I’m a Doctor – 5 Things I’d Never Have in My Home

It’s time to clean up and do some decorating – just what the doctor ordered.

Dr. Julia Adamian, an internist at NYU Langone, told The Post what five things she would never keep in her home because they could disrupt your health, sleep and safety.

Mess

“I’m a minimalist, so I don’t like clutter,” admitted Dr. Adamian. But clean and simple looks aside, having too much stuff in your home is a recipe for accumulated dust and allergens.

“The hidden danger of clutter is dust. It is simply difficult to clean and the fact is that it can cause allergies in people. People don’t realize that the most common allergens are in the home.”

Experts have long linked the mess to health conditions, both due to allergies and the presence of PM2.5, or fine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

Short-term exposure to PM2.5 can cause respiratory reactions such as coughing, watery eyes, asthma attacks and chronic bronchitis. Long-term exposure is associated with reduced lung function, heart attacks, neurological disorders, cancer and even death.

Carpets with tassels

This seemingly harmless decor is actually the source of many injuries.

“One thing I definitely wouldn’t have in my house is a tufted rug, because it’s so easy to trip over,” said Dr. Adamian.

This is especially true for the elderly or anyone with mobility issues, but they aren’t the only ones who can catch their foot on some floor covering and go flying. The doctor says people underestimate how dangerous they can be, but most of us aren’t looking at our feet when we walk around the house.

“You just step in a funny way and suddenly, before you know it, you’re on the floor.”

Cheese

Don’t worry—unless you have a dairy allergy, refrigerated mozzarella won’t kill you.

But for Dr. Adamian, cheese is one particular temptation that she just won’t keep in her kitchen, and she suggests that people ban their trigger foods from their homes.

“I wouldn’t recommend keeping anything in the kitchen that might encourage your bad habits,” she said. “I personally love cheese – and I know cheese has a lot of benefits, but it also doesn’t have that many benefits – so for me, anything that will encourage and facilitate my bad habits, I will try not to have easy. reach.”

For other people, that temptation might be soda, chips, or cookies, and not buying it in the first place means you’re less likely to consume it, since going to the store is too big of a barrier to ’caused people to rest.

Scented laundry detergent

Dermatologists often warn that scented soaps and laundry detergents can damage sensitive skin, and Dr. Adamian is also not a fan.

In addition to causing allergic reactions, she says strong scents can irritate the nose and disrupt sleep.

Some perfumes and other scented products are also made with phthalates, which are used to mix different scents together. Numerous studies have linked phthalates to various health problems, including heart disease, obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.

Experts also believe they are hormone disruptors. Based on early research, phthalates can have an impact on fertility in both sexes, inhibit the development of reproductive organs and cause problems in pregnancy and childbirth.

A TV in the bedroom

“The bedroom is supposed to be used for sleep and intimacy, not for watching TV,” said Dr. Adamian, adding that watching a show or movie right before bed can provoke reactions in the body such as insomnia, in part because of the stimulation. of flashing lights on the retina.

“We’re all so trained to multitask and do so many things at once. But the TV should be separated, because sleep is extremely important,” she said.