How Your Fave Scented Candles Could Be Extremely Harmful to You

In one of the worst things we've heard this year, a new study has come out claiming that burning scented candles in your home could pose a serious health risk.

While most of us love to light up a yummy candle, scientists from the University of York are now warning that there's more of a health risk involved in this than you may ever have realised.

In the new report, scientist Alastair Lewis and his team found that chemicals released when you burn candles can mix with those already in the air of your house to create formaldehyde, a chemical that it's extremely dangerous to inhale in the long term.

Formaldehyde is actually a chemical that's used to preserve the human body for scientific purposes and is a carcinogenic, which means it causes cancer.

Exposure can also cause nose and throat issues, nausea and headaches.

The candles aren't harmful on their own, but it's when they mix with the type of chemicals often found in the air of many homes due to the use of things like air fresheners and cleaning products that can cause the creation of this formaldehyde.

Luckily there are actually things you can do to combat this if you don't want to ditch all your candles. This first thing to do is reduce the level of chemical cleaning products you use or at least choose fragrance-free products, as these contain less of the chemicals most likely to cause this reaction.

You can also increase the ventilation of your home. Open windows and doors to let fumes escape before burning your candles. House plants is also a good idea as these produce lots of lovely carbon dioxide and according to The Guardian, have been known to help reverse affects of formaldehyde production.