Recently, a friend brought over her 2 kittens – just barely 6 weeks old – to meet Grayson.
My Time: 3:14
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MCS & Hair Care
Recently, Voiceless Wonder wrote a post titled Shave and a haircut… She had just visited dtox Natural Hair & Skin Care located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. dtox is owned by Ashley Smith who suffers with MCS herself, hence her concern with the chemicals. She now runs the salon out of her own home.
I long for such a place. I have someone that cuts my hair. She does a wonderful job. But she works in a larger salon, so there are lots of smells to deal with. I used to have my hair shampooed there, bringing my own shampoo. But even the towels had a scent – from the laundry. I even carry my own spray bottle with water in it. The ones at the salon, being plastic, have absorbed all the odors in the salon, so even the water smells. The salon I go to is closed on Sunday and Monday. So I got on Tuesday morning, when there are just a few people there and very few chemicals have been sprayed.
I’m in and out in 20 minutes usually. I only get a hair cut though. Between MCS and allergies, I’m unable to even think about doing anything else. From South Texas, anywhere in Canada is too far for me to travel for a haircut. But still it’s tempting…
How do you cope with hair cuts and such? Do you know of other places like dtox?
Bird of Paradise – Revisited
Tips for a Healthier Environment
I’m not taking credit for these suggestions. You can read EWG’s original article – 10 Everyday Pollution Solutions. I just wanted to list them here with some thoughts of my own.
- Use cast iron pans instead of nonstick. I have always hated the idea of Teflon. Even before knowing about the toxic, bird-killing gases. The fact is that the stuff comes off the pan. So you know you’re eating it. I recently bought some commercial grade muffin pans. They were all I could find that were not non-stick. Do you know that they actually clean up better than the non-stick variety?
- To avoid chemicals leaching into food, go easy on processed, canned or fast foods and never microwave plastic. Follow this link to read up on Bisphenol-A.
- Buy organic, or eat vegetables and fruit from the “Cleanest 12″ list. You can see a rating of 43 fruits and veggies at FoodNews.org. The 3 most commonly purchased in our house – apples, strawberries and spinach – are in the “worst 12″ grouping.
- Use iodized salt to combat chemical interference from the thyroid. Read more about rocket fuel contamination.
- Seal outdoor wooden structures.Is there arsenic in your backyard?
- Leave your shoes at the door. This cuts down on dust-bound pollutants in the home.
- Avoid perfume, cologne and products with added fragrance. What a great idea. Check the cosmetics database for safer products.
- Buy products with natural fibers, like cotton and wool, that are naturally fire resistant. Find products that are PBDE free.
- Eat low-mercury fish like tilapia & pollock, rather than high-mercury choices like tuna & swordfish. Check the Safe Fish List.
- Filter your water for drinking and cooking. What’s in your water?
Flowers from my backyard
Kid-Safe Chemicals Act
Last week, Catherine over at Breathez wrote about the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act.
Here’s a summary of the act:
- requires that industrial chemicals be safe for infants, kids and other vulnerable groups
- requires that new chemicals be safety tested before they are sold
- requires chemical manufacturers to test and prove that the 62,000 chemicals already on the market that have never been tested are safe in order for them to remain in commerce
- requires EPA to review “priority” chemicals, those which are found in people, on an expedited schedule
- requires regular biomonitoring to determine what chemicals are in people and in what amounts
- requires regular updates of health and safety data and provides EPA with clear authority to request additional information and tests
- provides incentives for manufacturers to further reduce health hazards
- requires EPA to promote safer alternatives and alternatives to animal testing
- protects state and local rights
- requires that this information be publicly available
The numbers reported are frightening. Babies are born pre-polluted with up to 300 industrial chemicals. And over 455 chemicals have been identified in humans. And we really have no idea how these chemicals affect the human body.
Catherine brings up a good point. By focusing on children, it should help gain support for this act.
I’ll be following this act, too. It’s way overdue.
Do Unto Others…
Yes, the Golden Rule applies here: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
If you had an allergy or other condition that was worsened in the presence of some substance, you would want to avoid it. And it should be reasonable to ask friends, family and co-workers to help by not using it in your presence. Yet it seems that when it comes to fragrance, the Golden Rule goes out the window. Honestly, I’ve had friends, family and co-workers that thought that I just didn’t *like* fragrance. So it was really OK to wear them in my presence. Which is baffling. People so often equate an allergy with dislike, which isn’t what it’s about. If it were something I just didn’t like, I would endure it. But there are serious health issues for those sensitive to perfume.
There have been a couple of comments here recently that could be resolved with the Golden Rule. Linda left this comment on the Join the Conversation post:
I’m not really a big fan of lawsuits. I think there are far too many in this country. But, that doesn’t mean they are all bad. If you’ve got a problem at work and can get no help through your employer, then perhaps a lawsuit is the last option. If you have other ideas to help Linda, why not leave her a comment?
And this one from Sally was left on a recent Susan McBride Update post:
It really saddens me to read about Sally’s issues. Perhaps a lawyer is her best option too. I’ve read that Ann Curry Thompson has taken cases all across the country.
Have you encountered similar problems? What tips do you have for Sally and Linda? Leave a comment here.
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