Santa has Cooties

As I sit here with my searing sore throat, persistent dry cough and achy, mucus filled head, my thoughts wander ahead to the upcoming holiday season.  I have been asked by many if California is going to sit on Santa's lap.  The answer is "NO, NO, NO".  Oh, I have heard it all, "but that is a part of the magic of Christmas" and "he is going to miss out on a big part of his childhood"...sorry, but I care more about California's health than a photo op.  Does Santa Claus get a seasonal flu shot and an H1N1 shot each year?  I decided to do a little bit of research into this matter and the answer is "NO".  The United States does not have many policies at all regarding Santa Claus and there are no health related policies for Santa Claus.  Canada, however, has issued a strong advisory to all Santas to get the swine flu shot, wash hands often, change his gloves every two hours and bring hand sanitizer with him to the mall.  Children with flu like symptoms will also be asked to see Santa some other time. 

So, the Santas here in the United States will see hundreds of children who, will sneeze, cough and wipe their runny nose all over Santa's sleeves, gloves and beard.  Santa will return to the mall day after day wearing the same suit, beard and gloves...unlaundered.  For some people that is fine.  It isn't fine with me and it shouldn't be fine with any parent who has a child with asthma or any other chronic medical condition.  For parents with healthy children, I would advise you to bring your own hand sanitizer with you on your trip to Santa's lap and to make sure your child does not have any flu like symptoms to protect the other children who will visit Santa after him/her.  It's no fun to be sick during the holidays for any child and for asthmatic children, being sick often means hospitalization.  We know from experience; California has been hospitalized four times and he is only four years old.  So be smart and ensure that EVERYONE has a happy holiday!

P.S. My favorite hand sanitizers are Burt's Bees Aloe & Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer Spray 2 fl oz (59 ml) and EO Products Hand Sanitizer Spray Organic Lavender, Organic Lavender 2 Oz  I like these because they smell great, are non-toxic and you can spray surfaces as well as hands with them.  They come in handy while shopping and going to restaurants.

FDA Panel Backs First Non-Drug Asthma Treatment - Allergy

Watch the video below to understand how doctors plan to use heat to treat asthma.




Read the article below:

FDA Panel Backs First Non-Drug Asthma Treatment - Allergy & Asthma - FOXNews.com

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The Anatomy of a Moderate to Severe Persistent Uncontrolled Asthma Attack

The youngest member of the Raising California family, who is four years old, has asthma. His first attack ocurred at 18 months of age which led to being hospitalized for three days with severe respiratory distress/pneumonia/lung infections.

Below is a picture of him in the hospital at UCLA Santa Monica with pneumonia at 18 months.



Since then, he has had numerous attacks which have resulted in three additional hospitalizations with severe respiratory distress/pneumonia/lung infections with the longest hospitalization lasting for 4 days. That's right, he is only 4 years old and has already been hospitalized with pneumonia four times. He has been diagnosed with Moderate to Severe Persistent Uncontrolled Asthma. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Well, it is. In order to explain how severe Asthma can be, I have decided to chronicle his last attack and hospitalization to demonstrate the extreme nature of Moderate to Severe Persistent Uncontrolled Asthma. We hope that we can help others by telling our story.

FYI

According to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, moderate to severe Asthma has the following criteria:

Moderate Persistent. At this level, asthma is starting to interfere more with daily living. Symptoms are cropping up every single day, and you need to use a quick-relief inhaler daily (if you have one). Asthma attacks are occurring at least twice a week and often interfere with activity. They may last for days at a time. You are probably also waking up 1 or more times a week with symptoms. Peak flow rate varies by more than 30 percent.

Severe Persistent. This is the most severe form of asthma and at this level, symptoms are basically continuous. Activity is severely limited and asthma attacks and night symptoms are frequent. Peak flow varies by more than 30 percent.

(Click here to read the four classifications of Asthma, including mild intermittent and mild persistent Asthma)

The Timeline

We were gone on a trip to St. Louis to visit family.

8.26.09
On Wednesday we decided to visit the St. Louis Children's Museum also known as The Magic House. This is a very hands on, experiential museum designed to delight the senses as well as educated children of all ages. We had a wonderful time.

8.28.09
Everything seemed fine until our youngest son woke up at 10 pm Friday night
with a severe sore thoat which kept him awake all night.

8.29.09
The next day on Saturday, he said his throat felt better, but began to have a runny nose. I gave him an Albutertal treatment at 8pm Saturday night as a precaution. (Albuteral has been prescribed as needed when he appears to have contracted a virus that might trigger an asthma attack). Around midnight Saturday night, he began to cough. I gave him a treatment at midnight.

8.30.09
He needed another at 3am, 6am, 8am and then again at 9am on Sunday morning. This is when I paged his doctor in L.A. and made preparations to take him to the emergency room. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized for two days.

Here is a picture of him struggling to breathe while on oxygen and IV antibiotics:



So, as you can see, he went from being perfectly healthy with no symptoms of a virus or asthma to fighting for his life in a matter of hours. After back to back Albuteral treatments in the ER didn't help, he was admitted to the hospital where he was placed on oxygen, received Albutertal treatments every two hours, had two different types of antibiotics administered through an IV and recieved oral doses of Prednisone. He also recieved Qvar via inhaler. His oxygen saturation hovered at 88 for the first 24 hours (dipping down to 86 on several occasions) then slowly inched it's way up to 93 the day that he was released.

To learn more about Asthma, Asthma medications, Asthma triggers, Asthma Action Plans, Treatment and to understand what an Asthma attack feels like, go to FamilyDoctor.org to see videos and to print an Asthma Action Plan. Click HERE now!

Click here to read about how toxic mold started this nightmare. There is also additional information HERE.

Air Pollution From Freeway Extends 1.5 Miles Away

Air Pollution From Freeway Extends 1.5 Miles Away

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The Diaper Dilemma

Have you ever wondered what is in disposable diapers that makes them so absorbent? Have you ever seen the little gel like beads on your baby/toddlers bottom during a diaper change?

Better yet, have you ever seen a mess like this??



The above is a picture of a soaked diaper after being tossed from the second floor down to the first floor (also known as a diaper bomb)shown below:



After cleaning up this mess, I decided to find out what this stuff was made of and if it was safe to be next to my little boy's skin 24 hours a day for nearly three years. I found out more information regarding disposable diapers than just what the gel is made of...take a look.

According to an article in Mothering Magazine (Issue 88 May/June), this gel is made of Sodium Polyacrylate. This is a super-absorbent polymer that has never been tested to determine the effects of long term, continual exposure in humans. What effect does this have on the health of our children and their reproductive organs? We don't know because no one has cared enough to do studies to determine these effects. Here are some facts about Sodium Polyacrylate:

1. It exists in disposable diapers as a powder until it gets wet. This is when it turns into slushy/gel beads which can often be seen on your baby's skin during a diaper change.

2. This gel like substance can absorb 100x it's weight in liquid.

3. It has been implicated as one of the causes of Toxic Shock Syndrome

4. According to the Chemical and Theoretical Laboratory at Oxford University, it is listed as a skin, eye and respiratory irritant.

It is also used for:

Wire & Cable Waterblocking
Filtration Applications
Spill Control
Hot & Cold Therapy Packs
Composites & Laminates
Medical waste solidification
Mortuary pads
Motionless waterbeds
Candles
Diapers and Incontinence Garments
Waste Stabilization & Environmental Remediation
Fragrance carrier
Wound dressings
Fire protection
Surgical pads
Water retention for supplying water to plants
Controlled Release of Insecticides & Herbicides
Grow-In-Water toys
Magic tricks such as the 3 cup water monte

Source: Wikipedia

The ingredients of disposable diapers gets even better. Apparently, traditional dispodable diapers use chlorine gas to bleach diapers which produces dioxin, TBT and other dangerous chemicals.



The following is a list of chemicals found and/or emitted from disposable diapers and health implications for each:

Dioxin:
* a carcinogen (causes cancer)
* EPA lists this as the most toxic of cancer causing chemicals
* Even in small quantities it causes birth defects, acne-like skin infections, disease and rashes, liver disease, immune system supression, genetic damage, reproductive, developmental and behavioral effects. Some sources list Dioxin as a possible cause for Autism and other Autism Spectrum disorders.
* Banned in most countries but not U.S.

My source? The internet. The information is out there. Knowledge is power. Check out these links:

The Diaper Hyena

Environmental Research Foundation

Dangers of Dioxin Exposure: Absorption Through the Skin

Chemical Body Burden

TBT (Tributyltin)
* highly toxic
* spreads through the skin
* supresses the immune system
* causes secondary infections (as a result of suppressed immunne system)
* impairs the hormonal and reproductive systems
* may cause sterility in boys

(Sources: Wikipedia and the Diaper Hyena)

Tolune, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and isopropylbenzene

A study conducted in 1999 called "Acute Respiratory Effects of Diaper Emissions" concluded that the chemicals within diapers caused eye, nose and throat irritation in addition to asthma-like symtpoms including decreased lung capacity. Mice were exposed to a diaper from six leading disposable and cotton diaper brands. Within one hour, all of the disposable diapers(except for one brand) caused eye, nose and throat irritation AND bronchoconstriction similar to an asthma attack. Repeat exposures after 6 and 24 hours caused the negative symptoms to more than double and in some cases quadruple. The authors of this study concluded that there is a link between disposable diapers and asthma and urged further research into this matter.

I found this info on WebMD and Mothering Magazine.

California has had a rash since the beginning of January. It wasn't a diaper rash, but more of an allergic acne-like rash. As soon as I switched to diapers that were chlorine free and gel free, the rash miraculously disappeared within two or three days. He has also been hospitalized with Severe Asthma on three separate occasions...so this is another reason why I felt that he needed chemical free diapers.

Go to these sites to see some choices for chlorine and gel free diapers:
Nature Babycare
Modern Wife
Tender Care Diapers
Seventh Generation Diapers
Tushies are the only chlorine free/gel free diaper in the world.
gDiapers

I alternate Tushies during the day with Seventh Generation diapers at night for extra absorbency. *UPDATE 7/11/08 - I use Nature Babycare! You can buy these at Target You can buy most of the other brands of diapers at Whole Foods and Wild Oats or order them online. They really aren't more expensive and it is better to be safe than sorry. It is also better for the environment which is an entirely different issue...it isn't as green as using cloth diapers but it is better than using diapers made with chemicals that leach into our drinking water from landfills...the same water that your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will drink someday.

Singulair ALERT

This is an alert to EVERYONE who has allergies/asthma, but I especially want to inform parents with children who have allergies and/or asthma(because parents are often the last to know). The FDA has updated the SIDE EFFECTS of this "miracle" drug to include:

TREMORS
ANXIOUSNESS
DEPRESSION
SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR

California was prescribed this to control his asthma at the age of 2 even though his allergist determined that he didn't have allergies. He refused to take it and I didn't trust this drug for some reason. I had no reason NOT to trust it but something inside me told me not to give it to him. I am so glad that I didn't!

Click HERE to read the news story associated with this information.

Wood Burning Fireplaces Banned in SoCal

Burning wood in fireplaces within homes in Southern California has been banned. According to the LA Times, this ban will only be applied to homeowners about a dozen days throughout the year when air quality is at its worst. Here are the specifics of this ban:

1. Builders are banned from installing wood burning fireplaces in new homes
2. It will be illegal to buy and install a wood burning fireplace while remodeling a home.
3. Gas burning fireplaces will be allowed.
4. The ban does not apply to restaurants that use wood burning stoves, like California Pizza Kitchen.
5. Homeowners that used a wood burning fireplace as their only source of heat will not be affected.
6. Those who live above 3000 feet in elevation will not be affected.
7. Beach fires will still be allowed
8. Tribal ceremony fires will still be allowed.

The LA Times also said:

Fireplaces are used in about 1.4 million of the 5 million households governed by the district, producing an average six tons a day of particulate soot in the air basin, according to the air district.

Numerous studies have linked fine particulate matter, which sinks deep into the lungs, to increased lung and respiratory problems. State officials say an estimated 5,000 premature deaths each year in the region are linked to fine particulate exposure.

About 106 tons of fine particulate soot is directly emitted every day in the Los Angeles area, according to the air district. The new regulations will reduce that by an average of about 1 ton a day.

The winter wood-burning ban will apply in areas where forecasts show federal daily limits for fine particulate matter will be exceeded. That will amount to about two dozen days from November to March each year, regulators said.

Residents most likely to be affected by the regulation include those in the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley, where soot carried by prevailing winds is trapped by mountains.

People all over Southern California are angry that their personal freedoms are being infringed upon. They think that they should be able to have a fire anytime they please. Here is a quote from the LA Times article:

You're not going to regulate my chimney," Stewart Cumming of San Bernardino told the board during a heated public hearing in Diamond Bar. He vowed to continue using his fireplace as he chose.

L.A. Mama says:
I am sure there are thousands of others who will follow his lead...apparently they have never had a child who has been hospitalized three times between the ages of
1 1/2 and 2 1/2 for severe respiratory distress and asthma. They have never experienced the frightening situation of a toddler gasping for air, turning blue and passing out in their arms like I have. They have never experienced a medical staff that was so concerned about his life that he was almost put on life support. Is it too much to ask someone to not use their fireplace 12 days out of the year for the sake of the health and well-being of others?

This is a pic of California getting one of his daily nebulizer treatments from DADDIO to control his breathing problems and to keep him ALIVE. Those who value their personal freedom over the well-being of others should take a look at this pic, stop being selfish and think twice about their choices.

New Warnings about the Safety of ASTHMA drugs for Kids

In addition to the warning for flu drugs for kids, the FDA is considering the safety of two asthma drugs that are prescribed for kids as well. The names of the drugs are Severent and Adavair.

Here is a link that you can copy and paste into your browser to read the entire news story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119582909121102143.html?mod=fpa_whatsnews