41 responses so far ↓

• Ann Zheng // Jul 4, 2003 at 2:01 pm

  I bought Teflon basic cookware over one year ago. I have been unsatisfied with their product. First, if they had put warning labels on their product, I would not have bought the product. I wish I was disclosed of the risks involved in using this product.

  Also, their packages all have $10 rebate on the box, I never got my rebate of $10 even though I went through the trouble to cut out the cardboard of UPC code and the Rebate form. They make it very troublesome to get the rebate back. Secondly, we have had the Basic Edition from Teflon/Dupont for less than two years, the lid already broken, and one of the pans if not functioning properly anymore, any type of food I cook with it, food sticks to the pan all the time, even if I put a lot of oil. My advise is don’t get suck into their rebate and cheap tricks. It is not worth your health. My family sometimes suffer shortness of breath, I don’t know if that is caused by this product or not. I am angry they mass produce and sell product to the public even though it is harmful to one’s health.

• Eileen Kavanagh // Oct 25, 2003 at 10:02 am

  I noticed that every time I cooked with my non stick cookware as soon as I took it off the burner it produced a chemical odour.

• Christine Silverman // Nov 14, 2003 at 8:33 am

  I believe I got Teflon flu yesterday. I was making poached eggs in a teflon coated pan when I left the room and forgot about it. When I returned, the pan was very overheated, all the water was gone and the teflon was dull. Later I began to be very light headed..so light headed that I had to lie down for the rest of the day. My stomach was queazy and fluttery and I just felt generally bad. I’m still weak today. Strangely, a commercial for a news story coming up this weeek is about Teflon flu, so I went to the internet to do some research and found this. I guess I have it. Yuck!

• Steve Moore // Nov 14, 2003 at 9:27 pm

  I have been using these products for 20 years now and although they wear out fast I have not had any other complaints with them. I am also one who tends to hover over what I am cooking. I suppose this would mean that I would have not allowed the pan in use to over heat. I also have Revere Wear (Copper Bottom) that seems to never wear out.

• marita // Nov 14, 2003 at 9:43 pm

  I came home from a trip last week and had a sore throat. I did put a pan on to bil water for humidity in the house. Twice the pan boiled dry .. and the fume were obvious. I have had the worst hacking cough of my life … that does not respond to the usual treatment - it should have passed in 2-3 days .. its a week later and with some codeine I am coughing less .. but still lots .. almost uncontrollable .. and makes my head feel like it is spliting,. I heard a report on TV tonight about dangers of teflon … and seems that is part of my problem … My bedroom in winter holds fumes, and aromas and I think there is still some fumes from ealier .. because I have troulbe going to sleep and staying asleep in my bedroom..

• Fred // Nov 15, 2003 at 2:29 am

  Do not wait for the EPA or FDA to eventually issue severe health warnings regarding “Teflon” consumer products. Is the convenience of these products really worth jeopardizing your family and pet’s health?? To expect major chemical corporations to inform the public on health risks posed by their products never happens without a public uprising. MY RECOMMENDATION: THROW OUT YOUR TEFLON PANS, GORTEX CLOTHING, AND TRASH YOUR STAINMASTER RUGS. THEN WRITE TO DUPONT TO INFORM THEM OF YOUR ACTIONS. TELL THEM YOU WILL NEVER BUY TEFLON POISONED PRODUCTS AGAIN. The public’s interests regarding this serious health threat will finally be taken seriously only when Dupont’s stock goes South.

• Lidia R delrey // Nov 15, 2003 at 8:27 am

  I was diagnosis with Fibromyalgia in 1993. Since that day I have been looking for a reason. Fibromyalgia affects the body by chronic pain, like the Flu-like symptoms. After seeing 20/20, Friday night 11/14/03 about Teflon, I feel that maybe this can be the reason. Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 3.5 million Americans-Women are seven time more likely to develop fibromyalgia than men.

  I feel that we cook more than men. I was using Teflon cookware since 1992. My Teflon pan’s would peel as I cook my food, and I would eat this food. They do not have a treatment for this illness. We need to look into Teflon chemical, and see if this is the reason for this nightmare. I will have my doctor re-check my blood for this chemical, and hope to find a answer. If you have to keep your birds away from the fumes, how about us human.

• Bob Foley // Nov 15, 2003 at 8:38 am

  Hey, I knew years ago that this teflon coating could be harmful to us. I noticed how the coating scratches. That’s why we are not suppose to use brillo or any abasive cleaning materials on the teflon cookware. So my common sense told me that microscopic pieces of the teflon coating would break up and leach into our food during the cooking process - and that I knew was anything but healthy. If fact it would be poison!

• Anne F. Kirman // Nov 16, 2003 at 7:37 pm

  11/16/03 - Today, I inadvertently caused a teflon pan to overheat until it

  was extremely blackened/burnt. Had it on the stove and forgot about it. When I smelled the burning, I shut off the

  gas, but within 5 min. the funes were so bad, I had to open windows, doors and turn on the overhead stove fan; it took sometime until the fumes dissipated and my throat has been burning ever since. If it wasn’t for the news report recently on teflon, I would never had surmised this condition is a direct result of overheating a teflon pan. Plan to rid my home of all teflon pans and will never purchase another one ever again. Will advise my family to do the same.

• Bob // Nov 17, 2003 at 4:05 am

  If there’s even a suggestion that teflon may be causing these problems, and from what I’ve read, there is, then the logical thing to do would be to stop using it IMMEDIATELY. Save your pans for further scrutiny. Who knows, maybe teflon testing will be the new radon testing for the first decade of the 21st century.

• Billie B. // Nov 20, 2003 at 4:37 pm

  I have noticed that everytime I use my teflon pans, I end up feeling like I have the flu. And I do notice an oder if the pans get to hot. Nice to know that someone is putting the heat on teflon to hopfully get it banned. Our lives our to important for this to be ignored!!

• Ann Henson // Dec 10, 2003 at 3:33 pm

  I have a well known roaster and cooked a couple of pork loins in it Saturday. The roaster got hot enough to blacken the roasts. The next day I started flu like symtoms, sore throat, aches, congestion….and I, too, have fibromyalgia. All of my cookware is Teflon, and it is all going to the DUMPSTER, along with the fancy teflon Roaster that is advertised on television!!! You bet I am going to write DuPont, and will ask all of my friends, coworkers, neighbors to do likewise, We must get them to put caution labels on cookware. I would NEVER HAVE BOUGHT IT had I known the dangers to my family’s health. Shame on you DuPont!!!!!!!!!!

• Maggie Bergeron // Dec 17, 2003 at 3:52 pm

  I woke up with flu-like symptoms the very next morning after using my new teflon cookware the night before, which was the only thing I had consumed that day. I felt weak with an upset stomach and inner trembling, pain in my muscles and joints, headache and fever. It is now five days later, and I still feel so bad. I will never again use or buy any product containing teflon again

• JT Parral // Jan 6, 2004 at 9:14 am

  Have had and used for years without a problem. From what I’ve read, the problem arises when one lets the cooking overheat, which is a signal to me of neglect when cooking. While there is an argument that warnings should have been posted, someone also should look into the psychosematic effects felt from this “horrible” product.

• Janice Ison // Jan 6, 2004 at 6:42 pm

  is there a test I can do at home to test my own teflon pans?

• Alex // Jan 7, 2004 at 3:01 pm

  TWO WORDS PEOPLE…

  STAINLESS STEEL!

  CAN’T GO WRONG WITH WHAT NATURE PROVIDES NOW CAN YOU?

• Tom // Feb 14, 2004 at 9:38 pm

  Hi,

  Like another person who left a message here, I had a cold or flu, so I put some water in a Teflon frying pan and heated it to put some humidity into the air in my apartment. I left the pan on my gas stove at high temperature and left my apartment and forgot about it. The pan boiled dry and the Teflon burned. When I came back, my smoke detector (smoke alarm) was ringing and the room was filled with smoke. A lot of the Teflon had burned off of the pan. I ventilated the apartment and stayed out until the smoke had gone away and the smell was mostly gone, but I did breathe in some smoke. That was about 3 days ago.

  At first I felt like I had the flu. I had a slight temperature (99.4 degrees) and I felt tired and had to stay in bed. I had a headache that went away after I took ibuprofen. It’s possible that the symptoms were due to my previously-existing cold or flu– I do not know. Now I feel much better, but I have a terrible violent dry cough. I do not cough up anything. I just keep coughing, about one cough every 2 minutes. Sometimes it’s almost uncontrollable, as the other person said. I am not sure it is related to the Teflon smoke. It may just be the cold or flu that I had before burning the Teflon. Now remember, this was Teflon SMOKE. It set off my smoke detector. I had heated the same Teflon pan really hot many times to make popcorn, eggs, etc., and I never felt any ill effects. You can now see big spots where the Teflon burned completely off the pan, probably 8 to 10 square inches.

• Kathy // Feb 19, 2004 at 6:27 am

  Has anyone out there come across any literature about Teflon flu being caused from inhaling room-temperature fumes from household cleaning products that contain C8, which is the ammonium perflourooctanoate chemical linked to the problems inherent in Teflon? I am unsure if it is in the paste floor wax that I use, but I often feel pretty rotten (headachy, stuffy, muscle aches) after waxing my floor….

• Tom // Mar 7, 2004 at 8:01 am

  UPDATE!

  Hi, I posted the earlier message on Feb. 14. This is an update. On Feb. 17 I went to the doctor, and I still had the horrible cough. He listened to my chest, looked at my throat, and in about 2 seconds said “you have bronchitis” and prescribed antibiotics for one week. I believe it was clarithomycin - Biaxin. I took 2 pills an evening with food for 7 days. The cough greatly improved starting on about February 20. Now I still have it but I only cough a few times per hour instead of dozens of times per hour. It seems to be steadily improving. I wonder if it could be whooping cough - pertussis. Anyway, now I don’t think the cough was due to the Teflon smoke, but there is a small lingering doubt.

  Oh yeah- one other thing– before I got the cough I was traveling a lot.

• annonymous // Apr 2, 2004 at 7:22 am

  Folks, don;t believe everything the media tells you. Use your common sense instead.

• marita // Apr 16, 2004 at 3:25 pm

  I posted a note on Nov 14. I went to the doc the next day and got an inhaler and had instant relief from shortness of breathe and tightness in chest. My cough finally abated. The doc gave me a long acting cough medicine and antibiotic. I could not use them for long, but continue to today (April 16) to do advar inhaler twice a day. My experiatory pressure many days remains around 330 -390 .. and then the next day or two will rise to 900 and them drop to 340. Have any one had this kind of experience. Is this really teflon fever or is it allergy?? I am trying to decide what to do next. I am very sensitive to ordors, cigarette smoke and variety of smells. Should I be doing allergy tabs instead of inhaler?? any insights?? marita

• mike h // May 3, 2004 at 11:01 am

  billy B should just stop using his teflon if he thinks its detrimental

  what a queer

• Kari // May 11, 2004 at 12:57 pm

  I am very glad to see this website. I have owned Teflon for 6 months. My Mother always told me it was bad for me. But I got one for a gift. SO i thought “Great”!!!. But now I know what it is made of. Did you know that They use Formaldehyde to glue the teflon to the heating agent which is Aluminuim. Now that is straight poison!! Well if you ever want more info on healthy cooking email me! Good luck!!

• Tom // May 16, 2004 at 10:30 pm

  Further update.

  It is now May 16.

  I am still having problems with my lungs– very slight problems. I am 95% improved. Here is what happened since I left the last message.

  The cough still didn’t go away after the Biaxin antibiotic. So I waited a while and went back to the clinic arond March 27. They gave me a different antibiotic, Zithromax, that I only had to take for about 3 days, plus they put me on an inhaler, Flovent, that I took for 30 days. The Flovent worked great. It cured the symptoms, but it created another problem. It made me hoarse, like laryngitis, with a dry throat. I am an amateur singer. I could not sing much. My voice almost disappeared. I stopped using the Flovent after 30 days and the hoarseness gradually went away. But then I stopped using the Flovent and now the cough has returned. It is much better than it was before. Now I only cough a few times a day or so. But my singing voice is messed up. My range is lower than it used to be. It is good that I can now hit the low notes that I couldn’t reach before, but my high notes do not sound good. They sound a little dry and raspy, not pure like they used to sound. My falsetto range is a little higher, though, which is surprising to me. But this does not compensate for the problem of the harsh-sounding high notes.

  After I stopped using the Flovent, nothing changed for about 2 days, then I started coughing up phlegm, a little bit at a time. I was coughing up the phlegm for a short time, just about 2 days, and it was only a little phlegm. Maybe 2 milliliters per hour. But now that has stopped happening.

• Debra Cochran // Aug 11, 2004 at 2:43 pm

  to Kathy:

  It is very possible that C8, a detergent-like processing agent used by Dupont in the manufacturing of Teflon, could be contained in your floor wax. There are literally hundreds of thousands of products which contain perfluorooctanoic acid or C8….this is why it would be virtually impossible to identify all of the products which contain it. There is an effort by the Environmental Working Group, a watch-dog group in Washington D.C. to have any products which contain C8 in any measure, labelled as such. In particular, they are asking the Federal government to require warning labels on Teflon products due to the fact that at temperatures reached UNDER NORMAL USAGE poisonous, toxic fumes are released, this is known as Teflon Fume Poisoning. It can occur while simply frying bacon! The qualities of C8 are that it offers water resistancy, (stain repellant carpets) absorption resistancy, (gasket seals in automobiles), and other properties as well. It is even found in the safety locks on children’s car seats. I believe it is very possible that it could be in your water-resistant floor wax. But you will likely not be able to trace it through the ingredients listed for that product, this is precisely what EWG hopes to change in the future….the labelling and identification process of C8 in consumer products, so that people like yourself can know it is at least contained within an item they are using. Perhaps, one day, this will be accomplished. Our local environmental group, helping with the C8 contamination of drinking water issue, will be glad to supply you with information. The name of the group is WE CARE (When Environmental Concerns Are Reaching Everyone) and you can reach me by e-mail to request information at stuckinpageville@frognet.net. I hope this information is of some help to you.

• Jim // Aug 18, 2004 at 10:17 am

  In the Summer of 1956, I worked for a wire % cable company. I ran a machine which used heat and pressure to extrude Teflon onto wire as an electrical insulator. Myself and other operators had to avoid fumes generated in the process or else you would get what we called “Teflonitis.”

  It’s symptoms are flu-like. You would get dizzy, have a headache and feel nauseous.

• Shawn // Aug 25, 2004 at 8:26 am

  I currently test PTFE(Teflon) in a laboratory. THe ASTM spec warns about heating the material. Our testing is done at room temp. On another note, I have heard that teflon particle have shown up in Antarctica. It does not break down in nature. Use stainless steel or cast iron to cook folks.

• Laura M. Levermann // Dec 12, 2004 at 1:22 pm

  My mother has been experiencing severe hives since February 2004. She has a LazyBoy chair that is coated with teflon by Dupont. Is there any literature on allergic reactions to this product?

• Betül Yılmaz // Feb 2, 2005 at 4:50 am

  hi’

  I do not believe that the teflon cookware causes damages on human body. There is only one thing important that we must be carefull about temprature when we use it and we must not exceeding the temprature that advised by the teflon cookware producer

• ken // Feb 18, 2005 at 9:45 am

  Same story here. I was boiling an an egg and thought there was an electrical fire that went quickly out of control in the walls of my house. It was a seemingly harmless looking egg which was hardly even done when I noticed tiny plooms of Teflon smoke rising from the pan. The entire house smelled for 3 hours and still has a slight trace on the furniture days later. For one week I was mysteriousl ill with upset stomach and weakness. I could not work or do anything. Now I feel better but I almost feel It is safe to say still not at full strength. Almost like I was exposed to radiation. I wonder what the symptoms of radiation sickness are.

• ken // Feb 18, 2005 at 9:49 am

  Same story here. I was boiling an an egg and thought there was an electrical fire that went quickly out of control in the walls of my house. It was a seemingly harmless looking egg which was hardly even done when I noticed tiny plooms of Teflon smoke rising from the pan. The entire house smelled for 3 hours and still has a slight trace on the furniture days later. For one week I was mysteriousl ill with upset stomach and weakness. I could not work or do anything. Now I feel better but I almost feel It is safe to say still not at full strength. Almost like I was exposed to radiation. I wonder what the symptoms of radiation sickness are.

• Kate Gillis // May 25, 2005 at 3:53 pm

  I purchased a new bed pillow yesterday.

  The inside of the pillow is filled with fowl feathers (duck feathers) and/or down and the outside of the pillow is made with micro-fiber. My husband has been using a down filled pillow for years. I bought a Teflon pillow cover for my new pillow. The Teflon works like the carpet cleaner that has Teflon and it keeps down on spotting. Well, my husband tried out my new pillow for a few minutes when he got into bed. I had put on the Teflon cover and a regular pillow case. About 3 minutes later my husband’s face started to swell, his entire body turned red and he felt itchy all over. He already had a down-filled pillow so my assumption is that he was reacting to the Teflon pillow cover. I returned it today at the store and purchased an allergy free pillow cover. The only thing I know of that my husband has had an allergic reaction to is bee stings and poison ivy. I found this site and I’m still thinking it was the Teflon pillow cover that caused the reaction. I’ll never buy anything with Teflon again.

• Jan Burnham // Jun 18, 2005 at 8:47 am

  For Marita,

  I had the same symptoms- shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness, sensitivity to many smells like cig smoke, candles and especially soaps, detergents etc. Doctor said I had sarcoidosis/anemia- maybe a touch of asthma. Never had anything before. I used inhaler to ease chest pains and stop wheezing, and tried Flonase for sinus drainage (a lot of phlegm) and took some steroid type pills for cough. Now I stopped taking everything and feel better.(about 2 mo. later) Think it was mostly the low iron (took iron pills that were prescribed) that caused a lot of it. Yes, I also use non-stick coated pans but that never crossed my mind. There are so many symptoms that are alike- how does one tell?

• Ellen Muskus // Jul 1, 2005 at 4:03 pm

  Thank you everyone; your comments have just made me realize that I have not been suffering from lyme disease ,but “Teflon” disease! I’m going to throw out my “wonderful” Teflon-coated griddle that I’ve been using a whole lot over the last several months. Looks like my negative lyme test wasn’t really a false -negative after all.

  Thanks everyone!

• Carrie // Jul 7, 2005 at 10:20 pm

  Teflon allergies are real! I am highly allergic to it. If I touch anything with teflon I break out into a sever rash, swelling and high fever. Likewise, if I eat food cooked in a teflon pan I have flu-like symptoms, dizziness and a high fever within a few minutes of it. Symptoms usually only last while that fod is in my system. Growing up they thought I had irratble bowl syndrome or ulcers. Then, I watched a news program about teflon poisoning people had gotten and it sounded a lot like me. I had been living with flu-like symptoms for almost 5 years and when I stopped using teflon the sickness went away. I now have to watch the makeup I wear, the lotion or fingernail polish I use, the pans I buy, the carpet and clothing and furniture that I buy…Teflon is a man-made material that now has been shown to likely cause cancer. Who knows what other “news” will come to us about this “miracle product”. I, for one, am not impressed. Be aware!

• Tyrone // Jul 25, 2005 at 1:05 pm

  Non-stick cookware coated with teflon is safe to use at temperatures up to 500°F (which is well above the temperature required for roasting, baking, or frying). Significant decomposition of the teflon coating does not occur until 660°F. Anyone who allows a pan to reach 660°F probably should not be cooking in the first place.

  Extensive scientific testing and analysis have shown that teflon does not contain PFOA. Any PFOA that is used in the production of teflon is removed during the manufacturing and high temperature application processes.

  Teflon is an amazing product. If it were not safe, it would not have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. I think a healthy diet and regular exercise might help all of you ailing people.

• Wolf Cremence // Aug 26, 2005 at 1:21 am

  I have used Teflon-coated equipment in my biochemistry lab. Magnetic stirring bars in hot solutions, mixing rods, spectroscopy tools, microchromatography fittings - almost everything is coated with it and is subjected to high temperatures, corrosive chemicals, solvents and biological fluids. And yet we have never detected even traces of Teflon monomers or related chemicals in our extremely sensitive measurements.

• Paul Heiland // Sep 26, 2005 at 12:09 pm

  I too was not aware of any adverse side effects when I bought my Teflon cookware set. This first night I used it to make scrambled eggs, and noticed the smoke, and the awefull smell. Out of concern, went on the web, and saw these similair experiences. I am just glad that I found out before any major damage could be done. This set is going in the trash…

• Alice // Sep 27, 2005 at 5:03 pm

  Lately when I cook with my nonstick pan my eye vision gets blurry and I feel a liitle lite headed, has this happen to any one. I am going to stop using my nonstick pans.

• Karen // Dec 8, 2005 at 6:18 am

  Several people have reported a sensitivity to odors which caught my eye. My sister has a horrible sensitivity to odors which causes her lungs to actually hurt and makes her sick. Any odors can trigger a reaction. Her coworkers were asked to refrain from wearing colognes and the cleaning personnel has to wait until after hours to clean.

  Every morning she makes herself an egg on toast before going to work in a badly scratched Teflon pan! Now this makes sense.

  She was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis 4 yrs. ago and is in remission from that but her Fibromyalgia, flu-like symptoms and odor sensitivity remains a mystery to her doctors.

  She has seen a Rhumatologist, Pulmonologst, ENT and an allergist to no avail. What test should she have her doctor order to see if her levels are high? Thank you.

  Karen Meyers

• Karen // Dec 8, 2005 at 7:35 am

  Hi, I wrote earlier but didn’t include my e-mail. If anyone has the same problem as my sister with the extreme odor sensitivity, please e-mail either me or my sister, Angela at Angp321@aol.com

  Thanks,

  karen

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