甲醛俗称福尔马林，在医学上作为防腐剂和消毒剂被广泛地使用。甲醛对人体眼和呼吸道粘膜、皮肤均有刺激作用，特别是儿童、孕妇和老人这一些体弱者更为敏感。常见的症状为皮肤、眼、鼻、咽部和我们喉部的干燥、发痒、咳嗽、流泪、打喷嚏，重者能引起哮喘和过敏反应，对人体神经系统、呼吸系统、肝肾功能、免疫水平均有损伤作用。动物试验还表明，甲醛还可诱发癌症。
Formaldehyde, commonly known as formalin, is widely used as antiseptic and disinfectant in medicine. Formaldehyde can irritate human eyes, respiratory tract mucosa and skin, especially children, pregnant women and the elderly. The common symptoms are dryness, itching, coughing, tears and sneezing in the skin, eyes, nose, throat and our larynx. In severe cases, it can cause asthma and allergic reactions and damage the human nervous system, respiratory system, liver and kidney function and immune level. Animal experiments also show that formaldehyde can induce cancer.