Apologies for the long post.. I’m just hoping someone has been through something similar and baby was ok as I am struggling to find any similar stories on the internet and I am suffering with crippling anxiety and fear because of this. I feel like I’m living in a nightmare and I don’t know how I can possibly relax/ enjoy the rest of this pregnancy.
I’m so so sick with worry. I know I have to calm down as anxiety will not help the baby either. Basically, I have been unintentionally exposed to solvent based paint fumes twice in about a month due to work being carried out in our new house and I’m so so scared beyond belief that the baby has been damaged.
When I was about 18 weeks, I ordered rust oleum universal all surface paint on amazon as I had searched tile paint and it was the most highly rated. It was also recommended by many people in a facebook DIY group I was in. People were raving about it and using it to paint their radiators, tiles, kitchen work surfaces etc.
One day when my son was in nursery I got a sudden nesting instinct. I’d heard about plenty of people nesting and decorating their whole houses/ nurseries while pregnant etc. I think I had done a quick google search and the top line had said something like ‘most household paints are safe these days as they no longer contain lead and painting should be safe from second trimester’. I wasn’t aware that there was different levels of toxins in paints. I didn’t think they would have been even legal to sell for indoor household use if they could be toxic at all. There were no warnings on the tin except for a standard warning of occupational hazard for overexposure.
I opened the bathroom window (albeit small) and I put on a little mask and started putting it on the tiles with a roller (looking back now, I've never regretted anything more in my life!). I started feeling a bit dizzy so I stopped. I opened all the windows in the house and decided would get the painter to finish it. I stayed away from the room and got some fresh air. I had never painted anything before so I really didn’t think this stuff could be any different to the other household paints.
A couple of days later, I got a mild rash on my cheeks. I went to the doctor who then ran a blood test for slapped cheek syndrome. I didn’t occur to me at all that that could have been a delayed reaction to the paint.
So the painter came last Monday to finish the job (now about 21 weeks pregnant). It was only when he said that the paint was especially potent that I started to get very worried. I stayed out of the area and opened all of the windows in the house. I didn’t go into the room at all. The paint was supposed to dry in 6 hours or so. That night we slept with every single window open and the next day felt well. Spent the whole day either in the garden or in the conservatory with my son with all the windows open. The night after we couldn’t smell anymore paint and we closed the bedroom windows (although left some open on the landing and the small window in the painted bathroom was still open). Bear in mind our bedroom was quite far away from the painted room as it was upstairs and the painted bathroom is downstairs by the front door. The next morning I woke up feeling quite dizzy and nauseous and almost ‘high’.
I called up the company who would not really talk to me but they sent me something called a ‘safety data sheet’ which listed all of the chemicals in the paint (This should really be included when you purchase the product as an average consumer would not know to ask for this!!!). In this data sheet it states that "There are no known teratogens". However from researching further, one of the ingredients listed, 'xylene' is a 'suspected teratogen' (animal studies showing teratogenic effects and cohort human studies possibly linking occupational exposure to birth defects, brain damage, autism etc.). Surely there should be a warning then!
Later on I started getting a reaction on my face again. So now I'm absolutely terrified as I know it was because of the paint fumes. I think I might be more chemically sensitive to some people as my husband or son did not seem to experience any reactions/ ill effects (and thinking back, I have always had very sensitive skin, can only use non bio detergent etc). But from googling that, that is not good either as it may mean I have a harder time metabolising the chemicals my body comes in contact with so they may stay in my bloodstream for longer... So it just gets scarier and scarier!
I went to the hospital and the gyno said that because I didn't seem to be having a very severe reaction (i.e. struggling to breathe or something), and baby was kicking; to try not to worry, I haven't hurt my baby and sent me home. But I think they just wanted to rush me out of there as it was not an emergency and they were busy! They told me not to read up on it (Although of course I can't help it!). We have since moved to the in-laws for a week while the house is properly airing out. They are giving me a scan on Thursday for 'reassurance' but I know that won't show brain damage which I am more scared about in the second trimester (the first trimester is the bigger danger period for major defects).
I just feel so so terrified. I don't know how I could possibly live with the guilt if my child was damaged and it was because of me not being cautious enough. And I'm so worried that because I actually got symptoms, it must have been a big exposure for my body to handle. I've seen some threads where people are saying things like "Don't worry if you were exposed as long as you didn't get symptoms etc". All I can think about is these toxic chemicals feeding through to my little babys tiny developing brain and I feel so sick with worry and unbelievably guilty. I have been crying for days.
I would never drink, smoke or even think of getting my nails done during pregnancy, so I just can't believe I have ignorantly allowed these toxic substances into my house and managed to get them into my system.
Has anyone been through anything similar at all and the baby was ok?