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Safer, Healthier Families
By: Mari Peckham Recently, I made the decision to start switching over my home to non-toxic products. There were a number of reasons for this decision, but my primary reason was the connection that has been made between the use of household chemicals and ADD/ADHD and Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID). My oldest son, Reece, now 11, was born with a congenital kidney disorder. He spent the first 3 years of his life taking 2 daily doses of antibiotics, in the attempt to protect his kidneys until he was old enough to have surgery. The longer that Reece took antibiotics, the more uncomfortable we became with the idea. After much deliberation with his pediatric urologist, we decided to remove Reece from the antibiotics. Not long before Reece's 7th birthday, he was diagnosed as having auditory defensiveness and sensory integration dysfunction. They credited it to the slow development of his nervous system due to the necessary and unavoidable antibiotics. Reece is a gifted child and I could see how this was affecting him. I wanted to do everything I could to help without having to resort to drug therapy of any kind. As I watched my younger son began to grow into an equally bright, and overly active child, who was also tested positively for SID, I came to the conclusion that I needed to work to change something. I began to read a lot about handling ADD, ADHD and SID in natural ways. ADD/ADHD not because either of the boys were diagnosed with that, but the effects of the SID often causes both of them to display ADD/ADHD behavior patterns. In researching more natural alternatives I learned that many symptoms of ADD/ADHD and SID can be lessened with diet and environmental changes. Just a switch to organic foods, decreasing the hormones and chemicals that were being ingested by my children, has helped. Then I moved on to learn about the effects of household chemicals. "Over 7 million accidental poisonings are reported each year [14,000 daily]. Most of the victims are children. The elderly are the second most affected. . ." - Colombia College of Physicians and Surgeons "One of the reasons chemical concentrations are so high is household chemicals release toxic vapors into the air-open or closed." - Richard Barry, "Let's Stop Poisoning Our Children" "Asthma, allergies, cancer, and a range of maladies from skin irritations to fatigue and behavior problems can be directly linked to chemicals in households." - Dr. Philip Landrigan, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York "Over 150 chemicals commonly found in homes have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities." - Consumer Product Safety Commission To be honest, the more I found out about the adverse effects of chemicals in the home, the more anxious I was to get them out of my house. Check out these facts: * The Toronto Indoor Air Commission found that women who work at home have a 54% higher rate from cancer than women who work away from home. * In 1989 the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed 2,983 chemicals used regularly in personal care products and found an amazing 884 to be toxic. * The EPA has stated that indoor air quality has 2-5 times higher concentrations of hazardous chemicals than outside air, specifically caused by common household products. * The National Safety Council reports five to ten million household poisonings each year, the majority of whom are children poisoned by common household cleaners. * A study from the Colombia College of Physicians and Surgeons found that over 7 million accidental poisonings are reported each year [14,000 daily]. Most of the victims are children. The elderly are the second most affected. In just the short time since I have switched over my home, I have seen a difference in both of my sons' behavior and also a decrease in the number of migraine headaches that I suffer from. I have even noticed a difference in my husband and our pets. I also very environmentally conscious. The fact that I could use products that worked great, but also helped to protect our environment from damage made sense to me. Instead of using ingredients like formaldehyde, phosphates, ammonia, chlorine bleach, lye and others, these products use natural enzymes, natural surfactants, sugarcane extract, baking soda, vinegar and many other safe ingredients. I felt really great about my decision to switch. But then something happened. A good friend sent me an email about a friend of hers. Her friend had a 2-year-old son, Dylan, who evidently liked Kool-Aid as much as my kids do, and was equally careless with the tippy cup. Some Kool-Aid ended up on the carpet and his very responsible mother went to clean it up. She got out her Resolve cleaner, a product that until just recently, was locked under my sink, sprayed it on the spot, set it down right beside her and started to wipe up the spill. And in the brief moment that she turned her back on Dylan, he picked up the can and squirted Resolve into his mouth and immediately went in to convulsions. Less than 18 hours after little Dylan squirted the Resolve into his mouth, he was gone. The cleaner had burned and corroded every thing it touched on its way through his digestive tract. It made me realize how easy accidents really do happen, and how fortunate I have been that none of my own situations have ever resulted in something more serious then a few trips to the hospital. In 19 years, the product company I am using has had about 200 reported incidents of a child ingesting one of the products. Not a single one of those cases has resulted in anything even serious enough to warrant visiting the hospital. Yes, I did decide to represent this company as a business. The products are great, affordable, convenient, and allow me to earn an income. If you are interested in learning more about the company I am involved in, either as a customer or as a business partner, please let me know, and I'll be happy to talk to you about it. (Don't worry; it's not MLM or anything like Amway, and there is no big investment.) But if not, that's fine, too, because that's not really the purpose of this article. What I really want is to implore you to look for safer alternatives for your family and your home. Don't jump to put your children on medications without looking for better and safer alternatives - there are no magic pills. Protect yourself and your family from the extremely harmful long term effects of chemicals in your home. And if you have children or older people in your home, please, please, please do more than just consider switching to environmentally safe, non-toxic products - do it. There's a lot depending on you. (c) 2004 Mari Peckham Mari Peckham is the co-owner of several successful Internet businesses. You can subscribe to her online marketing ezine at: http://www.advertise-online.net To learn more about toxins in your home, visit: http://mpbmari.toxicfreehomes.com Or contact Mari at: +1 630-563-2345
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