Traditional household paints contain toxic chemicals that are released into the air for years after application, called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (1) are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air. For example, formaldehyde, which evaporates from paint, has a boiling point of only –19 °C (–2 °F).
VOCs are numerous, varied, and ubiquitous. They include both human-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. Most scents or odours are of VOCs. VOCs play an important role in communication between plants, and messages from plants to animals. Some VOCs are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. Anthropogenic VOCs are regulated by law, especially indoors, where concentrations are the highest. Harmful VOCs typically are not acutely toxic, but have compounding long-term health effects. Because the concentrations are usually low and the symptoms slow to develop, research into VOCs and their effects is difficult.
So what to do, well you may check some companies that supply paints with low or no VOCs. One example among many is a company called “ecolour” and it is an Australian manufacturer who supplies climate friendly synthetic paint. For further information check: Ecolour
(1) Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound