The nocebo effect, burn laws, and explosives detectors

Posted on Nov 07, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos, News

Canary’s Cry.

Don’t read this unless you want your blood to boil: The American Council on Science and Health reports on the Nocebo Effect: Think Sick and You’ll Be Sick.

The Herald Bulletin reports that fall is a very busy time for burning leaves and that burn laws may vary. Ann Swartz, who lives in an unincorporated area near Chesterfield, Indiana, said open burning has caused health problems for her over several years. Swartz suffers from fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivity, she said, conditions that are worsened each time she is exposed to smoke from open fires, including fatigue and depression.

The New York Times reports on check points in Baghdad where new detectors designed to discover explosive materials are picking up on perfume, air fresheners and soap, but not guns.

Vickie Ashwill at The Des Moines Register reports that she’s a “smell-aholic.” She writes, “The closest I’ve been able to artificially recreate that fresh Midwest scent is by doing a load of whites with Clorox bleach. I’d love to carry a damp, just-washed, very-white towel around with me for those moments when I need a whiff of something great.”

Insurance Headlines reports insurers are fighting claims over toxic Chinese drywall.

And some useful tidbits:

The Center for Social Gerontology reports on The Federal Fair Housing Act and the protection of persons who are disabled by secondhand smoke in most private and public housing.

Chemists at McMaster University say they have developed an inexpensive “dipstick” test to detect pesticides in foods.

Horticulturists at the University of Georgia tested ornamental indoor plants for their ability to remove harmful VOCs from indoor air and came up with five super ornamentals identified for cleaner indoor air. That’s Hemigraphis alternata at left, or purple waffle plant, one of the highest rated ornamentals for removing indoor air pollutants.

Borax.com reports that the inclusion of about 1wt.% sodium perborate in laundry detergent powders results in destruction of chlorine bleach.

University of Michigan researchers say chronically ill people may be happier if they give up hope. Study shows that colostomy patients who felt their condition was irreversible reported better quality of life than those with faith that they would be cured. “We think they were happier because they got on with their lives. They realized the cards they were dealt, and recognized that they had no choice but to play with those cards,” says researcher and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.

The health and ability for those with environmental sensitivities rests with the choices and actions of others. For more information, see The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, Healthy Living, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Personal Care, Products, Research, Toxic

4 Responses to “The nocebo effect, burn laws, and explosives detectors”

Susie Collins

07. Nov, 2009

Aloha Linda, you do such an amazing job with the Canary’s Cry column! Thank you for all your media research and all you bring to The Canary Report. I really appreciate you! Aloha, Susie xoxo

Reply to this comment
canary2

07. Nov, 2009

“chronically ill people may be happier if they give up hope. Study shows that colostomy patients who felt their condition was irreversible reported better quality of life than those with faith that they would be cured”

This attitude sickens me! Sometimes I have felt that the above was an agenda by traditional doctors covered under my conventional health plan…if they would continue to deny looking into the serious symptoms I reported, or give me layer upon layer of pharmaceuticals, maybe I would get discouraged and realize they were not going to get a the root cause and I would eventually give up seeking effective treatment. If we all give up, guess what? No insurance company will have to pay out. So why wouldn’t this attitude be popularized in the media and in the conventional medical realm?

Reply to this comment
linda

07. Nov, 2009

canary 2: Allowing traditional doctors who either know nothing about environmental health or have been trained to think there is no connection between toxic chemicals and health outcomes off the hook is not what this is about.

I will try to explain what it is about, forgive me if it is clumsy.

Here it means that as long as we have our minds in a space where we are wishing for a different reality, we lose the one we are living, and are unable to make the best of this life, instead of a life that never is.

Living THIS life means accepting this reality and doing our best everyday, allowing the best of others, while at the same time understanding that not everything is fixable, not everything changes in a day, and that sometimes we do have to get on with our day and our life while living with the circumstances we have, no matter how bad they are compared to what others have.

In fact, if we stop comparing our lives to other people’s lives, and find things we can still do, it is a lot easier to be happy.

Maybe, on a good day, we can still educate others about our reality, maybe we can use that energy looking for doctors and others who do understand the root causes of what is going on, maybe we can write letters to people who need to understand these things, maybe we can take a photo of something that brings us joy, or learn a new recipe, or feed some birds.

All this means is that we have to accept reality before we can fully live and make the best of our own real life.

Reply to this comment
Sandy

07. Nov, 2009

That Vickie Ashwill will be among us soon. I bet she does a 180 so quick it will make her head spin!

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