U.S newborn death rate is poor and slipping

Here are some low-lights from a new report about the death rate of newborns worldwide taken from Health Freedom Alliance:

"Babies in the United States have a higher risk of dying during their first month of life than do babies born in 40 other countries,.

United States dropped from No. 28 to No. 41 in the rankings of newborn death risk. It is now tied with Qatar, Croatia and United Arab Emirates. And behind South Korea, Cuba, Malaysia, Lithuania, Poland and Israel.

One of the bigger challenges in the U.S. is complications from preterm birth. The U.S. rate of preterm birth is double that of countries in Europe and Northern Africa."

There are many chemicals in our environment that can cause premature births, and ours remains a highly exposed population.

7 billion people

The world's population will hit 7,000,000,000 (7 billion) people on Halloween. When I was born, right after World War II, there were about 2.5 billion people on Earth.

What is the maximum number of people the Earth can support before things fall apart and only the very rich have any quality of life?

What kind of world are we leaving for our children? Good night.

Possible tech issues on our web site

The CIIN web site is getting a little revamp. And for technical reasons (most of which I am clueless) the site may be down at times until things are fine-tuned and running normally again.

In case you don't know yet, CIIN now has a Twitter account under @ourtoxictimes. The entries there are not earth-shaking, but we try to keep people up to date on some basic activities -- such as when the newsletter goes to press and when it's mailed out.

Also, CIIN will be closed from September 27th until October 11th. We're going to try to take a trip during part of that time -- rest up during the other part of that time.

MCS Lemons-to-Lemonade Project

This comes from Cynthia Wilson, Executive Director of the Chemical Injury Information Network.

The Lemonade Project

Many members of our [MCS] community are house-bound. Some have risen to the occasion, but how? How are people who are fully or partially house-bound able to handle it? Specifically, how do they spend their time, what projects or hobbies have been helpful, have they found ways to be productive given their situation, have they found ways to create a business or a specific project, or anything else they can think of.


Dr. Robert Mayer, author of the recent, well received book Strategies for Surviving Chemical Sensitivity, The Basics, is planning a series of articles for our monthly newsletter Our Toxic Times on how people with MCS are coping — showing the most resilient aspects of the MCS community and possibly showing others how to live successfully within the confines of the illness.

For example, a woman in the northeast, photocopies educational material and distributes it to individuals in need. She's absolutely dedicated to informing those around her. "I can't do much, but I can do this," is one of her most elegant refrains.

For those who would like to write out their stories, they may be sent to: Lemonade at CIIN, PO Box 301, White Sulphur Springs, or emailed to lemonade@ciin.org. Please provide contact information, so if Dr. Mayer has questions he can contact you. If you think you need to be interviewed (by phone or email), please send a note to CIIN or email with your contact information, the best time to contact you, and a brief description of your own lemonade.

Die-off of bats is growing

I'm sure you have heard about the die-off of honey bees, and how serious that can be for agriculture. Well there is an equally serious die-off going on, especially in the NE states. It involves bats, particularly the Little Brown Bat. And it is serious enough that those who know are worried about those and other bats becoming extinct in the NE.

Most people don't know that bats are important in pollinating crops. But most people know about bats' appetite for mosquitoes and other insects. I just read that 1 million bats (the approximate number of bats that have died from what is called white nose syndrome in the past couple years) will eat 660 metric tons of mosquitoes in 6 months; 1,200 tons in a year. And that does not count the other, crop destroying or disease carrying bugs they eat.

I'm not sure this post falls under the heading of "toxins", but I find the bat problem very interesting and scarey. And, BTW, the bat die-off has reached as far west as Oklahoma.

One last thought: How many mosquitoes are there in a pound?

Two bad old terms for MCS resurface

I cannot believe it, but some people are calling "Environmental Illness" the newest name for MCS. It's not. It's an old term from the days when no one a clue what MCS was. All people knew back then was that something in the environment made some people sick.

And on top of that, Cynthia heard someone calling MCS "Chemical Allergies." That is a truly crap term. It mixes technical inaccuracy with confusing terminology. MCS is not an allergy; it is not immune system mediated. Best current research says it is a metabolic and neurologic disorder, probably rooted in damage to the Redox System.

The Redox System is made up of several systems (or sub-systems) that deal with breaking down toxins in various parts of the body so they can be flushed out. When the body cannot break down and eliminate toxins, even very small amounts of toxic chemicals can wreak havoc and cause damage. Sound familiar?

3 Books for Sale at CIIN

Speaking of the print vs digital world, CIIN sells 3 books on its web site:

1. Dr. Mayer's book, "Strategies for Surviving Chemical Sensitivity, the basics" This is a new book that has been out less than a year, and has gotten very good feedback from our members.

2. Cynthia's book on chemical injury, "Chemical Exposure and Human Health" which is probably the best work on chemical health issues ever written by a lay person. It is no longer in print, but CIIN has gotten a few used, good condition copies.

3. The workbook from the San Francisco workshop on a case definition for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. At 730 pages, this is the best collection of papers on MCS, and our supply is limited. It was the starting point for the doctors and researchers who came to San Francisco.

CIIN is now on Twitter

We just signed up to have Chemical Injury Information Network on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/ourtoxictimes

CIIN has been slowly entering the digital world because it is so prevalent and wide-ranging. The drawback, of course, is that so many of the chemically injured cannot participate on the internet, either due to the chemical smells from the plastics and resins in computers, or because of electrical sensitivity which often accompanies MCS.

We have no intentions to ever do away with the print version of our monthly newsletter Our Toxic Times. In spite of its cost and labor-intensive requirements, the paper version is our mainstay and our connection to our members. It's not going away.

So there you go. If you have access to Twitter, please check us out.

Apps I like

For no apparent reason, I want to take note of a few small applications I like. Bear in mind that I am still using Windows XP. Here they are in no particular order:

PrintKey 2000 - It makes the usually useless PrintScreen key really handy for copying whatever is on your screen.

Agent Ransack - A very fast search tool for finding files on your computer. It blows the doors off of Windows built-in search feature.

eCleaner - For copying text out of e-mails and other places, and getting rid of all the extra crap that gets copied like indent marks, formatting marks, and headers.

UK's Kalender - A very functional but not overly tricked out calendar program.

I've also used these (except the Kalender)on Vista machines without problems. In some ways, Vista and Windows 7 seem to have usable alternatives built in.

"green" is not MCS-friendly

The "Green" building movement and green products in general do NOT address the needs and concerns of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Green building and green consumer products are a good change from the toxic way we had been doing things,and it may save a lot of people from the living hell of MCS. However, those who suffer from MCS will find themselves disappointed and likely hurt by confusing "green" with MCS-friendly. Don't do it.

There are many good sources of MCS-friendly products if you take the time to look for them. One source of such sellers is the monthly newsletter Our Toxic Times published (since 1990) by the Chemical Injury Information Network.

Danish MCS rant in OTT

Coming in the December 2010 issue of Our Toxic Times is a good rant about Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and how a Danish organization that was intended to research the connections between MCS and chemicals has taken a turn against there even being such a connection.

The article goes well beyond Denmark's problem. It also talks about the chemical industry's created replacement name for MCS, Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance (IEI). A name that is intended to separate the word "chemicals" from the illness, and was not and is not promoted or approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), despite some claims to the contrary.

The article is very readable and well thought out.

Surviving Chemical Sensitivity book now at N.E.E.D.S.

The book by Dr. Robert Mayer "Strategies for Surviving Chemical Sensitivity - the Basics" is now also for sale at N.E.E.D.S. as well as at ciin.org.

Our feedback on the book has been nearly 100% positive. the one not-so-positive comment was a little odd: "It's just basic stuff." Considering the book's title, why would you expect anything else?

I'll say it again, if you or someone you know is suffering from MCS, especially someone relatively new to MCS, this book is a must.

A hotel suitable for MCS

Sometimes we find good news. Here is part of a message from one of our members about finding a hotel in Seattle that she could stay in:

"I thought I would pass this on. The Washington Toxics Coalition recommended the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle (Tel: 206-695-1234) as a possible non-toxic hotel room. They are environmentally friendly, with sustainable designs, saving measures and healthy products. From a search of the hotel, I found that their housekeeping staff uses chemical-free cleaners. When I called, they said they use cleaners, but would be willing to make accommodations. From calling CIIN today, I got the tip to ask for this, which I greatly appreciated. They are more than willing to steam clean the room and use only chemical-free products."

No guarantees, of course, but if it works for one chemically sensitive person, the odds look good for it working for more of us. And it indicates that asking for these kinds of accommodations is getting less weird in the eyes of the "normal" public.

Info sources

This is just a quick note about a couple good, and not very well known, web sites for information for those who are chemically injured or just chemically aware.

toxnet.nlm.nih.gov
A great site for information on chemicals. We at Chemical Injury Information Network use it a lot.

foodandwaterwatch.org
Also a great site, but for news related to food and water safety.

Could GM Foods Reduce Over-Population??

Most people who give it serious thought know GM foods are a crap-shoot -- not enough research to be sure they are safe in the long run. And then I ran across this new (new to me) worry in the Organic Consumers Association newsletter #226 (May 28, 2010):

Genetically Modified Foods Could Cause Long-Term Sterility
"We failed to get cubs from these pairs, which were fed with GM foodstuffs. It was proved that these pairs lost their ability to give birth to their cubs."

This quote is Dr. Alexei Surov, a Russian biologist describing the results of a study of hamsters fed genetically modified soy for two years over three generations. By the third generation, most the hamsters lost the ability to have babies. The pups who were born suffered slower growth and a high mortality rate.

You can track down the whole story via the Organic Consumers Association.

Natural does not mean non-toxic

Again today something popped up that made me want to write a quick word about natural things that many people think of as non-toxic. Wrong! At least if you are chemically sensitive, that is a dangerous assumption.

Mint, cedar, lavender, menthol, pine.

These are examples of things that probably seem pleasant and generally harmless. But for the chemically injured/sensitive these things can be anywhere from irritating to downright harmful. Can be — but not for everyone with MCS. I know people with chemical sensitivities who have no trouble with some or all of these materials. I also know people who really get their asses kicked by them. They and dozens of other innocent-seeming things, like essential oils, need to be treated as guilty of being problematic until proven innocent.

Just today Cynthia dealt with someone who put cedar shakes on their house and now has a serious problem on his hands. It's going to take a lot of work to keep their house usable to him, and it is possible they will have to leave the house for good.

Such simple mistakes can have such mammoth consequences. Protect yourself with caution. Don't be scarred, but do be skeptical.

To fight the SPAM problem at CIIN

At CIIN we have gotten more and more unwanted/crap/malicious e-mail to the point that we have had to activate an anti-spam program called BoxTrapper. As a practical matter, that means messages sent to us will probably get an automated message requiring the sender to simply hit "reply" in order to prove the message comes from a person and not a program.

It is an inconvenience, but once the person replies to the automated message, their original message goes through — no further action needed. Also, this a one-time thing. The sender should not have to do this again unless they send from a different account.

By the way, this has dramatically cut down on the junk e-mails we get.

This brings up a point to consider, do not just assume that your e-mails get to their destination. BoxTrapper is one of many anti-spam programs out there. Some are better and more convenient than others. If a message is important and you get no response, follow up in some way. There are too many ways an e-mail can go astray.

Surviving MCS

Dr.Robert Mayer's book on the basics of surviving MCS seems to have hit the spot with many people. Right now it is only available through CIIN, the book's publisher. If you know of anyone in need of basic info on dealing with life with chemical sensitivities, point them to us at 406-547-2255, or chemicalinjury@ciin.org. It could be a great help to them.

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The Basics of Surviving Chemical Sensitivity

CIIN has started selling their new book by Dr. Robert S. Mayer, "Strategies for Surviving Chemical Sensitivity — the Basics." It is the book MCS sufferers have been needing forever.

The book comes from Dr. Mayer's own trail-and-error experiences living with MCS as well as from tons of suggestions from over a thousand people who responded to the question, "What Works?" Some of these suggestions have also appeared in the monthly newsletter, "Our Toxic Times."

Anyone who is stricken with chemical sensitivities needs help just learning how to make the knid of changes in their lives that will allow them to survive. It can be done, but only those who have gone before can be expected to know the tricks. I wish like hell my wife had this book in 1987.

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MCS = redox damage

It seems there is research out of Italy linking Multiple Chemical Sensitivities with damage to the redox system. More on this will appear in Our Toxic Times when the research becomes available here. Until we see the research, that is all for now on this subject.

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It's NOT an allergy

Over and Over again people with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) try to equate their illness with allergies. That may be handy at times, but it can be dangerous.

When MCS is treated as an allergy, dangerous consequences can ensue. People, including MCS sufferers, tend to dismiss allergic reactions (other than anaphylactic shock) as inconvenient but harmless. Wrong!

An MCS reaction isn't an IgE-mediated event, as an allergic reaction is, and while further damage to the redox system, central nervous system, and/or immune system is not a certainty, it is definitely a possibility.

All MCS sufferers have redox and central nervous system damage, and 88% of MCS sufferers have developed 2 or more autoimmune conditions, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroid conditions, etc.

MCS is damage! MCS reactions are dangerous!

An allergic reaction is the immune system misidentifying a substance and mounting an inappropriate response. An MCS reaction is different — dangerously different — and needs to be addressed differently, treated differently, and thought about differently.

Worry over toxins seems universal

The U.S. is definitely not the only country where parents and others worry about slowly killing or maiming their children. We ran a brief article in Our Toxic Times recently about Viet Nam's actions to cut down on toxic toys and clothing, and now I ran across an editorial from Pakistan about the lack of laws to protect their children.

As more and more countries rise to the battle, we slowly build momentum in the effort to make this world a cleaner/safer place for us humans.