Статьи Март 30th, 2009

• CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY; BASIC AVOIDANCE MEASURES

  Дата: 2009.03.30 | Категории: ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА | Комментарии: 0

  If you have just been diagnosed as chemically sensitive, or have just come through one of the elimination programmes just described, you are probably feeling very unnerved by what you have discovered, wondering how you will cope.
  

  Take heart, it is not as bad as it seems. It is perfectly possible to live with even very severe sensitivity and to function quite happily in everyday life, if you take precautions and follow some basic guidelines. You are not sentenced to a prison cut off from ordinary life. There will inevitably be things in your life that have to change, and you may well have to give up some things that you cherish, but you will not have to become a hermit, remote from the world.
  

  There are no really effective treatments for chemical sensitivity and allergy. Neutralisation therapy can work for some people , and some people find that complementary therapies help. Taking high doses of vitamins and minerals can also help. The only thing that is consistently of any benefit is avoiding chemicals and eliminating them from your environment as far as you can.
  

  Your basic precautions for coping with chemicals are to:
  

  • Manage your load
  

  • Air things when new
  

  • Take care when things get warm
  

  • Avoid fumes
  

  • Think twice before using chemicals
  

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• ALLERGY TO BUILDING AND DECORATING MATERIALS: ROT TREATMENTS

  Дата: 2009.03.30 | Категории: ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА | Комментарии: 0

  Treatments for dry and wet rot are usually composed of a fungicide, dissolved in an organic solvent. Timber treatments often contain an insecticide as well. Treatments for dry rot on brick and stonework contain a fungicide, or sometimes bleach. The fungicides used are unpleasant toxic chemicals, including phenols and tributyltin, and they, plus the solvents used, can cause persistent sensitivity. Avoid them if you possibly can.
  

  Treatments of this kind are usually sprayed or applied on site. If you absolutely have to use them, make sure you are not around while they are being used, and air the building well, if necessary staying somewhere else for some time before returning.
  

  Use alternatives wherever possible. Timbers affected by rot can often be cut out and replaced with timber treated in advance. Ask for timber which has been vacuum-impregnated with salts of copper, chromium and arsenic, and ask for it to be aired for some time before use. These are toxic salts which are forced into the timber through vacuum treatment. These salts do not cause sensitivity over the life of the building. This treatment is available from all major rot treatment firms and is accepted by building societies to meet conditions of mortgage. Timber of this type can also be used for fencing, doors, window frames and other external timber applications.
  

  Some hardwood timbers are more resistant to rot than softwoods such as pine. Use a resistant hardwood if you can, although they are more expensive and now less available because of concerns over rainforest depletion. The choices include greenheart, iroko, cedar, padauk, white oak, teak and hickory.
  

  If you cannot cut out timber and replace it, and need to apply something on site, use Boric Salt powder which again is solvent-free and fume-free, although it is toxic and needs handling carefully. It will not cause sensitivity, but can irritate on use. This is available from Livos and from The Healthy House.
  

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• WHAT CAN I DO FOR MY ALLERGY? OTHER FILTER SYSTEMS

  Дата: 2009.03.30 | Категории: ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА | Комментарии: 0

  For an office building or work environment, you can build in air filters, either in air conditioning systems, or into individual rooms. Consult an architect or air conditioning engineer. Air Improvement Centre and Beta-Plus can also advise on systems for workplaces.
  

  Icleen produce filters that fit or stand over heaters or radiators. They work by filtering out particles or fumes in the air rising up from the heaters. The filters are constructed of a fabric web in a metal frame. They only function when a heater is working, but they use no electricity, make no noise and are particularly effective against particles circulating in convection currents. The filter frames can be adapted to use for storage heaters, convectors, and desktop use, such as computers. They can be wall-mounted or free-standing, and are not conspicuous.
  

  These niters are less effective than an air filter that recirculates room atmosphere constantly, and they may have limited effectiveness against chemicals. But their other advantages may outweigh these drawbacks, and reports have said that they do make some difference. Current prices quoted are £35 per metre fitted. Replacement fabric filters cost £10 per metre – renewable once or twice a year, dependent on use.
  

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• ALLERGY: WHAT ARE HOUSE DUST MITES?

  Дата: 2009.03.30 | Категории: ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА | Комментарии: 0

  House dust mites live on the debris of human environments, and on other small living organisms. They do not cause harm directly to humans, apart from being a potential allergen. The species of mite particularly associated with allergy in the UK is called Dermatophagoides pteronyssimus. Dermatophagoides means ‘skin-eating’ and, in common with other mites, house dust mites feed especially on human skin scales. Humans shed on average up to one gram of skin scales a day -enough to feed many mites for months and these fall and collect around where humans live. House dust mites also feed on animal skin scales, and on micro-organisms such as moulds, bacteria and viruses.
  

  Having house dust mites in your environment is not a sign of dirty or insanitary conditions, nor of slovenly or poor housekeeping. They need a particular ecology to survive and human environments provide the best conditions for them. House dust mites thrive where food supply is plentiful, and where the environment is moist, warm and dark. They like ideally a moisture level of 80 per cent relative humidity and a temperature of about 25°C (77°F). For humidity year round, the UK is ideal for them; and for temperature, many warm, dark places indoors such as unaired beds, duvets, chairs and carpets, are also well suited.
  

  They are present all year round and hence are responsible for many cases of perennial rhinitis or other year-round symptoms. Their presence can increase when the weather is very damp and, like mould allergy (>MOULDS), allergy to house dust mites often gets worse in damp weather.
  

  They can be found in very high densities where the environment is favourable to them. Up to thousands have been measured in one gram of surface dust. It is their droppings – their faecal pellets – that cause most problems with allergic reactions, although some people are allergic to debris of the mites themselves. The faecal pellets remain even when the mites themselves move on or die, so dust, bedding or pieces of furniture can continue to cause problems even if you kill the mites.
  

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• THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF ALLERGY

  Дата: 2009.03.30 | Категории: ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА | Комментарии: 0

  Inhalants
  

  Allergy to inhalants, particles you can inhale, is usually clearly identified by skin and blood tests. The IgE mechanism appears to be principally responsible for such reactions.
  

  Foods
  

  Food allergy is perhaps less common than most people believe, since many cases of reaction to foods are food intolerance, rather than true allergy. Allergy to foods, rather than intolerance, will show positive results to skin and blood tests. You are likely to react whenever you eat a food to which you are allergic, even if you have not eaten it for a very long time; and you are more likely to have an immediate reaction, even to a small or tiny amount of the food. You may also be able to remember a precise date or occasion when you first reacted to a food. Food intolerance has a different pattern of reaction, and different symptoms (see page 20).
  

  Table 1: The Most Common Causes of Allergy
  

  INHALANTS
  House dust mites

  Animal and pet hair

  Mould spores

  Pollens

  Feathers

  Wools

  Dusts at work
  FOODS
  Cow’s milk, butter, cheese, yogurt

  Eggs

  Wheat

  Yeast

  Oranges, lemons, grapefruit, satsumas

  Nuts

  Beans, pulses, soya products
  CHEMICALS
  Formaldehyde

  Perfumes and fragrances

  Paraphenylenediamine (PPDA)

  Rubber

  Phenols and cresols
  METALS
  Nickel

  Chromates
  Chemicals and metals
  

  Allergy to chemicals and metals is sometimes very hard to distinguish from chemical sensitivity. In allergic contact dermatitis, where reactions are often delayed, positive results from patch tests on skin can often establish that an allergic reaction is involved. However, in many cases of asthma, eczema and dermatitis, tests are inconclusive and the dividing line between allergy and sensitivity is unclear.
  

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