Carolina Hurricanes player allergic to his hockey equipment.

It's not a laughing matter.  It's only funny if it isn't happening to you, the Carolina Hurricanes player stated. He is allergic to the anti-mildew chemical that is put into the hockey equipment.  He will be sitting out this season but hopes to make it back for the next season.  He is working with his doctor and trying to resolve some of the skin problems associated with his allergy.

I feel so sorry for him because people without allergies just don't understand how devastating it can be.  Apparently he is allergic to the anti-mildew chemical that is put into the hockey equipment.  I can totally relate.  Sometimes even dyes in regular clothing make me so sick I want to throw up.  Pajamas that have them chemical in them called fire retardant can be a trouble for some people. I have bought socks with antimicrobial properties to them only to throw them in the trash because they stunk so bad and made my feet itch.  I totally get the pain this guy is going through. 

I hope he can find some relief for his allergies, or maybe they could even make his equipment and clothing with cotton or natural fibers that would not cause the allergy in the first place.  I hope he gets better and comes back and helps the hurricanes with the Stanley cup!  Wouldn't that be awesome. 

Chemical Sensitivities and Food Sensitivities

Many people that have been exposed to moldy buildings will also be sensitive to many chemicals and even foods.  Some of the foods that can cause severe allergies are wheat, soy, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, and fish.  Some women are even sensitive to the chemicals in maxipads, they put chlorine, plastic, deodorants, and adhesives in many maxi pads. 

There is a great feminine product out there for chemically sensitive women that I just learned about.  It is called glad rags.  You do have to do more work by cleaning and reusing your pads, but they are made of soft cotton.  Just think of all those chemicals right up next to your body especially near your reproductive organs.  I only wish I had known about these products long ago.

Schools and Mold are Smart Boards more important than clean air?

Schools are notorious for mold.  The reason?  We are not putting enough emphasis on the health of our staff and students.  The most important thing to a county school:  awards, attendance, grants, money, status and smart boards.  The things that are least important to a county school are the health and well being of the staff and students, the hvac system, the mold growth, regular maintenance and cleanliness. 

The elementary school I am familiar with in my area has an abundance of awards, they are pros at getting grants and new smart boards, but when it comes to regular maintenance in the building they are quite lacking.   The duct work has visible dust bunnies hanging as well as a coating about 2 inches thick all around the duct work.  Have you ever wondered why kids are generally healthy in the summer, but as soon as school starts ear infections, strep, stomach viruses, sinus infections and the like run rampant!  No its not just that kids are germ magnets, it has a lot to do with the environment that they are in.  Clean air and water is important and vital for your health. 

The water fountain at the elementary school in our area is being held together with duct tape, while there are shiny new smart boards in nearly every room.  How smart is that? 

I don't know about you,  but a little less mold in our schools would be great.  If we had to go back to the old way of doing things it may be smarter than goals upon goals for smart boards while ignoring basic needs for our schools.  Clean air and water!  Simple, simple simple.  How hard is that? 

Mold Illness and severe allergies

Being exposed to mold can mean a lot of different problems for individuals.  For instance some people have severe allergies as a result of their exposure.  I know some people are hyper sensitive and can react to minute amounts of allergens.  Mold is an allergen and produces toxins in my body that I can not eliminate.   One time I told a co-worker that his plant smelled horrendously strong of mold.  I was already having a lump in my throat and getting a migraine from it, so I figured, what the heck I will go look at it and find the dang mold in it.  Do you know how small the little dot of mold was that I found?  Well, let's just say, that's what it was, a small dot. 

Something that would be nothing to some people are a big big deal to others.  I felt like I was gonna die when I entered the room with the house plant that had a speck of mold in it.  I mean literally die right then and there.  My co-worker showed me the rash he had on his leg, and I told him, his rash was comming from the mold in his plant.  OMG!!! I thought HE was gonna die!  He love, love, loved this plant, after all it was probably 10 years old and had never ever been outdoors except to move it from office to office.  So I told him to put it in the sun for a bit, stop overwatering it, and to remove the speck of mold in the pot.  I am not sure whatever happened to his poor plant.  I thought it was like a member of his family he was so attached to it.  But to me, it was the enemy.  I thought I was gonna just die from a little speck of mold. It was making me crazy.  I had to leave the office, as soon as I could get out to get some fresh air I did just that.

What made me so sensitive to mold?  Who knows, maybe it was all the bug spray and chemicals around me at work, maybe it was the hydrogen sulfide in the circuit boards that were being created in the labs at my work.  Maybe it was because they couldn't clean an air filter for 3 years.  Maybe I was genetically prone to it.  Maybe my body had chemical overload from the mercury fillings in my mouth that the dentist poisioned me with years ago.  Maybe my immune system was down after having a baby.  Maybe, I was just allergic all my life until I had such a buildup I just couldn't take it anymore.   

Mold isn't good for anyone,  try to avoid it if you can, as much as you can.  Good luck!

Are newspapers toxic?

I have often thought that some Newspaper Ink must be made from soy, by the smell of it.   Monsanto, made soy evil, by spraying roundup directly on the crops, it allows a micro-fungus to grow.  If you are allergic to fungus, then you are probably allergic to soy, therefore, probably allergic to newspapers as well.  This is an interesting article in the oxford journal about the ah receptor and newspapers.

http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/102/2/278.abstract

Is Technology Killing our Children? Are Smart Boards killing our Kids?

Funny thing happened today.  Our county school system here in NC just told us they are trying to get federal grants for technology.  Don't get me wrong, technology can be a wonderful thing, but if the school system can obtain federal funds to fund smart boards and new computers, laptops, internet service, etc. then it can fund a clean school that is mold free can't it?  Just wondering what is more important, new computers or clean floors and air?  When children are suffering with asthma, pneumonia, strep throat infections, plagued with severe allergies we have to ask ourselves, can anything be causing these problems? The answer is... (yes I know the answer) Mold in our schools is a big big big problem!!!   There is a website called schoolmoldhelp and some of the stories are unbelievable.  Dr. Shoemaker writes in his Mold Warriors book about the unbelievable stories of mold and sickness and illness.  I was basically told to hush up about the mold in a popular NC University that packed the punches of red and white.  Blood guilty is all I can say, no wonder people bleed red over there. Only more attention is probably spent on athletics at that university than technology, although they could run a close contest, and several of the athletic directors coaches died from cancer.  You know there is a connection between mold and cancer don't you?  Well, you do now.  Hopefully  you will get some insight by reading this article.  Hopefully you will think twice before you send your sons and daughters to a mold infested dorm room.  Knowledge is power.  Power up, and learn about the dangers of mold. Power up and say something.  Do something about it.  Don't be silent.  I wasn't.  I was lucky, I got out before it killed me. Let me tell you about a cutting edge classroom with technology before its time, and let me tell you that the air filter in the rooms hadn't been changed in 3 years.  Let me tell you about how the building leaked when it rained and how people had to work in the building while asbestos was flying through the air.  Yes technology could be killing our children.  Yes smart boards could be killing our children from elementary school on up to college.  Somebody needs to emphasize the importance of cleanliness next to godliness, instead of how many smart boards can we get for our school. How can we make this happen?  Post your suggestions. Please.

Are smart boards killing our children?

They could be.  If your child's school is more concerned with how many smart boards they can obtain for the school, than keeping up with the maintenance issues, then yes, Smart boards could be killing our children.  Technology is a wonderful thing, but how far do we go to get the A+ Five star rating in our schools.  Do we skimp on the small things?  I recently visited a school that had goals upon goals of obtaining smart boards by fundraisers, book sales, races, etc, etc.  Not one time did I see, that they were raising money to keep the school free of mold and dust.  They dust bunnies were hanging from the ceiling, the air filters, well lets just say who knows how long they had been there before they were changed.  Ceiling tiles dripping with water stains.  What was growing behind those soaked ceiling tiles?  Toxic mold?  Was that the reason your child had pneumonia, or strep throat that lasted for the entire winter?  Hmmmmm.  Kinda makes you wonder.  If it is so important to obtain smart boards, then why isn't the same importance put on keeping our schools healthy.  Why don't they have clean air?  Ok, let's do the math.  Air filter $3 each times 30 air filters equal $90.  If changed once a month for a year, and yes a whole year because the building is occupied all year then we are talking $1080 for a year.  It wouldn't take too long to save up for an extra smart board.  But at whose expense?  Our children's that's who. Thank you.