THE EFFECTS ON ASTHMATICS OF EXPOSURE TO A CONVENTIONAL WATER-BASED AND A VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND-FREE PAINT

The water-based paints now frequently used for house painting still co ntain small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with the pot ential to exacerbate symptoms of asthma. Because of these potential pr oblems and environmental concerns, some manufacturers have produced pa ints with no VOC content. We wished to compare the effects on asthmati cs of conventional water-based paint and the new VOC-free paint. Seven teen asthmatics were recruited on the basis of having previously repor ted exacerbation of symptoms by paint or other odours. Each undertook a standard painting task with identically coloured conventional acryli c and VOC-free paints in a double-blind, crossover study. Respiratory symptoms, lung function, and airway responsiveness were measured at ea ch visit. A significant increase in reported ''wheeze'' was detected d uring use of conventional paint (p<0.01), but not with the new paint. There was also a significantly greater increase in reported ''breathle ssness'' whilst using conventional paint than with the new paint (p<0. 05). In contrast, lung function measurements showed a small but signif icant increase during the use of both paints (p<0.05). There was no si gnificant change in airway responsiveness after use of either paint. T he new paint appears to be less likely to cause a worsening of respira tory symp toms than conventional acrylic paint, although this differen ce is not reflected in measurements of lung function or airway respons iveness. Although the benefit conferred in the majority of asthmatics is probably modest, there may be some patients with an increased sensi tivity to paint odour, who would derive a useful symptomatic benefit f rom using the VOC-free paint.