If You Have a Toddler, Please Read This

More toddlers under age four are admitted to hospital emergency rooms as a result of household cleaner-related injuries than for any other reason. ALSO, household cleaners and personal care products can exacerbate breathing problems and asthma. Due to out gassing this can happen even when packaging is sealed.

sources:
~~> Cancer Prevention Coalition c/o School of Public Health University of Illinois Medical Center 2121 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612,Tel: (312) 996-2297, Fax: (312) 996-1374 http://www.healthy-communications.com/factsoncarcinogensathome.html
~~> From the Cancer Prevention Coalition and the "Safe Shoppers Bible" by Dr. Samuel S. Epstein and Dr. David Steinman, 1995

Invest in Your Children

This is part of a letter from a great man, Frank L Vandersloot. I thought my readers might appreciate his opinions. He is a dad and husband, the CEO of an earth friendly, people friendly company, and a great role model!

No one prepares us to be parents. We take no courses. We get no official training. We receive no step-by-step guidance. We take no test to prove we are ready or qualified to be parents. Most of our training is from watching our own parents. And since no parent is perfect, our training has also not been perfect.

As parents, we find ourselves making our own mistakes, but deep down we know that the most important thing is to give our children our time, energy, and love. It seems simple, but it's amazing how often we fail to do just that. What's often even harder to remember is that many of the choices we make today will have a definite long-term impact on our own children. How we choose to instruct, encourage, and discipline will all have a profound effect on our children's future lives. Greater still will be the effect of our own example. Far more than anything else, it is through our example that our kids truly learn.

Being there for our children has never been more important than it is today. They are introduced to a constant barrage of sex and violence on TV and in the media in a way that we would never have wanted them to be. The values of our nation and of many of today's prominent role models are deteriorating at a rapid pace. The potential challenges this creates for our children and the damage that it can do to them is immeasurable.

Parenting is much the same as any endeavor: It requires hard work and patience before you can eventually see results. You may not see the effects today or tomorrow. You may not see them next week or next month. But eventually you will see them, and they will be the direct result of our actions. So you have to work hard, and you have to be patient before you can enjoy the rewards. It might help to remember that these investments will someday pay great dividends when you go home from work and see that little boy coming up to you with a baseball bat in his hand, or that little girl who really wants you to teach her how to fish. Try to remember the importance of your investment when your teenager makes a wrong choice or makes mistakes on his journey to adulthood and needs your encouragement, or when your tiny baby seems to do nothing but cry.

Remember that whenever you interact with your child, you're affecting not only him or her, and not only yourself, but the future of us all.

Sincerely,
Frank L Vandersloot

Fever Medications and Pregnancy

Great care should be taken with medications and drugs during pregnancy. Despite this, surveys around the world confirm that 90% of women take at least one medication at some time during their pregnancy. Many of these are not being prescribed. So what should a pregnant woman do if they have a headache or fever and a homeopathic remedy is not known?

Should common, over the counter medications like aspirin or acetaminophen (also called paracetamol) be taken?

Fevers Should be Controlled During Pregnancy

Doctors now agree that controlling fever during pregnancy is very important. Prolonged fever above 100.4% especially early in pregnancy, is associated with increased risk of miscarriages and neural tube defects. It is also important to note that spending longer than 10 minutes in a hot bath or sauna can easily raise the body temperature above 100.4%

If not schooled in homeopathy, acetaminophen is considered the best choice of medications during pregnancy (only at the normal recommended dose!). Taking acetaminophen to control a fever during pregnancy is much safer for the unborn baby than not controlling the fever.

Aspirin and other NSAIDS should not be used unless prescribed by a doctor. Although their use has not been associated with an increase in birth defects, taking normal doses shortly before delivery may cause bleeding problems in the baby, as well as serious heart and lung problems. Aspirin has also been linked to an increased risk of miscarriage but there is as yet no conclusive evidence for this.
In summary doctors recommend that fevers during pregnancy should be treated and that acetaminophen should be the fist choice of medication. For more severe pain requiring something stronger than acetaminophen , it is best to see your doctor.

source:
http://www.yourdiagnosis.com/Yourdiagnosis/newsletter/07JuneNewsletter/fever.htm

Sexy For Her; Poison for Baby

Your perfume, shower gel or deodorant could contain chemicals that disrupt hormones, affect immune or nervous systems, or trigger cancer, allergies or other health problems. And not only that, but the chemicals we wash down the drain daily pollute the environment and harm wildlife. Such is the grim news from the Women’s Environmental Network who have just launched a campaign to end the cosmetics cover up. The campaign aims to empower women to take action and lobby for safer cosmetics and toiletries.

The concern is that women are being exposed to tiny doses of chemicals that can build up in the body. The long-term effects of such exposure are unknown.

Chemicals to watch out for include:

• Phthalates – found in hair sprays, perfume, nail polishes and some plastics
• Parabens – used as preservatives in moisturisers and deodorants
• Triclosan – an antibacterial used in deodorants, toothpaste and liquid soaps
• Toluene – used in lacquers and nail varnish. Research published a couple of years ago in the USA found that people were being exposed to much higher levels of phthalates than anticipated. Cosmetics were thought to be the missing source.

Phthalates have oestrogenic properties and, at high doses, damage male reproductive tissues and cause deformities in developing embryos. Recent research in the USA found phthalates in 52 of the 72 beauty products tested, including all 17 of the perfumes. Meanwhile another US report looks at the cumulative exposure to phthalates from cosmetics, breast milk, soft PVC toys and even in indoor air because of leaching from PVC products. One source highlighted was PVC medical equipment – tubes, IV bags and blood bags. Many of these products are used in the care of premature babies and so deliver a phthalate dose at the most vulnerable stage of development. The report calls for a phase out of the production and use of phthalates.

The EU is trying to get the most toxic phthalate, DEHP, restricted but the chemical industry is delaying them.

For more details about the US research. http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/magazine/news/newsarchive.htm