Many of us are interested in do-it-yourself anyway. I have dreamed of living like Laura Ingalls did since I was a girl. But now it is less of a dream and more of a necessity, both for secular and spiritual reasons. Having awaken yesterday to my first sore throat and plugged up nose of the season, I though about those great old home remedies. And because I love it when others share (I end up learning so much!) I thought I’d share my list.
Homemade Medicines
Homemade Cough Drops- OK, I read a medical article once about cough drops (don’t ask- really long day and nothing else to read). The point is that you can’t cough and swallow at the same time. It is also true that true sugar syrup in cough drops will coat the throat as is dissolves and is swallowed. That is why many throat drops are just sugar and flavoring. You can get cough drops with menthol in them, which helps to open the throat and make breathing easier. It also slightly numbs the throat, suppressing the urge to cough. So you can take a candy recipe like this one and make it whatever flavor or herbal infusion you like (and use whatever sweetener you prefer), or you can add in some spearmint oil or menthol if you can afford it!. Be very careful with essential oils and use only a tiny amount!
Homemade Cough Syrup- This one is really easy. Mix lemon juice, honey, and water into a syrup and store in the fridge. Just like cough drops, the real effect comes from the coating of the throat. A cough that does not originate in the lungs comes from the phlegm in the throat benign disturbed. The best thing to do is get rid of it. Meanwhile, something sticky will help to smooth it back down. And unlike medicines, you can’t really take too much of this (though you might take enough to make you vomit!)
Homemade Tinctures- There is a whole field of study on this, and I’m not going to even attempt to cover it here. Julie has some great recipes and links. The only thing I would add (and it may be in there already) is not to buy your herbs at the grocery store if you can help it. Frontier sells them online, and they are of medicinal quality. With something like this, look for the company that does only one thing and does it well.
Homemade Decongestants-My favorite decongestant is the Spearmint/Peppermint Tea from Mint Brook Meadows. It is so strong, it clears me right up. It is also not something you can overdose on! There are many Chinese and Indian spices that will help to clear the sinuses. Wasabi comes to mind, which I love on my sushi. Horseradish will also do the trick. Onions can help, too. Think of something that makes your eyes water, and then try it.
Homemade Poultices-A poultice can help when you have really congested lungs. The old standard was a mustard plaster, but I found this mom’s recipe for a less odd smelling one and it sounds great!
Homemade Antibiotics- The best anti-germ foods I have heard of are onion and garlic. Raw is best because it is fully potent. In the winter when we have tea every morning, I dice up a garlic clove and mix it with honey on a spoon. Down the hatch. I got that idea from Heather and it really does work both as a preventative and as a cure.
Homemade lip balm-- take some beeswax or coconut oil and add a few drops of olive oil. If you want, you can add essential oils, though be aware that oils will burn when applied to really chapped lips. It is better to apply this before going out and therefore prevent the chapped lips altogether.
Homemade lotions-- Use coconut oil, olive oil, or grapeseed oil for really rough spots. Right now we use this, because we can get it wholesale through our co-op. We’ve never tried anything better. Having a natural lotion is also a must for us because some of our kids would lick the lotion off their hands because it smelled like something good. It is also reassuring to me knowing what is on their hands is natural since we wash hands many times during the day to prevent spreading germs. I would hate to use something chemically over and over on anybody, let alone babies!
Disinfecting and Preventing
Hands- Wash, wash., wash those hands. Make sure to get under the finger nails and the backs of the hands too, since these are very germ prone. I do not recommend antibacterial soap, both because it dries you out faster, and because it kills anything. It is also good when anybody has the sniffles to wash their face at least three times a day. Kids have a tendency to schmear when they wipe their noses, and that stuff is sitting there looking for somebody to contaminate.
Hot water- this is an age-old way to handle sickness, and it works. Not only do I put my dishes through the dishwasher with a hot rinse to help prevent spreading germs, I also assign colors (cups, bowls, plastic silverware) for use throughout the year, so that if two forks are sitting side by side on the table, we know who’s is who’s. We do generally spray the tub with bleach once a day when there is sickness going around. A mild solution will still work well. Allow to sit for 10 minutes and then rinse with very hot water.
Bodily fluids- There is a reason Yah told us LONG ago to wash in running water and to keep sick people away from others. Most illnesses are spread through bodily fluids, be it from one end or the other (yuck, I know). This is when I do agree with buying disposable. We stock up on cheap tissues and toilet paper, because were we to use cloth for these, I would not only have a mountain of washing during an epidemic, but it can also spread to the laundress of the day. My opinion is that into the paper and into the trash is worth the cost to keep the germs at bay. If you absolutely cannot buy paper, many dollar stores do still sell handkerchiefs for about 25 cents a piece. These can be washed in bleachy, hot water. I would recommend marking each with the owner’s name and not allowing borrowing.
Airing out a sick house- It used to be the custom to whitewash a house of sick people. The lime in the paint was a disinfectant. We whitewashed the inside of our barn annually until we sold the cows. But that is not a really practical solution anymore for houses. A doctor once told me you should open up your windows for 15 minutes a day regardless of the weather. It also helps if you have infusers or a vaporizer that can spread menthol or lavender oils in the air. The oil attaches itself to the germs and either kills them or makes them heavy enough that they fall to the floor.
Sick Foods
Chicken broth is known as a sick food for good reason. It helps to heal the body as well as provide a readily absorbed source of calories. If you are not sick to the stomach, adding vegetables can make it a hearty lunch.
Here’s Dr. Weil’s recipe for garlic broth, which oddly enough was in my inbox this morning (daily recipe mail). I’m linking because he has more info about garlic on this page.
Ginger ale does settle the stomach better than plain water because of the ginger. Sometimes carbonation helps as well, but most ginger-ale from the store is corn syrup and artificial flavoring. Carla Emery has a recipe for brewing your own pop, and many health food stores have their own versions, but you can make it cheaper at home. Keep a supply of carbonated water on hand (club soda, seltzer water, etc, preferably in small cans rather than a large bottle) and cook up a batch of ginger syrup. There is also a recipe for ginger water in the Little House Cookbook that uses vinegar and brown sugar.
Another kind of drink that is good for sickness is a tonic. If you can get a hold of some raspberry shrub or montmorency cherry syrup, mixing these with carbonated water makes a very light drink that has a LOT of vitamin C as well as the many medicinal properties of these fruits. I get mine here, and if you look under the concentrates section, they discuss the cherry. They also have a ginger syrup I haven’t tried yet. Eggnog is good when the trouble isn’t in the stomach. And of course teas can be both a drink and a medicine, as discussed previously.
Popsicles were one of our favorites growing up, especially for sore throats. When we had our tonsils out, we had heard the whole ‘all the popsicles and ice cream you want’ rumor, but it wasn’t true. Ice cream, made of milk, would cause phlegm, so we couldn’t have any. We were allowed all the popsicles we wanted, but they had to be banana because other flavors would discolor the throat and make it hard to tell if we were bleeding. But even banana are often corn syrup, artificial flavors, and dyes. Instead, freeze some fruit juice or ginger ale in an ice cube tray covered in plastic. That way you can stick a toothpick in each square. You can also buy popsicle molds. I have the Tupperware set my mom bought years ago. These smaller portion pops are good for littles. Big kids can always have 2.
Salt- It is strange that salt settles the stomach, but that’s the trick behind saltines. With stomach illness, it is actually better to avoid starches when possible. So just swallow a pinch of salt. This works well for breaking up mucous in the throat, too, as that stuff consist of salt and water at a very thick ratio. Salt followed by lots of fluids break it up easily.
Anybody got an old time remedy they'd like to share?
Does this look familiar? Click on the comment link in any posting and leave us some feedback- we'd love to hear from you!
Showing posts with label Health and body. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health and body. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Heart Burn
It amazes me the number of physical ailments that can be symbolic of spiritual ailments (and that usually occur at the same time). Right now it is heartburn, both because my peptic ulcer is acting up and because my angry child is acting up. My stomach and chest feel like they are on fire, as does my spirit. And they are definitely connected, as the millisecond I shouted at my daughter, my midsection felt like an erupting volcano.
The best prescription for both is light fasting. My body needs the foods that help it to heal- bananas, milk, broth, crackers. And my soul needs the light foods of the Word- the fruits of the spirit, manna from above, the milk of the scriptures. Both physicians call for the absence of meat for a while. Trying to digest meat (physically or spiritually) at this time would be pointless and only cause more pain. It's hard, because I like meat. Both physically and spiritually, I like meat a lot. I'm particular about what meats I like, but what I do enjoy, I could consume in great quantities. But my body and soul need healing, and to ignore the prescription for healing would be to prolong the ailment.
My hope is that if I do as instructed, I will be healed soon. If I am careful to follow the advice of The Physician (and the physician) I could return to my regular consumption very soon. But before I can get there, I have to go through the healing process. Sometimes the healing hurts even more than the ailment for a while, but the end result makes it necessary. Without healing, I could be killing myself (spiritually and physically), so I will obey.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Thirsty?
AP Probe Finds Drugs in Drinking Water
By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD
Associated Press Writers MERCK & CO INC
A vast array of pharmaceuticals - including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their wated scientists. They also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.
Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:
Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.
Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.
Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.
A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.
The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.
Three medications, including an antibiotic, were found in drinking water supplied to Tucson, Ariz.
The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP.
The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.
Some providers screen only for one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.
The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated. Tests were conducted in the watersheds of 35 of the 62 major providers surveyed by the AP, and pharmaceuticals were detected in 28.
Yet officials in six of those 28 metropolitan areas said they did not go on to test their drinking water - Fairfax, Va.; Montgomery County in Maryland; Omaha, Neb.; Oklahoma City; Santa Clara, Calif., and New York City.
The New York state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer.
City water officials declined repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, they insisted that ``New York City's drinking water continues to meet all federal and state regulations regarding drinking water quality in the watershed and the distribution system'' - regulations that do not address trace pharmaceuticals.
In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP obtained the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed otherwise. For example, water department officials in New Orleans said their water had not been tested for pharmaceuticals, but a Tulane University researcher and his students have published a study that found the pain reliever naproxen, the sex hormone estrone and the anti-cholesterol drug byproduct clofibric acid in treated drinking water.
Of the 28 major metropolitan areas where tests were performed on drinking water supplies, only Albuquerque; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Va.; said tests were negative. The drinking water in Dallas has been tested, but officials are awaiting results. Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that traces of a pharmaceutical were detected in its drinking water but cited post-9/11 security concerns in refusing to identify the drug.
The AP also contacted 52 small water providers - one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas - that serve communities with populations around 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals; officials in Emporia, Kan., refused to answer AP's questions, also citing post-9/11 issues.
Rural consumers who draw water from their own wells aren't in the clear either, experts say.
The Stroud Water Research Center, in Avondale, Pa., has measured water samples from New York City's upstate watershed for caffeine, a common contaminant that scientists often look for as a possible signal for the presence of other pharmaceuticals. Though more caffeine was detected at suburban sites, researcher Anthony Aufdenkampe was struck by the relatively high levels even in less populated areas.
He suspects it escapes from failed septic tanks, maybe with other drugs. ``Septic systems are essentially small treatment plants that are essentially unmanaged and therefore tend to fail,'' Aufdenkampe said.
Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.
Contamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. Studies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe - even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea.
For example, in Canada, a study of 20 Ontario drinking water treatment plants by a national research institute found nine different drugs in water samples. Japanese health officials in December called for human health impact studies after detecting prescription drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.
In the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.
Perhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs - and flushing them unmetabolized or unused - in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.
``People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case,'' said EPA scientist Christian Daughton, one of the first to draw attention to the issue of pharmaceuticals in water in the United States.
Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.
One technology, reverse osmosis, removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants but is very expensive for large-scale use and leaves several gallons of polluted water for every one that is made drinkable.
Another issue: There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.
Human waste isn't the only source of contamination. Cattle, for example, are given ear implants that provide a slow release of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders, which causes cattle to bulk up. But not all the trenbolone circulating in a steer is metabolized. A German study showed 10 percent of the steroid passed right through the animals.
Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads.
Other veterinary drugs also play a role. Pets are now treated for arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, and even obesity - sometimes with the same drugs as humans. The inflation-adjusted value of veterinary drugs rose by 8 percent, to $5.2 billion, over the past five years, according to an analysis of data from the Animal Health Institute.
Ask the pharmaceutical industry whether the contamination of water supplies is a problem, and officials will tell you no. ``Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health,'' said microbiologist Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
But at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby - director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. - said: ``There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms.''
Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.
Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life - such as earth worms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.
Some scientists stress that the research is extremely limited, and there are too many unknowns. They say, though, that the documented health problems in wildlife are disconcerting.
``It brings a question to people's minds that if the fish were affected ... might there be a potential problem for humans?'' EPA research biologist Vickie Wilson told the AP. ``It could be that the fish are just exquisitely sensitive because of their physiology or something. We haven't gotten far enough along.''
With limited research funds, said Shane Snyder, research and development project manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority, a greater emphasis should be put on studying the effects of drugs in water.
``I think it's a shame that so much money is going into monitoring to figure out if these things are out there, and so little is being spent on human health,'' said Snyder. ``They need to just accept that these things are everywhere - every chemical and pharmaceutical could be there. It's time for the EPA to step up to the plate and make a statement about the need to study effects, both human and environmental.''
To the degree that the EPA is focused on the issue, it appears to be looking at detection. Grumbles acknowledged that just late last year the agency developed three new methods to ``detect and quantify pharmaceuticals'' in wastewater. ``We realize that we have a limited amount of data on the concentrations,'' he said. ``We're going to be able to learn a lot more.''
While Grumbles said the EPA had analyzed 287 pharmaceuticals for possible inclusion on a draft list of candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, he said only one, nitroglycerin, was on the list. Nitroglycerin can be used as a drug for heart problems, but the key reason it's being considered is its widespread use in making explosives.
So much is unknown. Many independent scientists are skeptical that trace concentrations will ultimately prove to be harmful to humans. Confidence about human safety is based largely on studies that poison lab animals with much higher amounts.
There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs - or combinations of drugs - may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.
Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.
Many concerns about chronic low-level exposure focus on certain drug classes: chemotherapy that can act as a powerful poison; hormones that can hamper reproduction or development; medicines for depression and epilepsy that can damage the brain or change behavior; antibiotics that can allow human germs to mutate into more dangerous forms; pain relievers and blood-pressure diuretics.
For several decades, federal environmental officials and nonprofit watchdog environmental groups have focused on regulated contaminants - pesticides, lead, PCBs - which are present in higher concentrations and clearly pose a health risk.
However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.
``These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That's what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out to the environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have effects,'' says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and other drugs.
And while drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the timeframe is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime. Pharmaceuticals also can produce side effects and interact with other drugs at normal medical doses. That's why - aside from therapeutic doses of fluoride injected into potable water supplies - pharmaceuticals are prescribed to people who need them, not delivered to everyone in their drinking water.
``We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good,'' says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate (at) ap.org
By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD
Associated Press Writers MERCK & CO INC
A vast array of pharmaceuticals - including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their wated scientists. They also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.
Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:
Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.
Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.
Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.
A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.
The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.
Three medications, including an antibiotic, were found in drinking water supplied to Tucson, Ariz.
The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP.
The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.
Some providers screen only for one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.
The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated. Tests were conducted in the watersheds of 35 of the 62 major providers surveyed by the AP, and pharmaceuticals were detected in 28.
Yet officials in six of those 28 metropolitan areas said they did not go on to test their drinking water - Fairfax, Va.; Montgomery County in Maryland; Omaha, Neb.; Oklahoma City; Santa Clara, Calif., and New York City.
The New York state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer.
City water officials declined repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, they insisted that ``New York City's drinking water continues to meet all federal and state regulations regarding drinking water quality in the watershed and the distribution system'' - regulations that do not address trace pharmaceuticals.
In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP obtained the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed otherwise. For example, water department officials in New Orleans said their water had not been tested for pharmaceuticals, but a Tulane University researcher and his students have published a study that found the pain reliever naproxen, the sex hormone estrone and the anti-cholesterol drug byproduct clofibric acid in treated drinking water.
Of the 28 major metropolitan areas where tests were performed on drinking water supplies, only Albuquerque; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Va.; said tests were negative. The drinking water in Dallas has been tested, but officials are awaiting results. Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that traces of a pharmaceutical were detected in its drinking water but cited post-9/11 security concerns in refusing to identify the drug.
The AP also contacted 52 small water providers - one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas - that serve communities with populations around 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals; officials in Emporia, Kan., refused to answer AP's questions, also citing post-9/11 issues.
Rural consumers who draw water from their own wells aren't in the clear either, experts say.
The Stroud Water Research Center, in Avondale, Pa., has measured water samples from New York City's upstate watershed for caffeine, a common contaminant that scientists often look for as a possible signal for the presence of other pharmaceuticals. Though more caffeine was detected at suburban sites, researcher Anthony Aufdenkampe was struck by the relatively high levels even in less populated areas.
He suspects it escapes from failed septic tanks, maybe with other drugs. ``Septic systems are essentially small treatment plants that are essentially unmanaged and therefore tend to fail,'' Aufdenkampe said.
Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.
Contamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. Studies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe - even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea.
For example, in Canada, a study of 20 Ontario drinking water treatment plants by a national research institute found nine different drugs in water samples. Japanese health officials in December called for human health impact studies after detecting prescription drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.
In the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.
Perhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs - and flushing them unmetabolized or unused - in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.
``People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case,'' said EPA scientist Christian Daughton, one of the first to draw attention to the issue of pharmaceuticals in water in the United States.
Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.
One technology, reverse osmosis, removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants but is very expensive for large-scale use and leaves several gallons of polluted water for every one that is made drinkable.
Another issue: There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.
Human waste isn't the only source of contamination. Cattle, for example, are given ear implants that provide a slow release of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders, which causes cattle to bulk up. But not all the trenbolone circulating in a steer is metabolized. A German study showed 10 percent of the steroid passed right through the animals.
Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads.
Other veterinary drugs also play a role. Pets are now treated for arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, and even obesity - sometimes with the same drugs as humans. The inflation-adjusted value of veterinary drugs rose by 8 percent, to $5.2 billion, over the past five years, according to an analysis of data from the Animal Health Institute.
Ask the pharmaceutical industry whether the contamination of water supplies is a problem, and officials will tell you no. ``Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health,'' said microbiologist Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
But at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby - director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. - said: ``There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms.''
Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.
Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life - such as earth worms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.
Some scientists stress that the research is extremely limited, and there are too many unknowns. They say, though, that the documented health problems in wildlife are disconcerting.
``It brings a question to people's minds that if the fish were affected ... might there be a potential problem for humans?'' EPA research biologist Vickie Wilson told the AP. ``It could be that the fish are just exquisitely sensitive because of their physiology or something. We haven't gotten far enough along.''
With limited research funds, said Shane Snyder, research and development project manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority, a greater emphasis should be put on studying the effects of drugs in water.
``I think it's a shame that so much money is going into monitoring to figure out if these things are out there, and so little is being spent on human health,'' said Snyder. ``They need to just accept that these things are everywhere - every chemical and pharmaceutical could be there. It's time for the EPA to step up to the plate and make a statement about the need to study effects, both human and environmental.''
To the degree that the EPA is focused on the issue, it appears to be looking at detection. Grumbles acknowledged that just late last year the agency developed three new methods to ``detect and quantify pharmaceuticals'' in wastewater. ``We realize that we have a limited amount of data on the concentrations,'' he said. ``We're going to be able to learn a lot more.''
While Grumbles said the EPA had analyzed 287 pharmaceuticals for possible inclusion on a draft list of candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, he said only one, nitroglycerin, was on the list. Nitroglycerin can be used as a drug for heart problems, but the key reason it's being considered is its widespread use in making explosives.
So much is unknown. Many independent scientists are skeptical that trace concentrations will ultimately prove to be harmful to humans. Confidence about human safety is based largely on studies that poison lab animals with much higher amounts.
There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs - or combinations of drugs - may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.
Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.
Many concerns about chronic low-level exposure focus on certain drug classes: chemotherapy that can act as a powerful poison; hormones that can hamper reproduction or development; medicines for depression and epilepsy that can damage the brain or change behavior; antibiotics that can allow human germs to mutate into more dangerous forms; pain relievers and blood-pressure diuretics.
For several decades, federal environmental officials and nonprofit watchdog environmental groups have focused on regulated contaminants - pesticides, lead, PCBs - which are present in higher concentrations and clearly pose a health risk.
However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.
``These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That's what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out to the environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have effects,'' says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and other drugs.
And while drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the timeframe is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime. Pharmaceuticals also can produce side effects and interact with other drugs at normal medical doses. That's why - aside from therapeutic doses of fluoride injected into potable water supplies - pharmaceuticals are prescribed to people who need them, not delivered to everyone in their drinking water.
``We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good,'' says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate (at) ap.org
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A Creative Creator
A neat email...
God's Pharmacy
God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd
need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.
We're such slow learners. God left us a great clue as to what foods help
what part of our body! God's Pharmacy! Amazing!
*A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
*A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
*Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
*A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
*Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
*Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones , thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
*Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and
prevents cervical cancers. - And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
*Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
*Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
*Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
*Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
*Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
God's Pharmacy
God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd
need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.
We're such slow learners. God left us a great clue as to what foods help
what part of our body! God's Pharmacy! Amazing!
*A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
*A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
*Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
*A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
*Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
*Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones , thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
*Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and
prevents cervical cancers. - And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
*Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
*Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
*Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
*Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
*Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Make Your Own Toothpaste
When I was growing up my mom mixed her own recipe of toothpaste. I thought it was just because we were poor, but now I know about the potential poisoning effect of fluoride and prefer my kids not use it (especially since we have one who eats anything that goes into her mouth, including toothpaste and mouthwash). There are companies that make non-fluoride toothpaste, but it is very expensive (which makes no sense to me if they are NOT putting in the expensive fluoride!?!)
To start, mix 3/4 cup baking soda with 1/4 cup course salt in a large bowl. Mix it well. Add about 1/4 cup water and mix, adding more until it is your desired thickness. Then I break it down into kid portions by putting it in small bowls with lids. This way, they each have their own so as not to share germs, and when this batch is done, I can wash and sterilize the containers and re-use them (Wal-Mart has little bowls with lids in the baby section that are pretty inexpensive). Then each kid gets a drop or two of their chosen flavoring. We have peppermint, spearmint, vanilla (all organic from Frontier) and there are also many artificial flavors if you just can't sell your kids on the natural stuff (banana, strawberry, rootbeer, etc.) And my position would be that two drops of artificial flavoring are less of a danger than fluoride!
If you want a really pasty kind of paste, you can add a tablespoon of glycerin at a time to your big bowl to the desired consistency, but I don't use it only because I have found that when they get a lot of 'foam', they brush less effectively. The importance of brushing is doing it properly, not the stuff you put on the brush. If you think about it, people lived for thousands of years without fluoridated toothpaste, and they had great teeth (I am not talking about the 1800s in our country necessarily, because the advent and use of processed sugars and white flour were rotting people's teeth like crazy). One Egyptian queen had many cosmetic recipes in her tomb, including a tooth cleaner made with dried, crushed violets. It probably worked like the salt, a mild abrasive. But the importance was in the cleaning, not what she used.
To use, just scoop some up on the brush and have at it!
Thanks mom! ;)
To start, mix 3/4 cup baking soda with 1/4 cup course salt in a large bowl. Mix it well. Add about 1/4 cup water and mix, adding more until it is your desired thickness. Then I break it down into kid portions by putting it in small bowls with lids. This way, they each have their own so as not to share germs, and when this batch is done, I can wash and sterilize the containers and re-use them (Wal-Mart has little bowls with lids in the baby section that are pretty inexpensive). Then each kid gets a drop or two of their chosen flavoring. We have peppermint, spearmint, vanilla (all organic from Frontier) and there are also many artificial flavors if you just can't sell your kids on the natural stuff (banana, strawberry, rootbeer, etc.) And my position would be that two drops of artificial flavoring are less of a danger than fluoride!
If you want a really pasty kind of paste, you can add a tablespoon of glycerin at a time to your big bowl to the desired consistency, but I don't use it only because I have found that when they get a lot of 'foam', they brush less effectively. The importance of brushing is doing it properly, not the stuff you put on the brush. If you think about it, people lived for thousands of years without fluoridated toothpaste, and they had great teeth (I am not talking about the 1800s in our country necessarily, because the advent and use of processed sugars and white flour were rotting people's teeth like crazy). One Egyptian queen had many cosmetic recipes in her tomb, including a tooth cleaner made with dried, crushed violets. It probably worked like the salt, a mild abrasive. But the importance was in the cleaning, not what she used.
To use, just scoop some up on the brush and have at it!
Thanks mom! ;)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Government Issue
No kidding- I got this from a government office today. Foster children with growth/allergy issues are most often put on WIC so that they can be monitored closely, and I had the baby in for her appointment today. When we were all done, the lady giving me my paperwork gave me this, too, and said 'they' (meaning the state office) decided this (WIC) was a good way to get the information to people. When I got to the car, I couldn't believe what I was reading. From the government no less! So much for those who say only 'reactionary fundamentalists' believe in this stuff. (click picture to enlarge)
The back lists these websites:
www.ready.gov
www.pandemicflu.gov/
www.webmd.com
www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu/
Sorry it took me so long to get back on this one- I was looking for a website or some other way to order from the company. They do have an address listed, which I found on search engine results as well, but no direct webpage. So I think the best chance is to write to them and ask if they sell outside of the contracted company. Some places will, and some will only sell to the person (government) who made the original order. But the fact that they have their address on there is a good indication that they are looking to advertise. Here it is:
REZOOM
P.O. Box 1092
LaCrosse, WI 54602
The back lists these websites:
www.ready.gov
www.pandemicflu.gov/
www.webmd.com
www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu/
Sorry it took me so long to get back on this one- I was looking for a website or some other way to order from the company. They do have an address listed, which I found on search engine results as well, but no direct webpage. So I think the best chance is to write to them and ask if they sell outside of the contracted company. Some places will, and some will only sell to the person (government) who made the original order. But the fact that they have their address on there is a good indication that they are looking to advertise. Here it is:
REZOOM
P.O. Box 1092
LaCrosse, WI 54602
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Women's Health Sites
I have only recently realized how important taking care of our bodies is. Really, just in the last few years. I mean, I knew that it would prolong life and you would feel better, but I think I saw it as vanity to spend too much time on things like food and exercise. And it can be wrong, an idol even, if it is given too much attention and emphasis. But I have seen the truths of our calling to be good stewards of everything God has given to us- including the body. And I don't just mean eating right and not being a glutton. The things we do to the body have lasting consequences, and some of them are an abomination to God. (And I have to agree with Stephanie that the Old Testament isn't null and void, as Jesus said he came to complete it, not abolish it)
So, here are some sites that I use regularly or find very helpful in keeping the temple of God fit, pure, and functioning properly (or rather trying to get it BACK to that state)
This one is for charting monthly cycles. I didn't realize before how important charting was. I thought it was for people who wanted to get pregnant. So much about your health can be indicated by your cycles (plus, it's always good to know rather than be surprised!) but I am not good at keeping track on a calendar, so I have the electronic chart, and I get a warning email each month.
This one is about the side-effects of sterilization that no one probably tells you about (I didn't know).
This one is about breast exams.
This one talks about how osteoporosis starts in young women. Most of us think it is an old person's disease!
I like this site because this is my new favorite food book. The author also discusses why tattoos, piercings, sunscreen, and supermarket food are actually making us sick.
This article is very good about why a woman should avoid a hysterectomy if she can (and why surgery is too often an answer in general- you'll have to read through the evolution garbage).
Here's one on vaccines. I am new to this concept myself, and sadly remember thinking less of parents who chose not to vaccinate.
Here's an absolutely free way to prevent breast cancer.
Here's why my scoliosis bothers me so much, especially considering what a slight curvature I have.
Spring cleaning the body with God's preventatives.
There is a lot of good information out there, and a lot of junk, so be careful what you follow. On the same token, doctors will try to discredit natural health sources as it is a threat to their job, and some natural health nuts will call you weak for seeking out medical advice when something advanced comes up. Balance them. And most of all, remember who the Great physician is, and that nothing happens to you without his knowledge and permission.
So, here are some sites that I use regularly or find very helpful in keeping the temple of God fit, pure, and functioning properly (or rather trying to get it BACK to that state)
This one is for charting monthly cycles. I didn't realize before how important charting was. I thought it was for people who wanted to get pregnant. So much about your health can be indicated by your cycles (plus, it's always good to know rather than be surprised!) but I am not good at keeping track on a calendar, so I have the electronic chart, and I get a warning email each month.
This one is about the side-effects of sterilization that no one probably tells you about (I didn't know).
This one is about breast exams.
This one talks about how osteoporosis starts in young women. Most of us think it is an old person's disease!
I like this site because this is my new favorite food book. The author also discusses why tattoos, piercings, sunscreen, and supermarket food are actually making us sick.
This article is very good about why a woman should avoid a hysterectomy if she can (and why surgery is too often an answer in general- you'll have to read through the evolution garbage).
Here's one on vaccines. I am new to this concept myself, and sadly remember thinking less of parents who chose not to vaccinate.
Here's an absolutely free way to prevent breast cancer.
Here's why my scoliosis bothers me so much, especially considering what a slight curvature I have.
Spring cleaning the body with God's preventatives.
There is a lot of good information out there, and a lot of junk, so be careful what you follow. On the same token, doctors will try to discredit natural health sources as it is a threat to their job, and some natural health nuts will call you weak for seeking out medical advice when something advanced comes up. Balance them. And most of all, remember who the Great physician is, and that nothing happens to you without his knowledge and permission.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Hot Oil Treatment
I discovered the best and cheapest way to do my own oil treatment last night. I have very kinky, curly hair that gets very dry on the ends. I have been trying for years to grow it out, but once I gets to my shoulders, it frizzes and breaks. The stylists said my hair was too dry, and that curls suck up moisture more than straight hair. So I have been trying to find a way to keep the hair from drying out so that it will get longer.
Many of the products on the market are just too harsh. Some of the leave-in conditioners I tried made things worse. So I started looking for natural products, which makes sense if you are doing so in the food department anyway! I had bought some videos to teach myself how to put in cornrows, and the website offered natural hair oil called Queen Khadijah's. I liked it because it came in a big bottle (that very popular hot oil treatment company gives you a tiny little tube, and if you have length or thickness, you'll need several! $$$$$) and the ingredients are natural oils and vitamin E. This oil can also be used as a massage oil, and I liked that idea since it meant is was sensitive enough for the skin (that expensive oil company I mentioned earlier has a WARNING on the box that you must wash the oil out as soon as the time limit is up or you will be taking more out of your hair! What if you can't get it all out in 3 seconds? It sounded too worrisome and complicated for me).
Start by putting the oil bottle in a cup of warm water. That heats it nicely! So I soaked my hair with the oil. Now some people use plastic wrap to keep in the heat. I am not coordinated enough for that. I've tried it before. Instead, i used a plastic grocery bag. Now make sure you use a white bag, or you'll end up with a blue neck. I just wrapped the bag around starting in back, and I pinned It on top with a clothes pin. Talk about hillbilly! My husband came home and said "Honey, you have a bag on your head". And I said "I know". And he said "It's held there by a clothes pin". And I said "I know. Is it sexy?". And he seemed afraid to answer that. So, I'm letting the oil and my body heat soak into the hair. A little bit of the oil dripped down the nape of my neck (wear an old towel) which I just rubbed into my upper arms where I got a little too much sun. It felt and smelled really nice. Very relaxing. After and hour, I washed and conditioned my hair, then put a very small amount of the oil in my hands, rubbed them together, and spread it through my hair starting at the ends. Voila! (I took French in high school and love it, but I read it much easier than speaking it because I can't hear people that fast! They need those little cartoon balloons above their heads! BTW, Does anyone know how to make the accent marks with a computer??)
I guess we'll see if this plan helps over time. I would love to have hair to my waist!
Many of the products on the market are just too harsh. Some of the leave-in conditioners I tried made things worse. So I started looking for natural products, which makes sense if you are doing so in the food department anyway! I had bought some videos to teach myself how to put in cornrows, and the website offered natural hair oil called Queen Khadijah's. I liked it because it came in a big bottle (that very popular hot oil treatment company gives you a tiny little tube, and if you have length or thickness, you'll need several! $$$$$) and the ingredients are natural oils and vitamin E. This oil can also be used as a massage oil, and I liked that idea since it meant is was sensitive enough for the skin (that expensive oil company I mentioned earlier has a WARNING on the box that you must wash the oil out as soon as the time limit is up or you will be taking more out of your hair! What if you can't get it all out in 3 seconds? It sounded too worrisome and complicated for me).
Start by putting the oil bottle in a cup of warm water. That heats it nicely! So I soaked my hair with the oil. Now some people use plastic wrap to keep in the heat. I am not coordinated enough for that. I've tried it before. Instead, i used a plastic grocery bag. Now make sure you use a white bag, or you'll end up with a blue neck. I just wrapped the bag around starting in back, and I pinned It on top with a clothes pin. Talk about hillbilly! My husband came home and said "Honey, you have a bag on your head". And I said "I know". And he said "It's held there by a clothes pin". And I said "I know. Is it sexy?". And he seemed afraid to answer that. So, I'm letting the oil and my body heat soak into the hair. A little bit of the oil dripped down the nape of my neck (wear an old towel) which I just rubbed into my upper arms where I got a little too much sun. It felt and smelled really nice. Very relaxing. After and hour, I washed and conditioned my hair, then put a very small amount of the oil in my hands, rubbed them together, and spread it through my hair starting at the ends. Voila! (I took French in high school and love it, but I read it much easier than speaking it because I can't hear people that fast! They need those little cartoon balloons above their heads! BTW, Does anyone know how to make the accent marks with a computer??)
I guess we'll see if this plan helps over time. I would love to have hair to my waist!
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