Good thread!

I've been struggling with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) for the last seven years. For the first three years no doctor even knew what was wrong with me.

To put it simply, MCS is extreme sensitivity to low levels of chemicals which are considered "safe" by most people. It causes a variety of extremely debilitating symptoms, and is growing increasingly common as we continue to increase our exposure to chemicals in every aspect of our daily life. People who are prone to allergies are more likely to get it. What happens is their systems become so overloaded by chemicals that in severe cases they start reacting to EVERYTHING, food, fibres, paper, etc. It usually happens in response to a serious chemical exposure, for example, unknowingly being sprayed with pesticides.

The reason I'm posting about this is that there is so little awareness about the harm the chemicals we use are doing to us, although things are slowly changing. I'm not just talking about pesticides here.

The stuff in shampoo, perfumes, cleaners, air fresheners, detergents and fabric softeners are toxic, especially fragrance chemicals. Yet we are sold these products, we trust them to be safe for us; we trust the government to regulate these things, but it's failing us. This stuff contains ingredients that interfere with our brains, nervous systems, reproductive systems and nervous systems. More and more studies are being done about how the chemicals most people are exposed to daily cause cancer, alzheimers, autism, ADHD, infertility, parkinson's... the list goes on. But our dostors are only trained to treat our symptoms with drugs. No one is willing to spend billions researching the causes of disease.

Link to an EPA study about fragrance chemicals:
http://www.ourlittleplace.com/epa.html

(and if this is a government-funded study, I'm wondering what they aren't telling us.)

Hopefully it didn't turn into too much of a rant. But I feel like now that I know about all this, I need to tell others... and I don't want anyone else to suffer even a fraction of what I've gone through.

Good habits for good sleep

1. Exercise most days, even if it’s just to take a walk.

2. No caffeine after 6:00 p.m.

3. An hour before bedtime, avoid doing any kind of work that takes alert thinking. Addressing envelopes―okay. Analyzing an article―nope.

4. Adjust your bedroom temperature to be slightly chilly.

5. Keep your bedroom dark. Studies show that even the tiny light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle. We have about six devices in our room that glow bright green; it’s like sleeping in a mad scientist’s lab. I have to put a pillow over the cable box.

6. Keep the bedroom as tidy as possible. It’s not restful to fight through chaos into bed.

If sleep won’t come:

7. Breathe deeply and slowly until you can’t stand it anymore.

8. If your mind is racing (you’re planning a trip, a move; you’re worried about a medical diagnosis), write down what’s on your mind. This technique really works for me.

9. Slather yourself with body lotion. This feels good and also, if you’re having trouble sleeping because you’re hot, it cools you down.

10. If your feet are cold, put on socks.

FDA says Zicam nasal spray can cause loss of smell

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration says Zicam nasal spray can permanently damage users' sense of smell.

The FDA says consumers should stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products immediately. All the over-the-counter products contain zinc. Scientists say that ingredient may damage nerves in the nose needed for smell.

The FDA says about 130 consumers have reported a loss of smell after using Zicam products since 1999.

Manufacturer Matrixx Initiatives is facing lawsuits over the product, but says on its Web site: "No plaintiff has ever won a court case, because there is no known causal link between the use of Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and impairment of smell."

Calls placed to the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company were not immediately returned.

Found out that my sister-in-law has an apple-sized tumor in her head...

She goes in for surgery this Friday.

yikes, good luck to her!

Thanks.

It explains why she's been in a rather depressed mood lately instead of her usual boisterous self.

Apparently it's been growing for several years...

Oddly, people who know about her condition know of other people who have had similar tumors.... And recovered fully after surgery.

if it isn't in a difficult position, it should be just fine... i hope the surgeon is well qualified and she doesn't use Kaiser.

krim wrote:

if it isn't in a difficult position, it should be just fine... i hope the surgeon is well qualified and she doesn't use Kaiser.

Oh jeez, she's at Kaiser....

My sister-in-law's surgery is tomorrow at 8AM... It's an 8-hour procedure, according to my brother.

Taking a half day off to visit her after surgery.

bmwracer wrote:

My sister-in-law's surgery is tomorrow at 8AM... It's an 8-hour procedure, according to my brother. Taking a half day off to visit her after surgery.

Wow, I hope everything goes smoothly! I'll be praying for her.
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Wynter wrote:

Wow, I hope everything goes smoothly! I'll be praying for her.

Thanks.

Even though it's brain surgery, the doctors are pretty confident...

bmwracer wrote:

Thanks. Even though it's brain surgery, the doctors are pretty confident...

That's good. But 8 hours. Yikes.
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Wynter wrote:

That's good. But 8 hours. Yikes.

Well, if they're taking their time to be complete and thorough, then more power to them...

5 Germy Habits You Should Probably Try to Break

Think you're getting an A+ in Germ Prevention 101? Maybe not if you're doing any of these things...

It might be time to stop doing these five things:

1. Not washing your hands after using the restroom. Have you ever heard the line that "urine is sterile" so there's no need to wash up. Um, sorry, you need to wash your hands. Sterile urine aside, there's still the business of wiping, flushing, and touching door handles--all of which could lead to cross contamination that can make you sick.

2. Eating food samples at grocery stores. For the same reason you wouldn't lick a stranger's hand, it's best not to dive into the freebie bowl of chips at the supermarket. Ask yourself: "Would I open up a bag of chips and share it, communally, with 50 people on the street right now?" Probably not.

3. Coughing into your hand. Maybe it's just me, but everywhere I'm looking these days people are coughing into their hands--instead of the inside of their elbow. If you tend to do this, try to retrain yourself to cover your cough with your arm and not your hands--it's polite and it also helps protect others with weaker immune systems from catching any bug you've got.

4. Rubbing your eyes--ever. After a fairly icky eye infection years ago, a doctor told me this: Think of your eyes as sacred and untouchable, and retrain yourself not to touch them with your fingers (no rubbing or messing with your eye makeup until you've washed them first). The second you touch a dirty hand to your eye, you're introducing all kinds of harmful bacteria and viruses, which can lead to annoying and even serious infections.

5. Letting your dog lick your hands then not washing them. Guys, I'm a dog lover, but when my golden retriever licks my hands, I go wash them. Yes, it gets tedious to do this (because she's always giving me kisses), but it needs to be done. I will remind you that dogs and cats get into unsavory things (I'll just be blunt: mine likes cat poop). More: Our pets might also be passing along dangerous staph bacteria, such as MRSA, to us.

bmwracer wrote:

5 Germy Habits You Should Probably Try to Break Think you're getting an A+ in Germ Prevention 101? Maybe not if you're doing any of these things... It might be time to stop doing these five things: 1. Not washing your hands after using the restroom. Have you ever heard the line that "urine is sterile" so there's no need to wash up. Um, sorry, you need to wash your hands. Sterile urine aside, there's still the business of wiping, flushing, and touching door handles--all of which could lead to cross contamination that can make you sick. 2. Eating food samples at grocery stores. For the same reason you wouldn't lick a stranger's hand, it's best not to dive into the freebie bowl of chips at the supermarket. Ask yourself: "Would I open up a bag of chips and share it, communally, with 50 people on the street right now?" Probably not. 3. Coughing into your hand. Maybe it's just me, but everywhere I'm looking these days people are coughing into their hands--instead of the inside of their elbow. If you tend to do this, try to retrain yourself to cover your cough with your arm and not your hands--it's polite and it also helps protect others with weaker immune systems from catching any bug you've got. 4. Rubbing your eyes--ever. After a fairly icky eye infection years ago, a doctor told me this: Think of your eyes as sacred and untouchable, and retrain yourself not to touch them with your fingers (no rubbing or messing with your eye makeup until you've washed them first). The second you touch a dirty hand to your eye, you're introducing all kinds of harmful bacteria and viruses, which can lead to annoying and even serious infections. 5. Letting your dog lick your hands then not washing them. Guys, I'm a dog lover, but when my golden retriever licks my hands, I go wash them. Yes, it gets tedious to do this (because she's always giving me kisses), but it needs to be done. I will remind you that dogs and cats get into unsavory things (I'll just be blunt: mine likes cat poop). More: Our pets might also be passing along dangerous staph bacteria, such as MRSA, to us.

The only thing I'm guilty of is rubbing my eyes.
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Wynter wrote:

The only thing I'm guilty of is rubbing my eyes.

I think a majority of people do that.. More than any of the other four.

bmwracer wrote:

I think a majority of people do that.. More than any of the other four.

I rub my dog's eyes after not washing them after going to the toilet...

Anime Dad wrote:

I rub my dog's eyes after not washing them after going to the toilet...

Wow, that's the worst sentence structure I've seen in a awhile.
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Wynter wrote:

Wow, that's the worst sentence structure I've seen in a awhile.

You need to moderate more: you'll see much worse.

A Cell Phone on Your Hip Weakens Your Bones

November 19 2009 |

Research suggests that wearing a cell phone on your hip may weaken an area of your pelvis. Using an X-ray technique used in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with osteoporosis, researchers measured pelvic bone density in 150 men who regularly carried their cell phones attached to their belts.

The men carried their phones for an average of 15 hours each day; they had used cell phones for an average of six years.

The researchers found that bone mineral density was lowered on the side of the pelvis where the mobile phones were carried. The findings raise the possibility that bone density could be adversely affected by electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones.