Got Asthma?

So I found myself having a dialogue with my cousin, who by the way is extremely intelligent, very articulate and quite eloquent.  This dialogue went something like this…well before I explain the dialogue, let me just mention that I first noticed that he seemed to be often congested and sometimes sneezing and coughing.  I know he wasn’t sick and I also knew that he very much enjoyed public speaking.  Since I like my cousin I decided to get to the bottom of what was ailing him.  The dialogue went something like this…

I said, “Are you eating anything funny?”

He said, “What’s funny?”

I said, “What did you have for breakfast?”

He said, “A breakfast sandwich.”

I said, “Did that breakfast sandwich contain bacon?”

Well, of course it did and well, now you can guess where I’m going with this.  I know that I have mentioned sodium nitrate and nitrates previously, but I want to be somewhat more emphatic this time and let you know that there are certainly people who can be allergic to nitrates.  Now I believe that nitrates are harmful to all.  But there are certainly a number of people who, quite frankly, have an allergic reaction to eating cured meats such as bacon, ham, salami, turkey and on and on and on.  The problem with having an allergic reaction is that the person who has had the reaction, does not realize their body is reacting to the cured meats.  I’m afraid they simply might think that they have a cold, that they have developed asthma or maybe they have hives from stress.  At this point, let me share with you the four symptoms of an allergic reaction to nitrates:

• Headaches that routinely occur after the consumption of foods that contain nitrates can be a sign of a nitrate allergy.  These headaches may be mild, or they may be severe.  However, headaches can be caused by a wide number of different issues, and headaches alone do not point towards an allergy to nitrates.
• Hives are outbreaks of red or pale bumps or welts on the skin.  If you have a nitrate allergy, they can appear suddenly after consuming nitrates, and they may show up on any part of the body.   Hives range in size from a pencil eraser to a dinner plate, and in most cases, they will subside in a few hours to a day.
• Rhinitis is an inflammation or irritation of the nasal passages, and exposure to nitrates, when you are allergic to them, may cause a flare up.  Sneezing, itching and a runny nose are all signs of rhinitis as is a feeling of blockage or congestion.
• Asthma is an inflammation of the lungs or breathing passages; and though it is usually considered a chronic issue, the term also includes cases where asthma occurs due to an allergy.  If you experience congestion in the chest, difficulty with breathing or coughing after you consume foods with nitrates, it might point to a nitrate allergy.

Now, this story has a happy ending.  My cousin is thrilled to pieces that we have discovered the root of his congestion.  But what if we had not?  What if it had gone undetected for many, many more years?  Would it have led to lung issues?  What about all those people suffering from sinus infections?  Why is asthma so common?  Are hives really from stress or are they a reaction to something you’ve eaten?  Let me clarify for a moment, I am not 100% sure of the answer to these questions but I am most certain that if I ate a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast and ate a salami, ham and mortadella sandwich for lunch; and then felt congested I might decide not to do that to myself again.  Have you ever considered why is everyone so sick?  Why are we all walking around with asthma and sinus infections?  Well since you might think this is just my opinion, here’s a suggestion for you.  If you live with any of these symptoms remove anything with nitrates from your diet for four to six weeks and see how you feel.  You might just keep the oink out of your life permanently!

Gross facts everyone should hear about (but may not want to.)

Dust mites, mildew, bacteria: I hate to bring these up but I must. It ocured to me recently that there are many household and personal items that are utilized excessively and they certainly should not be. We think about things like washing out clothes and taking showers to cleanse our bodies but sometimes perhaps we overlook the things that may not be so obvious. I apologize if the following makes you cringe, but I think at the end of the day you’ll be happy to be informed. At least I hope so anyway.

• Bath Towels, I know that many people reuse their bath towels, but really you should not. The moisture that develops in bathrooms each time we shower combined with the dampness from our skin accumulates on our bath towels and mixes with dead skin cells to create a friendly habitat for mildew and bacteria. You may think that that towel is clean because you used it on your freshly cleaned self, but by the second use what you can’t see on that towel you don’t want touching you.
• Sheets and pillow cases, A pillow or mattress is such ideal real estate for little crawling creatures that within the first two years of use they’re already about one tenth made up of dead dust mites and dust mite droppings. There is no exterminator great enough to rid your house entirely of the little fiends, but regularly washing your sheets and pillow cases in hot water and airing and sunning your pillows makes your bed a little less welcoming to them. They love dark, damp, and cool spaces and hate sun, fresh air and hot water.
• Hot tubs, I know most of us don’t have one in our own home but I wanted to bring this to your attention because alot of us do go to hotels and vacation spots where there are hot tubs so in my effort to make you as knowledgeable as possible, here goes: Since  the pipes behind hot tub jets are horizontal the water remains stagnant in them for as long as they are off. As you can imagine, dead skin cells and whatever else came off of your body rests there and feeds bacteria. When tested by microbiologist 43 out of 43 privately owned hot tubs were found filled with bacteria and Over 1/3 were contaminated with Staph bacteria Relaxing in that? No thank you.
• Kitchen sink, that place where you wash your dishes and vegetables you’d probably think is pretty clean, huh? Believe it or not the average kitchen sink is far filthier than the average toilet. Think about it, you disinfect your toilet regularly, the kitchen sink often only gets rinsed. With the food particles that build up there it’s like spreading out a buffet for bacteria such as E. Coli and Salmonella. So please, before you place your fresh picked veggies in there to be washed, disinfect your sink.

I wanted to inform, but of course not gross you out too much. I had much more to say. I think I shall stop right here and continue the gross facts tomorrow.  I am sure the amount of gross you want to hear about in one day is limited. Tomorrow get ready to hear about, you might have guessed, makeup! (and for you guys your razors. )

Still, have a healthy and fantastic day!

Febreze, Are You Forreal?

I am in such a rush but this was so important it simply could not wait!  I will make this short but sweet folks.  Febreze, are you forreal?

I cannot be certain but I was visiting some friends this weekend and after being in their home for no more than one hour my eyes started to get puffy, my nose became stuffy and my throat scratchy.  Signs of allergies right?  Well here’s the thing, I did not know these lovely folks well enough to ask but I am pretty certain, and my nose usually doesn’t fail me, that there was a distinct smell in their home; maybe like Febreze.

Listen my friends, lest you think this sounds a bit extreme, please remember this won’t harm me.  I became aware, therefore I did not stay long.  My symptoms were gone within 24 hours.  My distinct need to immediately blog about this is concern for your safety.  Think about it, do you have young babies, pets or older people living with you?  I know well enough that items like Febreze and others might really be causing us harm and I would like you to think twice before reaching for Febreze.  Especially if you have young babies.

The “Environmental Working Group (EWG) has independently tested Febreze.  Its  toxicology report claims that Febreze contains several chemicals that can be  extremely harmful not only to the environment but also to your health.  According  to EWG, Febreze contains 89 air contaminants, including acetaldehyde, propylene glycol, limonene and methyl pyrrolidone ethylacetate, which is toxic to the  brain and nervous system.  These contaminants are linked to cancer, are toxic to  the reproductive system and cause allergies.”

I hope this makes you think twice my friends.  Please oh please send this blog to anyone you know who may be suffering from funky allergies.  In a hurry though, so this will have to do it for today.  Tomorrow is another glorious day.  Perhaps I will tald to you about pulling the plug on Plug Ins.

The Dangers of Scented Candles and Air Fresheners

Are you unknowingly polluting the air in your home?  Do your children suffer with asthma or allergies?  Anything bizarre going on with respiratory issues in your home?  What I mean by that is, have you gone to a physician, especially an allergist; and they cannot get to the bottom of your congestion?

It has been a very, very long time since I have burned scented candles.  It has also been a very long time since I have used air fresheners.  Just last week I was at a wonderful family gathering having great fun with family members.  Within two to three hours of being at this event I began to have trouble breathing.  Now I think I’m pretty sharp but quite frankly folks it took a little while for me to realize what the culprit was.  Of course a few more hours later whereby I began to sneeze and cough.  Frankly, it’s as bad as it sounds folks, I was not doing well.  All of a sudden a light bulb went off and in a Sherlock Holmes moment, as I walked around this home I realized there were two scented candles lit and had been all day.  Additionally, I began to notice air fresheners plugged in to the walls.

“Scented candles and air fresheners emit VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, which are chemicals that form a gas or vapor at room temperature. The VOCs present in air fresheners often include formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, limonene, alcohol and esters”, states Dr. Stanley Fineman, an allergist from Atlanta, GA.  Lest you think I make this stuff up folks!  Actually it is much worse than you might think.  Since this unfortunate event in my life last week I did quite a bit of research on scented candles and air fresheners.  The stories I found are quite scary.  In fact so many of the stories led me to believe that if you are one of those individuals who adores the smell of scented candles and enjoys them often, you may want to check lead levels in your home; especially if you have small children.

Now years ago the industry was forced to change from lead in the wicks to zinc.  But, the question remains; is there still some amount of lead in the wicks?  I’m not sure folks, I am certain that there are candle companies out there that would dispute that there are any harmful affects at all.  My interest is to share my own personal experience with you.  Quite frankly until my own experience last week, I had not considered the very real dangers of these sweet smelling items.  I should also tell you it took me a couple of days to recover and breath normally.  So let me be emphatic about this, if you have young children, I should think you’d want to think twice about using scented candles.

Here’s more food for thought, with so many funky smells in the work place, many people tend to use plug in air fresheners.  So from here on let’s reconsider and if you like your co-workers simply opt out of the plug in air fresheners!

As usual, in my effort not to be a “Debbie Downer” let me propose the following:  there are many natural, glorious items you can utilize to freshen up your environment.  For example, here is one of my favorite ways.  In a small pot combine water, chopped apples, cinnamon sticks and cloves; bring to a boil than lower to a simmer.  Oh and by the way, if you are in a work environment why not consider a little vitamin C?  Bring an orange or grapefruit with you to nosh on.  Don’t dispose of the skins, place them in a bowl or even in your open trash can and let them sit for a few days.  I promise they might actually freshen up your work environment.