Archive for December, 2009
Nothing is as important as air and water. Without clean air to breathe and clean water to drink and cook with we’d all be up a creek. In fact, given the air quality in many urban areas, and the concentration of chemicals in the water, many people already are up said creek. Despite the lack of clean air outside our homes we don’t have to suffer through the allergen-laden air that permeates our houses. Nor do we have to live with the bizarre taste and smell of drinking water that smells like the laundry detergent aisle in your local grocery store. Are you tired of smelling like Clorox?
What’s more, even for people without allergies, the airborne particulate matter that enters our homes can sometimes cause serious illness, even progressive diseases that advance slowly over a long period of time. By the time they’re noticed it can often be too late. Children, too, can suffer tremendously under the burden of polluted air. And our water problems don’t end once we’re off city water. In fact, well-water often contains a number of pathogens that can also cause illness, or even harm our hair and skin when we bathe.
The real value of clean air and water is priceless. We can never replace our health or the health of our children, our families and our loved ones. The budget-friendly price of personal air purifiers and water purifiers becomes small and insignificant when you consider your family’s health and well being. Purify for your family, purify for health and purify for life.
When it comes to the cold December months, it can be difficult to stay warm with the chill of Father Winter nipping at your heels. Instead of spending a chunk of change on your heating bill, you can stay warm and cut costs with a few changes around the house. Instead of turning on your heating system, consider a space heater. In a small closed space, like a bedroom, portable electric space heaters can keep the area warm for hours. You might also put a few throw blankets around the house; a comfortable fleece blanket is never unwelcome when you feel a draft! Wearing your coat indoors tends to be uncomfortable, but consider do your best to keep your feet and head warm; this will translate to your body retaining more heat.
Though this is a more expensive option, replacing your windows and insulation can help your home to retain more heat, and over time, dramatically cut costs on your heating bill. However, if money is an issue or if you’re in a temporary home, it’s not recommended.
If the previous article posted about the potential health issues due to the presence of Mold in our homes shocked you as much as it did me, then you may be wanting to do some sort of a test to find out if your home has any significant mold or mildew present. Preventative maintenance is always the best practice.
A very cheap and effective way to test for molds, mildews and even bacteria is to use a Petri dish. A Petri dish is what the medical profession uses to grow cultures for testing. To perform a test, just follow these steps.
1. Remove the petri dish from the bag and place on a level
surface.
2. Pour the entire contents of Easy-gel bottle into the open
Petri dish.
3. Leave the dish open for one (1) hour.
4. After (1) hour place the cover on the dish and seal with
clear tape. ( DO NOT OPEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES )
5. Leave dish to incubate at room temperature in a dark area
for one (1) week. (A kitchen cup board )
You may start to see visuals in 72 to 96 hours.
6. Compare the results to the samples below.
7. Dispose of the used Petri dish responsibly.
Red Spots indicate bacteria.
White or grey, fuzz areas indicate mold frowth which could lead to allergic reactions.
For pictures go to; http://tinyurl.com/ydf7u2e
The Real Solution: for natural allergy relief
- • Active-Pure Technologies for Indoor Environmental
conditioning has the ability to sanitize safely & affordably the
entire air and all surfaces of the indoor living areas 24 / 7.
If you cannot get hold of a Petri dish and the easy-gel bottle, just give me a call or email me and I will send you a dish with the instructions so you can perform a test.
Paul Mattison
EcoQuest Intl.
http://www.tryfreshair.com/pj6
507-752-6102
By Heather Sells
CBN News Reporter
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Find the CBS Video New Story at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epSoo0wCi3E
Federal guidelines for hazardous substances like radon, asbestos and lead already exist, but for those with mold lurking in their home, there’s little warning.
No standards for the fungal growth have been set, despite a warning from the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2008 that “indoor mold poses a widespread and, for some people, serious health threat.”
That health threat turned into a real-life catastrophe for the Fabry family.
A Life-Changing Discovery
Until last year, Chris Fabry, his wife and nine kids lived in a beautiful 5,500-square-foot home in Colorado. Fabry hosted a daily Christian radio show for Moody Radio in his home studio and pursued his writing career. All nine kids were thriving in school, at church and at home. The family seemingly had it all.
But in 2007, the Fabrys discovered mold in one of their bathrooms. They cut into the wall, accidentally releasing spores and set off a series of health problems ranging from rashes to diabetes – and then worse.
Chris Fabry remembers 11-year-old Reagan’s constant vertigo, nausea and vomiting which doctors could not explain.
“This was a child I had to literally carry to the bathroom so he could throw up and no doctor would say – they would say – ‘you can’t have vertigo all the time. That’s not possible.’”
Ten-year-old Kaitlyn, a voracious reader, had to give up her books after her vision began to blur. Her 7-year-old brother Colin also became sick.
Andrea Fabry remembered, “He would be doubled over with abdominal pain sobbing and having migraines that would be so severe that he would literally just sit there and scream. And then it was all four kids, every night was like that.”
Little Help from Doctors
Part of the Fabry’s problem, unknown at the time, was that remediators used fans on the mold, spreading toxic spores throughout the home.
In 2007 and 2008, the Fabrys would visit 30 specialists for their family’s growing health crisis.
For each child, doctors focused on symptoms and how best to treat them. They never asked questions about the Fabry’s home environment, although they did challenge their parenting.
“I would have doctor after doctor look at me and say ‘have you thought of a psychologist? I think you need to take them home and give them some tough love. I think that’s what they need,’” Andrea Fabry said.
In late 2008, an indoor air test confirmed Andrea’s deepening suspicion: dangerously high counts of mold spores in several rooms. The toxicologist told the family they must leave their home and everything in it. The Fabrys even had to put down their two dogs to prevent future contamination.
The family soon discovered that only a handful of doctors in the country have experience in treating mold-related health issues.
After speaking with Dr. Michael Gray, a mold specialist in Benson, Ariz., they decided to move. Chris’ work could continue in Arizona and the family could recuperate better in the warm, dry climate with medical help close by.
Changing Medical School Curriculum
Gray told CBN News that urine tests confirmed high levels of toxins in all 11 Fabrys. Their varying patterns of illness reflect symptoms of hundreds of other mold patients he’s treated since 1994.
But Gray doesn’t blame the Fabry’s doctors, who failed to identify mold as a primary issue. Instead, he cites medical schools that give little or no class time to environmental concerns.
“It is an area that is not well-taught and not well-recognized,” he explained.
The American Medical Association and other leading health institutions agree, calling on medical schools to devote more time to the issue.
Dr. David Jacobs is the Director of Research for The National Center for Healthy Housing and the former director of the Office of Healthy Homes for the U.S. Department of Housing. He estimates that up to 25 percent of U.S. homes have mold problems.
But he acknowledges, research on mold is still in its infancy.
“We are still struggling to understand which species of mold produce which specific health outcomes,” he said.
Mold’s History
Mold is a recognized hazard going all the way back to Bible times. In Leviticus 14, the Lord commands Moses and Aaron to follow-up on mold complaints.
Lev. 14:36-37 says, “The priest must go in and check it. He must look carefully at the mold that is on the walls.” (NIRV)
The passage then explains how priests must oversee repeat examinations, cleanings and eventual tear-downs if mold continues to grow in the home.
The World Health Organization has published a report on toxic molds, known as mycotoxins, that notes significant health issues.
It warned that “exposure to mycotoxins can produce both acute and chronic toxicities ranging from death to deleterious effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular and pulmonary systems.”
The Department of Defense is also up-to-date on toxic molds. It has published a lengthy report on one type called “trichothecene mycotoxins.” The DOD says this mold is a proven warfare agent and can cause vomiting, bleeding, blistering – even death.
Yet, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site on mold contains just one paragraph on its effect on health. In essence, the EPA cites concerns about mold and allergies and notes that research is on-going.
The problem, Jacobs said, is that Congress has not given statutory authority to any one government agency.
The GAO’s 2008 report makes the same conclusion, noting “while current research activities on indoor mold conducted or sponsored by EPA, HHS and HUD address identified health-related research gaps to varying degrees, these activities are largely uncoordinated within and across agencies.”
“There is no uniform training curricula that’s out there that all the states can use and adopt,” Jacobs said. “We do have that for lead and radon.”
Tip and Recommendations
Mold experts say the best prevention method is to keep your home dry. Watch for leaking pipes under sinks, water coming in around windows and unventilated bathrooms. When in doubt, call a professional with experience.
For the Fabrys, it’s unknown whether their Colorado home will ever be livable again. For now, they are simply trying to recover. Their goal: healthy eating and avoiding public places which trigger new-found chemical sensitivities.
Inspired to share what they’ve learned, Andrea is chronicling their journey on the Web.
“We as people living in our homes don’t know this,” she said. “And I think we’re going to wake up. I think it’s coming just like lead poisoning, radon.”
Chris Fabry is now hosting his radio show in a make-shift studio in their rental home. Off-air, he tackles mounting medical bills that insurance won’t cover, and is re-entering the world of sports with his sons.
The Fabrys fully expect that their battle with mold will not end anytime soon. For now, their story is God’s faithfulness in the midst of a life they would never have imagined could happen to them.
“We’re together,” Chris said. “My wife and I are closer than we’ve even been. We’ve been able to go through this tornado of the rollercoaster–the emotions and the loss, all of our stuff and the dogs and the illnesses of the kids and we’ve really seen God work through that.”
God’s grace plus their deepening understanding of mold is helping to restore them – and will likely awaken more people to the dangers of mold.
Now that fall has come to a merciful end and winter is in full swing, I figured I might get some respite from seasonal allergies. Much to my chagrin, the symptoms have worsened even though I spend more time inside now. I called a few friends and did a bit of investigating myself before concluding that the problem was in the air ducts. Heating vents are veritable breeding grounds for allergens.
As it turned out, a single-room air purifier wouldn’t have any impact. The ductwork was riddled with mold, pollen and pet dander. The sooner I took steps to clean the vents and keep them clear of debris, the better it would be for my health. I found a whole house air purifier online and contacted a licensed HVAC professional to have the system installed. A few weeks later, I’m breathing free and easy!