DweezelJazz Art Blog » chemical sensitivity

Summertime Activities

DweezelJazz — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:43:20 +0000

Wheat almost ready to harvest

It has been a long time since the last post here on DweezelJazz Art blog. There have been a combination of things that made this so. What started it was that we lost our Internet connection for six weeks. Our Internet Service Provider, who will remain nameless here, upgraded their service, but unfortunately they lost our connection altogether and never found it again! So we switched providers. In France it takes a long time for a new provider to set up the line. But we’ve been back online for a few weeks now and everything is working very nicely.

Green Summer Countryside

We’ve had a very unusual summer here – it has rained so much that everything has stayed green and it looks like the high Alps in summertime. It’s absolutely beautiful. The air has been cleaned every few days by another downpour and lots of wind, but we’ve also had a lot of bright, shiny sunshine. It has been idyllic.

Corn Field

We’ve watched and heard the sparrows nesting in the eaves of our house. The swallows and house martins, also living around here, are cleaning up all of the mosquitoes in the area – we haven’t been bitten once at home! The swallows are fantastic to watch as they swoop gracefully back and forth, nearly colliding with the walls when they get close to the house. The roosters and chickens in the large open field next to us have been announcing themselves loudly and are a real joy to watch as they bound and run across the tall grass, always busy.

Jet D'Eau Geneva Switzerland

It has also been an eventful summer, as a result of something that happened way back in February. I went to the dentist to have a fixed orthodontic retainer glued back on. (Visits to the dentist have taken me frequently into Geneva and so I’ve witnessed summer in town too, as you can see in the photos.) This simple goal turned out to be far more involved than I at first thought. The dentist took one look at me, asked me all about any symptoms I experienced and then he announced that he thought he might be able to largely remove those symptoms: migraines, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, lung discomfort, neck and back muscle cramps, lack of sleep, and so on.

And, to my utmost amazement, in addition to the removal of these symptoms, I found that I no longer had reactions to being around perfumes, cleaning products and other toxic chemicals I have hitherto found increasingly difficult to endure. I didn’t rush out to put these things in my environment, but it was fabulous not to feel like someone had laid out kryptonite around me every time I went out somewhere.

Place du Bourg de Four, Old Town Geneva, Switzerland

I’ve lived with these difficulties all my life and had come to accept them as part of life, at least my life. So it has been with amazement that I’ve discovered that these myriad symptoms are indeed entirely due to jaw misalignment. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about this in the last months; it hasn’t been easy and has taken a huge amount of thinking and observing on my part, all the while trying to learn fast enough so as not to fall back into the abyss of pain-ridden exhaustion. Life rarely offers a magic bullet. My situation isn’t totally resolved and I’m still trying to find out if there’s a long-term solution to correct the jaw alignment.

Parc des Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland

The great thing is that along the way, there have been times during the last months that I’ve been the most pain-free I’ve ever been – in fact, I didn’t know what it was like to be that pain-free – didn’t know what it was like to have energy, and long, deep nights of sleep. Fantastic! So I took advantage of it!

Looking up at back of Old Town Geneva from opposite the Parc des Bastions

In June I finished the Total Training Online Course on Adobe Dreamweaver, and within a couple of weeks I designed a completely new look for DweezelJazz Art site, with new galleries and descriptive content for the paintings.

Then I worked on a number of drawings for paintings in egg tempera, inked them…

Inked drawings ready to glue onto the tempered glass.

and then glued them onto tempered glass.

Drawings ready to be underpainted, and then prepped for painting with egg tempera.

As I was doing this, and also preparing some drawings for painting in watercolor, Tony came up with a brilliant idea: what about creating a book of paintings? Well, I have wanted to do something of that kind for a long time, dreaming about it. I decided to bite the bullet. I chose the subject, in fact, if I survive the first book, I plan to do a series of them: each book dedicated to a town and area in the Pays de Gex, France / Geneva, Switzerland area.

I started with a plan to fill a 60-page book, large format. So I created a storyboard for the entire book, including image sizes and placement.

Storyboard for the first book.

Then I started drawing and drawing and drawing.

A drawing for the book.

I’m including scenes in towns and in the countryside around them, so that the book will give the feel of the place as a whole.

This is what I call a "cow bus".

Quite often at the beginning of summer, you can see tractors hauling a trailer full of cows out to the fields, and again in fall taking them back to the warmth of the barns. It almost seems like the cows are being transported to school or something, so I call it a ‘cow bus’.

I’ve completed 64 drawings and have 18 left to do. Then, all I have to do is paint them! I’ll paint them probably using a combination of ink and watercolor. And of course add text to accompany the paintings.

Sunflower

So, if you’ve managed to read this entire post and have reached this far: thank you! Thank you for reading this blog, and if you’ve been a reader for some time, thank you for continuing to read DweezelJazz Art blog. I don’t post as often as I used to because I’ve had to prioritize the precious commodity of time, but I do plan to continue posting and have some photos of pretty places and countryside ready for future posts. I’m very happy if you find it interesting and fun. Life is full of beautiful things, to cherish and enjoy, and I try to share a little of that here.

This sunflower, for example, just wouldn’t pose correctly for the photo – I reckon it was a bit drunk out there in the fresh air – couldn’t focus on having it’s photo taken! But it is beautiful, nonetheless.

Scientifically Quantifying Damage Caused By Chemical Exposures

DweezelJazz — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Last month the Canadian newspaper, The Star, ran an article entitled: “New house will kill me, woman says”. The woman lives on the top floor of an old apartment building which is soon to be demolished and replaced. The article is rather sensationalized making the subject matter appear dubious in credibility. But it’s worth having a look at what it’s about.The woman says she becomes unwell when around certain shampoos, aftershave, perfumed deodorant, and especially fabric softeners. She has a tarp on the roof to keep out the rain because the chemicals required to repair the roof would cause her difficulties. In 1991 certain grooming products bothered her, and then in 1994 she became severely ill and after that had to live a more restricted existence to avoid exposures.The woman says that if she isn’t exposed to these chemicals she’s fine and that her main challenge now is to find a home free of volatile organic compounds. As the report says: “That means a self-contained living space not contaminated by other people’s perfumes and laundry and cleaning products. That also means ceramic or wood floors, not laminated ones, and other natural materials, not wallboard.”Although this information is not framed in a scientifically convincing or factual manner, the progression of many people’s development of chemical sensitivity follows a similar pattern: at first they may experience slight physical disturbances when in the presence of perfumes, cosmetic products, new carpets,…; the list of possible items is long. And then later they may experience a sudden increase in the severity of their reaction to chemicals, perhaps after some large chemical exposure or increased frequencies of small exposures. At first it hardly affects a person’s daily life.This is happening to a increasing percentage of the population. They quietly fall off the radar screen of normal social life: over time, as they become more sensitive they’re less able to participate in community or social situations because they need to avoid the exposures they receive in public places. Chemically sensitive people may become unable to work because of exposures, both from the workplace and the cosmetic products co-workers use. Even when unemployed they often appear to be healthy and well – a routine doctor check-up often shows normal. Their situation is, at present, almost transparent to accountability in our society.In the meantime, mainstream science is discovering that there is much more scientists don’t know in terms of toxicity than was previously conceived. Assumptions that were taken for granted as correct are now being scrutinized as likely having been mistaken.An article posted by The Independent on September 24, “Chemicals in non-stick pans may retard babies’ growth” with caption “Toxin in daily use in the home should be phased out, says researcher”. This article reports that the chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), has been used so widely and is so persistent in the environment that it has been found in rain, water supplies, food, wildlife and human blood all over the world. This chemical is used to make non-stick pans and stain resistant coatings for fabrics.Two independent studies were done recently, one in the U.S. and one in Denmark, and the results published in the journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. The article says that these studies suggest that PFOA is damaging at far lower levels in the blood than had been previously realized. The researchers found that babies with higher levels of this chemical in their umbilical cords were born smaller and also with smaller heads. It is a medically established fact that even small reductions in weight and brain development at birth is associated with health problems throughout life. The article continues with: “Laboratory research has previously shown that the chemical causes rats to be born smaller, but only at levels many thousands of times higher.”This begs the question as to whether studies in rats for chemical toxicity is a good basis for deciding whether substances are unlikely to be toxic for humans. The use of teflon pans, irons, etc. around the home is known to cause death in house pet birds.Science Daily posted an article, based on a study published in August by the American Thoracic Society in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, entitled: “Air Pollution Linked to Cardiovascular Risk Indices In Healthy Young Adults”. Researchers in Taiwan have demonstrated that urban air pollution simultaneously increases key indicators of cardiovascular risk in young adults. The lead author, Chang-Chuan Chan, Sc.D, of National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health, wrote: “This study provides evidence that urban air pollution is associated with systemic inflammation / oxidative stress, impairment of the fibrinogenic system, activation of blood coagulation and alterations in the autonomic nervous system in young, healthy humans.”As our world becomes more and more congested with the use of newly developed products and the chemical combinations occurring in our environment increase, we need to take more notice of our personal choices. Like the canaries used in mines in the old days, maybe people who have chemical sensitivities are showing an early warning signal; they might be more genetically predisposed to harm from these chemicals, and it might do well to consider reducing the number of chemicals we as human beings expose ourselves to on a regular basis.An interesting development has occurred in that there may now be a way to scientifically quantify damage caused to an individual by exposure to chemicals. On September 17 the BBC News published an article: “DNA test hope over damages claims” with caption, “Scientists say a new DNA test may help to prove if people have had their health damaged by exposure to chemicals.” The article says that samples of DNA are taken from a healthy person and these are exposed to a chemical to see which genes are affected. This is then compared with the DNA of someone who claims to have been affected by that chemical or combination of chemicals. This technique was developed by Dr. Bruce Gillis at the University of Illinois.The article cites an example in which this method was used for a man who developed gall bladder cancer. He had been exposed to a mixture of 8 chemicals. None of the chemicals on its own was a carcinogen, but this technique showed that, in combination, they increased the activity of cancer-causing genes.There are more and more reports of complications with exposures to chemicals and as science becomes more refined in its ability to detect these problems we’ll learn more. In the meantime, whatever you can do to minimize your exposure would be to your benefit and also to those around you, especially young ones. For more information on chemical exposure, chemical sensitivity and what can be done to minimize these you can also see previous posts on the DweezelJazz blog.It’s not necessarily convenient to change our lifestyle and the products we use, but it might have more paybacks to our future and those of society than imagined at the present time. Even small changes can make a big difference.

Chemical Sensitivity and the New EU Chemical Law

DweezelJazz — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:00:00 +0000

The Chicago Tribune published an interesting article yesterday, called “Exposed!”, about chemical sensitivity to common chemicals. This complements a previous post written in DweezelJazz: “What Is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?”.The article points out that the disorder known as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) has been described since the 1940s and that today it affects an estimated 12% of the population. It isn’t officially recognized by the U.S. medical establishment, but it is recognized by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Americans With Disabilities Act includes MCS as a disability.The article also gives short accounts of people’s experiences with chemical sensitivity. It illustrates how difficult it is to comprehend the nature of the situation even when you know or live with someone who experiences it. Marny Turvil, a mother of two, discovered five years ago that she has MCS. Her mother suffers from it also. Turvil is quoted as saying: ‘In typical mainstream fashion I thought she was nuts. Then I started having clear symptoms.’ Turvil is further quoted: ‘People will discredit things that threaten their well-being. To be told products you use every day are full of dangerous chemicals is a very threatening thing.’Mainstream doctors don’t recognize MCS. This is because the disorder has not been understood in medical terms; a scientific mechanism of explanation for the cause and effect has not yet been defined. Almost every aspect of modern life includes the use of innumerable chemicals in all manner of products from foods to cleaning agents to building materials…the list goes on. Our economy is based on the sale of all these items and we have grown highly dependent on the products available. It isn’t convenient to find that we may need to change these things. As a result, there has been little mainstream funding dedicated to research into the disorder.It is noticeable though that there are more frequent news items in the Press either directly addressing or skirting around the issue as is demonstrated for example in an earlier post “Toxic Fumes on Airline Flights: What’s It All About?”Public places, including hospitals, can pose grave difficulties, and can even be life-threatening, for people with MCS depending on the severity of their sensitivity. A nurse named Keith, who has MCS and has experienced difficulties when being treated at hospital, wrote an article called “Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Hidden Disability” on the NurseLinkup blog to alert the nursing community.On June 1st of this year a new EU chemicals law known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) was passed, requiring the registration and safety testing of tens of thousands of chemicals. For the first time, chemical companies will have to provide basic health and environmental safety data on the chemicals they produce. An article entitled “Beginners Guide to REACH” published by Greenpeace some years ago states that previously only chemicals that started production after 1981 required this data, which is a small fraction of chemicals on the market.According to a BBC article, “Analysis: New EU chemicals law”, manufacturers will have to register safety data for around 30,000 chemicals already in use.There are around 100,000 chemicals for which data is not available. The 30,000 chemicals included in this system of legislation were chosen because they’re produced in the highest volumes and/or are already known to have dangerous properties. The BBC article says that “these include thousands of everyday products – for example, flame retardants on sofa coverings, musks used in shampoos, and paints of all kinds – as well as specialised chemicals used only by industry.”The first deadline for registration is in 2010. This is for chemicals of the highest concern, (the European Commission estimates there are 1,500 chemicals in this category) which include carcinogens, mutagens and substances toxic to reproductive health. This deadline also applies to chemicals produced in quantities of over 1,000 tonnes per year.The second deadline is 2013 for chemicals produced in quantities of 100 to 1,000 tonnes per year. And there is a third deadline of 2018 for substances produced in 1 to 100 tonnes per year.The description of this law demonstrates how little legislation and scientific knowledge is available for the many products and chemicals used in our society today. The effects they are having is not accounted for, either on us as human beings or on our world and its wildlife.While the new law is a big step in the right direction, we as consumers can have a huge impact as a result of how we spend our money. There are products available on the market through health food stores and catalog companies that do already account for their ingredients. We can help to safeguard ourselves, our loved ones and our environment right away by taking consumer action.Some links that may be helpful in finding some of these products are Janice’s and The HEALTHY HOUSE Ltd. While I can’t vouch for all of the products these companies sell, I have bought some very good items from each. As with every purchase, it pays to investigate the product as thoroughly as possible.There are also ways to clean very effectively using simple, and coincidentally economical, substances such as vinegar and baking soda, which I’ll discuss in another article.