going green
One of the things I am thinking about more and more is how our environment impacts our health and quality of life. While I was in Nashville, surprisingly I didn’t have near the sinus problems that I have here. Back home, it’s simple allergies — no major congestion. I come back to New Jersey and can’t breathe.
I’ve been tested for the usual allergies — and mold is one of them, and yet shots had no major effect on my breathing (maybe I didn’t do them long enough? Not my fault my allergist got divorced and moved out of state, I guess. : ) What I am beginning to wonder is if I am exposed or sensitive to something environmental. Julie and William have switched to organic, in an effort to address both health issues and quality of life, and some of the research she shared with me scared me to death. I’m not unfamiliar with it either, having been interested in environmental issues my entire life — just that the ways I thought of it before had more to do with the survival of threatened animals and ecosystems, rather than myself. And yet. Breast and other cancer rates are through the roof in certain parts of the country, across all types of people. Toxic chemicals continue to pollute the air, and children’s asthma rates are rising. Food poisoning, particularly related to e coli, which comes from contact with fecal bacteria — a known by product of unclean factory farming — continues to occur.
And here’s an interesting fact: Essex County, in which I live, has air quality that is 651 times worse than the EPA standard. I kid you not, information here. I just put in a call to Environment New Jersey to check this and other facts. Hello???? How did I not know this? How do we all not know this?
March 12th, 2007 at 2:59 am
Thanx for the info. That’s crazyt!!!!!!
When I was a little girl, traveling from North Carolina back to New York, I always knew we were close to New York by the awful smells coming from the factories and seaports in Jersey. i haven’t smelled those awful smells for years now. I just came back from VA and made a comment about that. I assumed things had gotten better. I guess it’s like odorless and colorless gas. Just because you may not see it or smell it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Interesting …all the taxes we pay to live in this “fair “state, in one of the most expensive counties in Jersey! That sucks!!!!!!!!
March 12th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Dr.
I think I told you this before. This time last year, I thought I was never going to breathe clearly again. I was miserable - stuffy ALL THE TIME. From September to January, I felt awful. I missed several days of work due to sinus crap. You know schools have the worst environments for learning and working.
I went back on allergy shot and I’m fine now. I went faithfully -never missing an appointment and I’m on maintenance now. I use to go one weekly, then once bi-weekly. Now I’m on once a month. I switched from Allergra (which started to not help me at all) to Clarinex. I had been on Allegra for years. I’m so much better now. I had CAT Scans and everything.
My scans showed, it wasn’t my sinuses at all. I’d been treated for sinusitis when it really was rhinitis. It’s a miserable feeling, I know. You’re tired all the time, because you’re expending so much energy trying to breathe. I also had a dog, to which my doctor told me I was allergy. He said, “Let Chewie be your last pet!” Though I miss him and miss the companionship, I can’t help wondering if I’m also better because he’s not here. It probably took quite a while after we had to have him put down for his dander to be cleaned from the house. It’s been three years now. My house has all hardwood floors; that’s another thing I could never have - carpet! DRAT and DOUBLE DRAT!!!!!!
Feel better!