CHEMICAL UPDATES
All of the following chemical updates were located in scientific sources by Dr. Ziem. A brief summary accompanies each link to give you the important findings in the article to which the link leads.
Pesticides
Pesticides are sprayed frequently in many airplanes
This endangers children, adults and flight crew. Less toxic alternatives are available (see Pesticides this website).
Pesticide-free foods can lead to better health
Rats eating organic food grown without pesticides slept better, had better immune systems and were slimmer than the control rats fed a conventional diet.
Cancer Prevention
Read about the cancer-prevention properties of carrots
Or watch a BBC-TV video about carrots and cancer prevention
Autism
Autism appears to involve chronic inflammation according to a Johns Hopkins study:
There are undisclosed cancer agents in baby products
Many of these products are fragrance industry products. The fragrance industry lobbied to be exempt from the law to disclose ingredients to the user, the public or their doctors! A bill to change this policy to disclose cancer-causing chemicals in baby products was defeated (and opposed by the chemical industry). For more information on cancer-causing chemicals and safer alternatives, visit the Cancer Prevention Coalition. To continue the effort to stop the poisoning our of children, contact your senator(s) and congressperson(s).
Phthalates are chemicals that cause hormonal disturbance and liver effects. They are widely used in various plastics to make the plastics more soft, despite the availability of alternatives. When sucked or chewed by children, phthalates in toys and other children's plastics are swallowed. The phthalates are also widely used in medical equipment, including many oxygen masks, medical tubing, transfusion bags, etc. These unnecessary uses expose babies, children and individuals who are already ill to additional harm.
Scented products contain chemicals that cause significant health risk. Recent research shows that synthetic musk chemicals in scented products interfere with the ability of body cells to defend themselves against toxic compounds, and this effect can last for days.
Together our Great Lakes contain 20% of the surface fresh water on the planet. Because of industrial pollution, they contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals which persist for many decades, including the former herbicide DDT residue and the former transformer chemical PCBs. Chemical flame retardants called polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE) have now been rising dramatically and rapidly in Great Lakes fish. Our chemical use and disposal policies thus continue to poison an important food supply, affecting men, women and children.
Chlorpyrifos, a still widely used organophosphate (nerve gas family) insecticide in the United States is known to cause damage to the brain and nervous system. A recent study of pesticide applicators showed increased lung cancer with chlorpyrifos exposure. Chlorpyrifos is still used on turf (e.g., golf courses etc.), warehouses, ship holds, boxcars, factories and food processing plants. There are 800 registered products containing this poison.
Trees and other woody plants alongside streams help reduce levels of certain pollutants as they move through the water.
Lead exposure results in accumulation in the body over many years, depositing in the bone and other organs. Recent research shows significant excess cataracts among people with higher body lead levels.
Teaching children about poisons
A K-12 Education Tool Kit (literally a suitcase of materials!) to help children and adults understand basic concepts about poisons is available. "Tox-in-a-Box©" is available for purchase by schools. The materials have been successfully used in classrooms and afterschool programs for K-12 audiences, as well as in teacher training sessions and informational sessions for the general public. Creative teachers and parents without adequate budgets for tools like Tox in the Box will find lessons and articles in Environmental Health Perspectives to help children and adults understand concepts about poisoning.
Lupus is an increasingly common autoimmune disease. Recent research indicates that organochlorine pesticides increase Lupus, and that the mechanism of action can be unrelated to the estrogenic affect of the chemical.
Lupus is a common autoimmune disease among the chemically injured patients in Dr. Ziem's medical practice. During the 38 years that Dr. Ziem has been practicing medicine, Lupus has increased among the general population in a very dramatic extent: once rare, now common. Other autoimmune diseases are also increased, both among chemically injured patients as well as among the general population. The steady increase of autoimmune disease is in significant part another form of chemical injury.
When used in liquid from, various petroleum-derived chemicals are called solvents. When they evaporate, they are called "volatile organic compounds" or VOC's. A study of children showed both school and home sources of body solvent levels. Sources include "air fresheners" or "deodorizers," which are pleasant smelling petroleum-based chemicals that enter the body. The results indicated that not only evaporating chemicals were significant sources, but that substances absorbed through the skin, such as in cosmetics, creams, etc. were likely also significant factors. These solvents can go to fatty tissue in the body, including but not limited to the brain and nervous system, where they can persist for months or years.
Children raised on farms that produce hogs raised in confinement buildings and add antibiotics to feed develop high rates of asthma. This is another reason to encourage free range grown food. Such food is not only healthier for the consumer, but also for the farmer. Farmers with exposure to hog confinement buildings are well known to have high levels of respiratory disease.
European researchers have found that specific screening questions, when taken together, point to risk of neurotoxic exposure. These questions include weakness or clumsiness of arms or feet, decreased sensation on the face, arms and legs, change in sense of smell or taste, slowness in carrying out daily activities, trembling of hands, and dizziness or problems with balance. Those questions relate to neurologic effects.
Other questions include headache or feeling of a band around your head, sweating for no obvious reason, shortness of breath without exertion, heart fluttering/palpitations, ringing in the ears/tinnitus, general exhaustion loss of sexual interest, diarrhea/constipation/stomach pains, loss of appetite or nausea.
Mood changes can also indicate neuro toxic exposure. These questions include feeling irritable, impatient or restless, feeling depressed, rapid changes in mood, feeling of detachment, lack of drive, lack of interest in social activities and difficulty controlling anger, mood changes occur because of biochemical changes in the brain.
Questions related to memory and concentration are also important. These include feeling confused when you try to concentrate, difficulty in concentrating, difficulty remembering what you have read or seen on TV, forgetting what you were going to say or do, difficulty remembering names and dates, having to write notes to remember things.
Tiredness is also common in chemical injury. These questions include sleepiness and unusual tiredness. Disturbances also occur because of biochemical brain changes. These questions include difficulty falling asleep, broken sleep, waking up to early (because of respiratory congestion in many cases).
If many of these symptoms occur in you or someone you know evaluated for neurotoxic exposure, the more symptoms involved and the more frequent they occur, the greater the risk. Check out other web site sections to find out what chemicals you are exposed to.
Many studies now confirm that air pollution containing particles, such as from combustion products from vehicles and industrial commission, causes excess respiratory death in newborn babies. This type of pollution also causes excess asthma, hospitalization, and increased illness from hypertension, coronary heart disease and a non-insulin-dependent diabetes.
Insect repellents containing DEET are commonly used by children and adults. They quickly enter the blood stream by penetrating the skin. Severe illness such as toxic encephalopathy and seizures have been reported after use of DEET on children. Numbness or burning sensation can also occur. These are symptoms of toxic changes in the brain and nervous system. Death can also occur from sprays, lotions, towelettes, etc.
Use in the workplace, schools and home cause abnormal estrogen function. (See Dr. Ziem's October 2003 paper on Endocrine Changes In Patients With Chronic Illness Following Chemical Overexposure. These hormone-damaging chemicals disturb estrogen messages, and cause estrogen-related tumors such as breast and uterine cancer. They can also act to increase oxide (see Neural Sensitization section on this web site).
A study of persons exposed to organophosphate pesticides showed that common warning symptoms included headaches, burning eyes, pain in muscles/joints or bones, rash or itchy skin. A smaller portion had blurred vision and burning eyes. These are considered important warning symptoms. Burning eyes occurs with Neural Sensitization: check this section on the web site.) Find out whether you have been exposed to organophosphate pesticides (exposure to other chemical irritants can also cause burning eyes.)
Research indicates that children have up to a six-fold excess risk of developing leukemia when pesticides are used in the home and garden.
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