Category Archives: Brain

Some Fragrance Contamination Effects

Posted on September 18, 2014 | 16 comments

There are days that I am not as peaceful as I would like to be… This is one of them…

Despite most of my fantasies being about a world where we all have clean air, clean water, healthy food, safe shelter and clothing, and care about each others well-being, I admit to occasionally entertaining various “revenge” fantasies regarding those who allow toxic chemicals into everyday products and materials, especially those in the fragrance industry…

I have had different fantasies over the years, despite in my heart of hearts, not wanting anyone to suffer…Today another revenge fantasy emerged (since some people just don’t understand the harm their actions cause others, unless they personally experience the same or similar harm):

The people who allow toxic chemicals to be used in colognes and other fragranced products deserve to be locked into a room with no ventilation, to inhale the fumes from 20 opened bottles and packages of those products (like soaps, laundry, personal care and cleaning products) for 24 hours, no matter what happens to them while they are in there.

eau de not fresh

With their families and friends watching via live-stream somewhere else…

Ok, I’ll be a little considerate…maybe when they go unconscious or delirious, they could be taken to a hospital, to a room filled with toxic sanitizers, PVC/vinyl fumes, perfumed and cologned doctors and nurses… only to be told that their symptoms were all in their head.

Why, you might ask, would I wish such a thing on someone today?

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Posted in Air Quality, Brain, Chemicals, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health, Neurotoxicity, Pollution

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Severe MCS/ES… What Does It Mean?

Posted on September 3, 2014 | 16 comments

To some degree, severe MCS/ES (like pain) is subjective. In other ways it’s a moving target, as we can be fine (or almost fine) one minute, and be completely incapacitated the next hour (day, week, or month) from an exposure, or combination of exposures. One day, a perfume exposure during lunch with friends might “just” give someone a throbbing headache for the rest of the day, but the next day, because there was also a cloud of diesel smoke, a fragrance contaminated piece of mail, someone installed wi-fi in the apartment next door, and someone else’s dryer vent was pumping out chemicals when we walked by with the dog, the same 3 breaths of perfume at the pet store we were trying to buy dog food from, could send us to bed for a week, or longer.

To make matters more difficult for others to accurately assess (and assumptions and clueless opinions are rampant where invisible disabilities are concerned), the recovery period, when most incapacity takes place, occurs when no-one is around to witness the effects, as many symptoms are delayed reactions. This means that people with severe MCS/ES are usually only seen during better moments, not when we’re at our worst.

severe mcs es

Something else I often see is that people’s ability to tolerate change and adversity varies greatly. Some people fall apart when faced with the slightest challenge, while others can endure unbelievably difficult circumstances and suffering without ever complaining.

One person’s severe is another person’s “just another day”. And, as I found out, when we think things are as bad as they can possibly be, they can get 1000 times worse (especially where brain function is concerned). This can really confuse people, ourselves included…

That said, there are tools that have been designed to help medical professionals assess all kinds of health and disabilities. And accurate assessment is especially important when applying for disability benefits.

What follows are a few tools that can help us understand. This information is not meant for acquiring disability benefits. I’m providing it for educational purposes only.

How can “sensitivity” symptoms affect life?

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Posted in Brain, Disability, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, MCS/ES, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

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In the News: Toxic Troubles

Posted on February 16, 2014 | Leave a comment

 

toxic troubles in the news

The evidence (and casualties) are piling up

– Articles about the neurotoxic pandemic
– From Harvard… on Everyday Toxic Trespass
– Powerful article about perfumes  for children
– Pesticides in flea collars harm children too
– Important news about ALL pesticides
– Someday there will be less toxic clothing
– Driveway sealants are bad for Your health
– Doctors can’t be counted on to help treat oil related illnesses
– Illnesses linked to toxic chemicals increase health care costs
– Chemically injured woman has to sleep in a tent
– Some Things We Can Do

Why do we need much better laws and regulations to protect us and future generations?  Have a look at the following articles:

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Posted in Air Quality, Brain, Child Health, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Neurotoxicity, Pesticides, Toxic Trespass

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Your Brain Breathes Too

Posted on January 30, 2014 | 15 comments

Pollution affects our brains!
Glad some neuroscientists are finally taking this more seriously!

knowingneurons's avatarKnowing Neurons

I live in Los Angeles and it’s unfortunate, but true, that the brown cloud of smog hanging over our city is as much an icon of LA as the Hollywood hills.  My morning bike commute is spent sucking on the tailpipes of my fellow Angelenos, and it turns out this doesn’t just make me cranky.  A recent article published in Neurotoxicology suggests that those of us who live in urban environments are much more likely to experience cognitive decline with age.  The culprit?  Air pollution.

Your Brain Breathes Too by Knowing Neurons

While air pollution is generally thought of as a modern problem, humans have evolved to handle polluted air from sources such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions.  Coughing removes large particles from the lung, while macrophages, a type of immune cell, are responsible for engulfing and degrading small particles.  However, some particles are so small that they can penetrate the lung wall, and gaseous…

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Posted in Brain, Environmental Health, Neurotoxicity, Pollution

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Wireless Safety Standards… Safe For Who?

Posted on January 29, 2014 | Leave a comment

We live in an increasingly wireless world. Manufacturers are even making wireless devices for babies now! Yet, current safety standards do not take into consideration all the effects of wireless radio frequencies on our bodies, especially those of children!!!

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Cell Phones, Radiation & Your Child’s Health

children and cellphones(Text added to original photo from Healthy Child Healthy World)

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Autism and EMF? Plausibility of a pathophysiological link

Part 1
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24095003   PMID: 24095003 [PubMed] or
http://www.pathophysiologyjournal.com/article/S0928-4680%2813%2900037-0/abstract

Part 2
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24113318  PMID: 24113318 [PubMed] or
http://www.pathophysiologyjournal.com/article/S0928-4680%2813%2900038-2/abstract

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Wireless products - protecting your children
Wireless products – protecting your children

Men, did you know you can damage your sperm if you keep your wireless device in your pant pocket? Putting it in your shirt pocket might not be any safer, as there are reports of adverse effects on the heart and of breast cancers when phones were there.

Save The Male

Mobile phones affect sperm quality

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We are in urgent need of updating safety standards, and Health Canada has appointed a committee to do something, but it isn’t clear exactly what.

At the following link, you can access the videos and written reports of many of the submissions prepared for The Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel Review public hearing day on Safety Code 6, Limits of Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Energy (wireless radiation safety)

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Posted in Brain, Child Health, Environmental Health, Health, Public Health, Wireless

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Blog-Share: Brain-Fog Part One

Posted on January 11, 2014 | 3 comments

I found a blog post with some great descriptions of brain fog and how it can affect those of us who have it. Click on the link title to read Sarah’s stories:

Brain-Fog_Part One.

too foggy

I can relate to so many of the descriptions, having had very similar experiences for  years…

And I am so very glad that I can now make my daily (fair trade, organic) coffee and do other slightly more complex things without needing to exhaust myself using all my (still limited) energy and effort to remain mindful focusing on whatever task is on hand. (The ability to hold more than one thought in my mind and do two things at once again has created new challenges, but that’s another story)

Fun times, not… even though they can make some funny stories when we feel better!

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Posted in Brain, Fibromyalgia, MCS/ES, ME/CFS

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Personal Update: It’s No Longer All In My Head!

Posted on January 4, 2014 | 8 comments

Well, it never really ever was all in my head.

My arms, legs and the rest of my body have been affected too. But most of it was because things weren’t functioning as intended in my brain (which still IS in my head), and since brain functions control so many other things (like how our body functions, and how we communicate), when brain chemistry is altered (with or without choice or permission) then body functions will be altered too.

Think of what happens when you have a drink, then a few more, and then finish the bottle… Are you functioning the same way before drinking as after?

Personal Update Part One:

I am doing a lot better these days, in some ways even thousands of times better than I was doing by the time I left Bloor Street in May of 2010. I can now usually get through most of my days without everything requiring constant, exhausting effort, but it hasn’t turned into me being able to do or accomplish that much more in actual practical terms.

I still have brain issues and most of the other practical limitations that come from MCS/ES and a toxic brain injury, but recently, I have started feeling so much better!

I am trying to wrap my mind around that because it doesn’t make logical, rational sense to me. How is it that I can feel so much better without doing so much better?

Maybe it has just been so long since I’ve felt even halfway ok, and because some part of my brain chemistry is working differently and more normally…?

Whatever it is, it isn’t tangible, but it is a very welcome change!

water dance

Part Two: Insights

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Posted in Brain, Disability, Environmental Health, Healthy Environment

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Our Brains Matter: Brain Facts Primer

Posted on July 4, 2013 | 5 comments

Neuroscience is a fascinating and fairly recent area of study. For those of you who wish to learn more, I have discovered this helpful resource. Brain Facts dot org has a free primer download on the brain and nervous system (see below).

Too many of us are currently in possession of brains and nervous systems that are more or less immediately and adversely affected from exposures to toxic chemicals, some molds, wireless and other environmental contaminants.

As one of these people, I have been fascinated by the changes that occur in my brain at times, (despite the fact that most of the changes are highly disruptive and disabling instead of pleasant) and so I am really trying to learn more about these processes and what might be happening.

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Posted in Brain, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

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