Can burning candles be harmful?
Lead wicks aside, burning candles can expose you to potentially hazardous chemicals, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acroleine. Though these chemicals can be dangerous, studies conclude that exposure to these chemicals when burning candles is too low to present a direct health hazard.
If you burn the traditional old school candles with paraffin wax, you need to switch ASAP.
Burning candles releases small amounts of chemicals into the air, including toluene and benzene.
These chemicals can cause irritation, headaches and cancer in high quantities.
People with lung conditions and those who have or have had bladder cancer should be cautious about burning candles.
What is Toluene?
Toluene (C₆H₅CH₃) is a colorless liquid with a sweet, pungent odor. Exposure to toluene can cause eye and nose irritation, tiredness, confusion, euphoria, dizziness, headache, dilated pupils, tears, anxiety, muscle fatigue, insomnia, nerve damage, inflammation of the skin, and liver and kidney damage. Workers may be harmed from exposure to toluene. The level of exposure depends upon the dose, duration, and work being done.
Toluene is used in many industries. It’s used in paints, dyes, solvents, fingernail polish, and gasoline. Some examples of workers at risk of being exposed to toluene include the following:
- Workers in locations where there are leaking underground gasoline storage tanks
- Technicians who work in nail salons
- Construction workers who use paint, adhesives or solvents
- Workers involved with the production of gasoline
What is Benzene?
Benzene is a colorless or light-yellow liquid chemical at room temperature. It is used primarily as a solvent in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as a starting material and an intermediate in the synthesis of numerous chemicals, and in gasoline. Benzene is produced by both natural and man-made processes.
Skip oil-based paraffin and gel waxes and burn plant-based and beeswax candles only.
People who burn candles often should consider buying high-quality candles made from beeswax, soy wax, and other plant-based waxes instead of paraffin wax, which emits more harmful chemicals.
Make sure you always burn candles in well-ventilated rooms.
Surprising Benefits of Lighting Candles in Your Home
Peaceful mind : Herbal and floral aromas, like lavender, geranium, and peppermint, have been proven to be useful for the treatment of various psychological and physiological disorders through the burning of aromatherapeutic candles. Candles for depression and anxiety are particularly popular.
The soothing effect that candles have is based on how the brain processes smells. The smell of scented candles stimulates our limbic system, the part of the brain that is home to our memory and emotions.
Ambiance : Candles have calming properties. This is twofold, as the flickering light makes you feel calmer as the ambiance is more tranquil, and the particular scent the candle emits also helps to relax you.
Better sleep : While it may be surprising, scented candles have been shown to improve mood, reduce stress and anxiety, promote relaxation, and even improve sleep, in fact, candles can affect you physiologically and impact you on a biological level. This is because scents stimulate the limbic system in your brain, which, as a result, stimulates the release of “happy hormones.” These hormones are serotonin and dopamine.
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https://lafunguys.com/collections/candles