Am I Susceptible to Chemicals?

 

Lots of household chemicals are harmful to your health

Everyone is susceptible to chemicals. Some people are affected by chemicals more than others. These people often have a lower immune system than others. People with a lower immune system include people who suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME, CFIDS, Glandular Fever, repeated infections, allergies and chronic diseases.

Let's make a list of the places people work or jobs people do that can make them more susceptible to chemicals. I cannot list all of them so would be happy if you wanted to add to them.

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.office .workers .cleaners .farmers .gardeners .cooks

.stay at home Mums  & Dads .school children .petrol station attendants .people who work at airports .people who work in clothes shops

.nurses .doctors .factory .workers .bakers .train travellers

.babies .taxi drivers .woodworkers .elderly people in nursing homes .laboratory workers

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Everyday Products containing chemicals
Most people use some form of chemical in their daily life without even realizing it. Some of these products are:
deodorants, shampoos and conditioner, makeup, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, air fresheners, toilet paper, floor cleaners, insect spray, garden sprays, polish for cars, petrol, lawn mower fuel, computer printers, ballpoint pens, textas, whiteboard markers.

As you can see, this is only a small list of things used in the home. There are chemicals you are subjected to whilst traveling in trains, cars and planes. Even when walking we breathe in the fumes of the cars that pass by. In the our place of work - the office or factory there are a miriad more chemicals we either touch or breathe in.

Everyday Products
Many of our everyday products are made from chemicals too. These include polyester pillows, sponge mattresses, doona fillers, carpets, plastic utensils used in the kitchen and even your comfy lounge chairs.

Our Cars are Made of Chemicals Too
Your car is also full of chemicals from the glue that hold lots of it together to the vinyl seat covers or the synthetic removable covers over the seats to the sponge rubber inside the seats. And don't forget the plastic dashboard, the lubricants containing chemicals and the all important petrol or gas your engine runs on.

If you are affected by chemicals, try to minimise them in your life.

Photo with thanks

Affirmations, Words and Feelings

 

Words are Very Important

Words can make or break our day. They can make us feel happy, sad, rejected or proud.
Words can bring hope, words can cause failure. Words can make you show the other person that you can do it and you are not a failure, or they can last with you for 80 years believing that you are no good because you were told so when you were a child.

Promises

Words can build you up with promises. In years gone by, words and a handshake were the same as your signature on a document today. Today we bandy words about, often for our own benefit. Empty promises hurt the receiver of the promise and take away the credibility of the person making the promise. People begin to see them in a different light when promises are broken again and again.

Politicians are great users of words for their own or their party's ends. They are also often great breakers of promises. Teachers are influential users of words, teaching children how to use them. The media has a great influence on the words used in our society. Parents are our first teacher of words either giving a child self esteem or robbing them of it with their words.

Doctors, nurses, naturopaths and therapists can bring hope, encouragement, and a belief in yourself. They can also take away hope, withhold encouragement and believe in their power instead of yours.

Think about your words and the powerful effect they have on others.

Affirmations

Louise Hay has made affirmations popular. Affirmations are a group of words you use to tell yourself repeatedly that you can achieve and change your way of thinking. Affirmations have great power.

I am careful about the words I use when talking to others.
I have positive thoughts and use positive words.
I always use positive words to make myself and others feel good.

Have a great day!

Keeping Children Amused

We all know that it is not a good idea for children to sit for hours in front of the television. These days there are lots of electronic gadgets that can keep children amused for hours. But is it good for them?

Scientists and doctors tell us that the more we sit, the more unhealthy we are. When we sit our heart and blood flow and breathing and heart are not stimulated. 

Give children something to do

If we go for an exercise walk the blood is pumping through our veins at a faster rate. This gets our metabolism going. It makes us breathe faster. When we breathe we get more oxygen into our body. We need oxygen for our brain to work properly. 

Children need to move. They need to be active. Give them little projects. We all feel more useful when we have something to do.

Get children used to going outside. Get them to participate in sporting activities. What you are really doing is setting up their ideas to be healthy later in life. You are saying to them 'This is what you do with your life. You must be active. You must be healthy.'

MDF and Chemical Sensitivities

 

This display board is made from MDF but well sealed

Health Risks of MDF

Medium Density Fibreboard, or MDF for short, is the wooden product many artists use when they paint in folk art style, Tole painting or Decorative painting.
It is a manufactured wood product containing chemicals that may be hazardous to humans.

The original wood is finely powdered then bonded together with resins and bonding agents. It may also be made retardant to fire, water or stains - with chemicals.

Toxic Chemicals are a Major Health Risk

The main chemical used to form the MDF is formaldehyde.

Symptoms experienced by different people from MDF are

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lethargy flu like symptoms asthma lung conditions rashes chest infections

irritated mucous membranes dermatitis racing mind sweating racing heart

Toxic chemicals are often considered carcinogens, that is, cancer causing agents.

Other Uses for MDF

MDF is often used in building these days too. I was told by medical professionals involved in Environmental Medicine 17 years ago that MDF gives off gases from the chemicals used to make it, for about 30 years.
MDF should never be burnt in a fire, especially an indoor fireplace, because of the chemicals it gives off.

When Artists paint on this board, they also do a lot of sanding. This fine dust can get in your lungs producing irritation and asthma. Always use a mask when sanding this wood.

Children and MDF

Don't use MDF board around children or in their bedrooms. They spend a lot of time in their bedrooms sleeping and playing and they are breathing in the toxic gases all the time. Young children are readily susceptible to chest infection. You don't want to aggravate this.
Increasingly articles of furniture are made from MDF. Kitchen cupbards and shelving are among the myriad items created from MDF. The powdered dust that is the result of cutting and sanding this board are also dangerous. If you are in this industry, make sure to wear a mask. It is better to wear a mask now than to die of lung disease later on.

Sense or No Sense?

Recently I was in a factory where they made furniture. A man was spraying a piece of wooden furniture with varnish (chemical of course). He had on a mask, however the mask was keeping his neck warm instead of covering his mouth and nose!

Cleaning without Chemicals

 

Use environmentally friendly cleaners

Environmentally Friendly Cleaners

Water   Bi-carbonate of Soda   Vinegar

The best thing to use to clean is water. We are very lucky in our Western society that we have clean water and enough water to be able to clean with.

Add to this Bi-carbonate of soda, or often called carb
soda. You will fine bi-carbonate of soda readily available in the supermarket. It is not expensive. 

Who should use Environmentally Friendly Products?

If you care for the environment of our world, EVERYBODY should use these products.
I know most people are hoodwinked by the big chemical companies who make all the cleaning products. After all these products have pretty labels, pretty colours and pretty perfumes (to some).

However there are some people who definitely should use any natural products. These are people with allergies, asthma, hay fever, eczema, a weakened immune system, any illness, especially major illness and any parents with young children. The elderly also come in this group, also people in

Why would you want to submit your baby or toddler or young school age child to chemicals in their surrounding? Their young body is just forming. They do not need to be riddled with chemicals in their system. If you keep your young children safe from chemicals as much as you can while they are at home, which is probably up to 16 hours a day, they will be better able to withstand to the onslaught when they are at school. 

You are the guardian of your young child! Take care.
 

Benchtops

For marks that just will not move with water, sprinkle on some carb soda then rub with a damp cloth. Repeat if needed. If this does not move them, pour vinegar over them, let it sit for a while. Wipe off. If the stain is still there, reapply the carb soda.

Sink

For a sparkling sink, sprinkle carb soda onto a damp cloth and scrub the sink. Use an old toothbrush around the drain. Scrub down into the pipe of the drain with your toothbrush too. It's amazing what gunk attaches itself to the inside of this pipe. Keeping it clean can help eliminate odours. Pour carb soda down the drain then pour some vinegar down after it. It will bubble up. This is okay.  This will also help loosen the gunk in the drain. Rinse clean.

Stovetop

As for the bench, use water and dishwashing detergent. Add carb soda to get off the
greasies. 

Oven

Now, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE PROPRIETARY OVEN CLEANERS. They are dangerous stuff for people with allergies. Have the oven warm, not hot. Sprinkle the base of the oven with carb soda then pour on some vinegar. When the two mix together they will bubble. This is okay. mix these into  paste on the floor of the oven and leave for an hour or so. The gunk will be softened and will come off more
easily. Repeat as often as needed.

One lady I know lost her voice totally for weeks every time she used oven cleaners, or when she went near new carpet.

My Favourite Environmentally Friendly Cleaner

My favourite cleaner is a little hand held steamer. All it uses is water which is heated to boiling point. When water boils it becomes steam. Steam kills off bacteria and cleans amazingly with NO CHEMICALS.

Steam Clean

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sparkling sink clean microwave sparkling stovetop clean oven cleaner than clean window in the oven door handles on cupboards and door toilet button, cistern, seat and lid furniture in the lounge room

mirrors in the bathroom bathroom basin glass shower walls windows edges of the dishwasher that get grotty cupboard doors washing machine mattresses in the bedroom drapes

 

Hand held steam cleaners are not expensive and in my view, worth using. They are environmentally friendly, using no chemicals.

Cheers

Hyperactivity in Children

 

Clothing made from natural fibres is better for children

There must be a reason why so many children these days are  hyperactive. Have you ever thought it might be the clothing they wear?

Synthetic Clothing
Synthetic materials have edged into our way of life. Looking in a wardrobe today I would be surprised if you found an article of clothing that did not have some synthetic fibre in it. Even a lot of cotton clothing often has some percentage of polyester in it.

Children are very susceptible to everything. Their immune system is just developing. As adults we may be able to wear something that children just cannot handle. A baby or toddler cannot tell you if an article of clothing is irritating it. 

Most likely irritants
Any synthetic fibres are most likely to irritate your child. Sometimes you can see a rash and so you know that your child is reacting to a piece of clothing or elastic. Other times it is something invisible.

By the age of two or three some children show signs of hyperactivity.  Especially in these children, I recommend eliminating all synthetic fibres from their clothing. Look for natural fibres. Cotton is good, especially organic cotton. Keep in mind that cotton is grown using vast amounts of deadly pesticides. There must be some residue of this in the fibres. 

However synthetic clothing       like polyester and nylon and acrylics are made from petrochemicals. They do not allow the body to breathe. They do not take moisture away from the body as does clothing made from cotton and bamboo. 

Reactions
Children become hotter when wearing synthetic clothing. They can also be irritated when wearing it. ‘Irritated’ does not mean as in having a rash. If a child wears synthetic clothing he may be on edge, cranky and irritated. The only way he can express this is by being naughty. 

Have you ever noticed your child hot and bothered and take off his/her jacket? Not only does it relieve him of the extra warmth but most jackets, hoodies, cardigans, raincoats and parkas are made of synthetic fibres. Your are relieving your child of the buildup of static electricity in their system. Static electricity builds up when you wear synthetic fibres. Natural fibres prevent the buildup of static electricity.

So when you are out shopping for clothing for your child the next time, look for articles of clothing made from cotton, bamboo, tencel or wool, jute or hemp. Try to minimize synthetic clothing made from nylon, acetate, polyester, viscose, triacetate and acrylic.