Healthy Home and Child Care Initiative - Part One

1. Healthy Home and Child Care Initiative • Part One Presented ByCarolle Olinde

2. Acknowledgements The information has been adaptedfrom the Healthy Homes Partnership’s Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH)

3. Part One Today’s session willcover pages 1-28 of the Help Yourself to a Healthy Home publication This publication isavailable online at:http://www.healthyhomespartnership.net/book.html

4. Help Yourself to a Healthy HomePart One Pre - Knowledge Test

5. Whatis a healthy home and childcare? • A healthy home or child care facility is an environment designed, constructed, maintained, or rehabilitated in a manner that supports the health of residents/occupants.  • A growing body of evidence links housing conditions to health outcomes such as asthma, lead poisoning, lung cancer, and unintentional injuries.

6. Why focus onHealthy Homes and Childcare? • Reduce health hazards • Improve substandard housing and child care facilities • Help improve public health.  • Promote the growth and development of our children • Save billions of dollars in health care costs.

7. SevenPrinciples of Healthy Homes and Childcare • Keepitdry • Keepit clean • Keepitpest-free • Keepitventilated • Keepitsafe • Keepitcontaminate-free • Keepitmaintained

8. ASK YOURSELF Is the air in your home or child care clean and healthy?  Do your children have breathing problems, like asthma? Is someone in your home or child care allergic to mold? Do you know the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning? Is there lead anywhere in your home? Is your tap water safe to drink?  Do you have household products with chemicals in them that can make you sick? Do you use bug spray or other products to keep away pests? Do you keep poisons where your children can reach them? Today we will try to answer some of these questions and give you ideas about how to protect yourself and children’s health.

9. Why is this important?Why focus on children? • Some of the mostserioushealthproblems for childrenstart at home and in child care settings • Most people spend over 90% of their time indoors • Children’s bodies are stillgrowing • Children crawl and play on the ground, thusincreasingexposure

10. Indoor Air Quality Concerns • The number of childrenwithasthma has doubled in the past 10 years • 1 in 15 childrenunder 18 year of age has asthma

11. Lead Poisoning Concerns • 1 in 40 American children has toomuchlead in his or her body • Dustfromleadpaintis the biggestthreat to youngchildren • Lead in drinking water isalso a problem

12. Drinking Water Concerns • 95% of people living in rural areas use private wells for their drinking water

13. HazardousHouseholdProductsConcerns Thousands of children die each year from chemicals stored and used improperly in the home

14. Concerns About Pesticides Nearly one-half of households with a child under the age of five had pesticides stored within reach of children.

15. Concerns About Safety Each year over 6 million people are hurt in accidents that occur in the home

16. Indoor Air QualityShouldyoubeconcerned? • Sometimes indoor air problems come from what people DO in their homes • Sometimes indoor air problems come from what people HAVE in their homes

17. The Problem With VOC’s

18. Questions to Ask – page 8 • About your family’s or children’s health • About radon • About living in your home or your child care center

19. IAQ – Asthma Connection • Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) • Children spend approximately 90% of their time indoors • Reducing asthma triggers can reduce asthma symptoms

20. Indoor Air Quality Action Steps • Do not smoke in the home or aroundchildren • Keep pets out of bedrooms & living areas • Pay attention to housekeeping • Use open windows and fans whenusingchemicals • New carpet – should air before installing; install in spring, summer or fall • New furniture & building materials – air before bringing into house; purchase products that are ‘green’

21. Asthma and Allergies Should you be concerned? ATTACK SIGNS ASTHMA TRIGGERS Cold weather, exercise, strong emotions, Pollen DANDER PESTS SMOKE DUST MOLD Carbon Monoxide Personal care and cleaning products Flu & colds • Tightness in chest • Shortness of breath • Wheezing • Coughing

22. Asthma and Allergies SIGNS/SYMPTOMS COMMON ALLERGENS Foods Medicines Insect stings an bites Contact allergens Asthma triggers • Runny nose • Stuffy nose • Coughing • Hives • Itching • Rash • Puffy eyes • Watery eyes

23. Asthma & Allergies – Questions to Ask • Does anyone in your family have asthma or allergies? • Does someone in your family notice burning eyes, coughing, or sneezing that happens most often at home? • Does your home have carpet that is not cleaned well or not cleaned often? • Do you have carpeting, stuffed toys or fleecy materials in bedrooms? • Do you keep pets inside? • How often do you wash sheets, blankets and other bedding? • Do you sotre food in containers or boxes that do not have covers? • Has it been more than a year since you have your furnace, flues and chimneys inspected and cleaned? • Does anyone smoke inside your home? • Is your home damp or musty?

24. Asthma & Allergy Action Steps • Attend to yourasthma and allergies • Focus on housekeeping • Control dustmites • Control pests • Manage pets • Check appliances • NO SMOKING • Addressmold

25. Learning Activity • Show and Tell

26. Mold and Moisture Should you be concerned? • Mold locations: • Bathrooms • Sinks • Attics under leaky roofs • Wet clothes • Windows and walls • Closets • Under wallpaper or carpet • Air conditioner

27. Questions to Ask – page 18 • Family’s Health • Home Mold Assessment • Presence of Moisture

28. Mold & Mildew Action Steps Small Steps to Healthier Child Care

29. Mold & Mildew Action Steps How do I clean up mold? How do I test for mold?

30. Carbon MonoxideShould you be concerned? Attributes of CO Sources of CO Fuel burning appliances Gas & oil furnaces Wood-burning fireplaces & stoves Gas appliances Gas/kerosene space heaters Gas/charcoal grills Vehicles Gas/propane powered appliances Recreational vehicles Tobacco smoke House fires, blocked chimneys/flues • Invisible • Tasteless • Odorless • Deadly • 500 CO U. S. deaths annually • Brain damage • Loss of sight & hearing • Heart problems

31. Carbon MonoxideShould you be concerned? Effects of CO Signs of CO Poisoning Headache Nausea Vomiting Dizziness Confusion Tired Weak Sleepy Tight chest/trouble breathing Changes in senses • Low levels can hurt brain, heart, and other organs • High levels affect clear thinking, muscle control, consciousness

32. Questions to Ask – page 25 Checklist for CO Let’s check!

33. CarbonMonoxide Action Steps • Grills & engines • Vehicle • Annual checks for heaters & fireplaces • CO alarms • Ovens & stoves • Exhaust fan • Gas range top • Do not use smoking fireplace

34. CarbonMonoxide Action Steps • STEPS IF CO ALARM GOES OFF • GO OUTSIDE • 911 • DOCTOR/NURSE • DO NOT IGNORE • CHECK BY CONTRACTOR • DO NOT RETURN HOME UNTIL PROBLEM IS CORRECTED

35. Healthy Home and Child Care Initiative Part One - SUMMARY By Carolle Olinde