Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the air I we breathe when washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, etc, and wondering how the small particles from these activities don’t cause damage to our lungs. I know the body has natural systems which filter what we breathe, but wouldn’t even a small amount of chemicals being inhaled cause long-term damage?
In: Biology
Chronic (that is, repeated, sustained, or continuous) exposure to certain substances can certainly be bad for you. But we can choose what substances we use that are safer for human exposure, so that even low-level exposures over long periods of time like detergents won’t be hazardous. And, as you say, your body can mitigate some of these hazards on its own. If you breathe in a couple molecules of poison here and there, your body will be able to deal with it, even if a few cells die each time.
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