"I had a fever, sore throat, I was just exhausted," Jazzmyn Banks tells Inside Edition.
Many people are throwing out their non-stick cookware after growing fears that it will give them what is being called Teflon flu.
America's Poison Centers says there has been a spike in cases, with 267 reports of Teflon flu last year. Experts say Teflon flu is transmitted when you scrape the bottom of the non-stick Teflon-coated cookware, releasing potentially harmful chemicals that are inhaled into the body.
"It's not an infectious disease like influenza. It's really a reaction or respiratory illness caused by exposure to these, what are called 'forever chemicals,' the big one being PTFE or polytetrafluoroethylene and it causes a respiratory syndrome that's similar to kind of when you get sick and get the flu," Eric Cioè Peña, vice president of Northwell's Center for Global Health tells Inside Edition.
Jazzmyn Banks says she recovered from Teflon flu.
"I had a fever, sore throat, I was just exhausted," Banks tells Inside Edition. She says she was sick for two weeks.
"When we stopped using the pans, within 24 hours, we were significantly better," Banks says.
Premiere food safety CEO Donny Yoo showed Inside Edition how to cook safely with Teflon.
"Once you start damaging the non-stick coating, that's gonna get you sick," Yoo says.
He advises not waiting too long to start cooking when the non-stick pan is on heat. "The issue happens when you just have a pan sitting there in high heat," Yoo says.
He says never to let the pan heat above 500 degrees and don't use metal cooking utensils.
"The only safe spatula you can use would be the rubber. It's not going to scrape any of the non-stick coating off of the pan," Yoo says. He also says to use the soft sponge when cleaning the pan to avoid scratching it.
Experts say if your Teflon pans have scratches or dings, throw them out, and if you're worried about Teflon making you sick, you can use non-stick alternatives, including ceramic cookware or a cast iron skillet.
