what you love a bit longer or let's you paint the babies room in your 3rd trimester

[Jaimielynn89]

We use Melaleuca products which are completely safe, non toxic and so on. If I am around someone else who is cleaning I try not to breathe deeply or get too close. Also while in the store I hold my breath when we pass the cleaning aisles! i can just see the toxins harming my body =( Melaleuca products are ultra concentrated and thus cheaper than store brands plus kids can digest them and it wont hurt them although obviously I would not feed the stuff to them! I really love my Melaleuca products. I actually am a rep. if you are interested =) I also get my prenatal vitamins from them. They are made to get into your system within 1/2 an hour and are super awesome! anyways...

[aidenn]

I clean the catbox.  I have a partner home every night, but he ends up being gone for 12 hours a day.  I am not that worried about toxoplasmosis (I'm probably already a latent carrier as a lifelong cat owner and I a meticulous hand-washer).

[vc2013]

Originally Posted by Serafina33 

What about dealing with the litter box, for you cat owners?  

my fiancé has taken over the litter box duty, but he's very inefficient in doing so. basically he seems to wait until i get annoyed by the smell! >:( and i hate to complain, so i feel like the system is not working for me. i've started putting the litter boxes outside the people's bathroom when i was bothered by the smell too much, with little effect. several times i've been wanting to just do it myself, i'm breathing it anyway so how much more damage can there be through actually cleaning them out myself. (i don't know.)

when i clean, i open the windows and try not to breathe too closely. i'm continuing to use the same cleaning products. 

i have stopped painting my nails. i have never even researched if this would be harmful.. probably irrational of me.