Here is where I gripe and groan or just generally speak my thoughts.
Feeding our bodies from the outside? Do you know what your body gets fed?
Read the below and then give a thought to all the products that go inside your body from the outside.
We go to the supermarket and see a new product that we fancy. We can look on the back to check how many calories, how much fat, salt, carbs, protein etc etc. We can also read what E number and other unprounouncable additives may be there. We can then make an informed decision as to whether we want to put it inside our bodies.
But what about the things we put inside our bodies – from the outside!
Let me give you some examples of what goes inside from the outside.
- Take my dog.
She was allergic to flea bites, tick bites and various plants with prickles if she stood on them. The effect would be that her mouth would swell, she would overheat, her heart would beat so fast and she and run around with her tongue hanging out in great distress trying to find somewhere cold to lay down. She would scratch like mad and her skin would erupt in sores. I would have to give her a tablet to get her back to normal but of course she was in distress by the time I knew something was wrong. Now she got to know the look of the plants (low growing to the ground) and learned to avoid them where possible, but of course fleas and ticks were harder to avoid. The vet said the main thing was to kill the fleas/ticks before they had a chance to bite. So we had these drops to give her. A single tube I would dispense onto her skin around the neck area. This did the trick of killing any fleas or ticks before they had a chance to bite. She was never bothered again. My son’s dog, a little border terrier suffers from mites inside her ears, so she would constantly shake her head and scratch. Ear drops would temporarily get rid of the current mites but they would reappear within days. A tube of Advocate put on her neck once a month – the mites never reappeared.
Note: These medications were put on a small patch of skin. Not injected or orally. Therefore a small amount of liquid, containing chemicals we know nothing about ourselves, is enough to travel throughout the dogs body and then be reabsorbed back into the fleas feet and into its body and kill it.Just think about it … small amount of chemicals – placed onto very small area of skin. But that is enough to travel around the body and then kill certain types of crawlies on its skin. What does it do to the dog long term. What does it do to us when we touch the dog? Dogs do not live that long, maybe 15 years if we are really lucky. If dogs were to live 50, 60, 70, 80 years as humans do, I wonder what would happen to them because of these chemicals? The fact remains we do live that long. We do touch animals that have had these chemicals put on their skin. So what is it doing to us long term?
- Sheep Dips and dog flea collars
Back in the ’80 sheep farmers were legally obliged to dip their sheep in certain pesticides to rid them of parasites. Here is a quote from Pesticide Action Network
“Sheep dips, classed as “veterinary medicines”, rather than pesticides, are used by every sheep farmer to protect sheep against external parasites. The majority of formulations contain organophosphate active ingredients, which it is now known can lead to both short-term and long-term effects on users. Farmers have not been properly protected either by the law or by regulators. ……… Symptoms of exposure include initially headache, nausea, dizziness, anxiety and restlessness; which may lead to muscle twitching, weakness, tremor, vomiting, sweating, salivation, and blurred and/or dark vision. More serious signs are tightness in the chest, coughing, pulmonary oedema. Behavioural signs include confusion or bizarre behaviour.”
Not everyone suffered from the chemicals but the fact remains some did! Those organophospates can contain chemicals called diazinon, propetamphos, or chlorfen-vinphos.Now this is the interesting bit – did you know some dog and cat producst contain organophospates – do a google for “diazinon flea collars” .
Now we come to what we put inside our bodies from the ouside.
Stop smoking patches.
You put a patch on your upper arm. A patch the size of a square plaster. That patch releases nicotene into your body via your skin. No tablet. No injection. No inhaling via cigarette.
It goes inside from the outside.
HRT Patches
I tried HRT patches once instead of having to take a daily tablet, these patches lasted much longer. I had to put one on my tummy area and just leave it there. One small patch the size of a square plaster and it could pump hormone drugs into my body via my skin.
It goes inside from the outside.
Both the nicorette patches and the HRT patches do the job they are intended to do. That is great. My whole point with this is that the drugs/chemicals enter your body from the outside in!! Through the skin.
You check the ingredients of the food you eat – so why not the ingredients of what you put on your body. What creates the perfume of all the products you use? What helps make the products do what they say they will do?
DEODORANTS
I used to get little wart things on my armpits. Most annoying. Later I found it could be caused by the deodorant I used. 99% of deodorants contain ALUMINIUM – yup thats right – and its known to affect people and possibly cause cancer. I stopped using the deodorants – hey presto – the warts all disappeared. I used the products again … over matter of months – warts were back. Stop using it … they went – enough proof for me. I now use Bionsen which is readily available from supermarkets and does not have aluminium in it
Do you know what alpha isomethyl ionone does – its used as a its used to give products their aroma/perfume. Most ingredients of products I put on my skin I can’t even pronounce let alone know exactly what they are doing to not only the outside of my body but also the inside! What about Potassium Hydroxide found in some sunscreens – I haven’t a clue what that does. But I will be doing a google very shortly on many of the ingredients in the daily products I use on my skin.
I do not know what products are safe over the long term. I just know that we seem keen to know what we put inside our bodies via the inside! But we do not seem to be that concerned about what we put inside our bodies from the outside.
If nicorette and hrt patches and chemically treated flea collars and liquids can access the inside of our bodies via our skins, then so can everything we put on our bodies, or spray in the air or whatever. The body perfumes we wear, the lipsticks, foundations, shampoos …… all get absorbed INTO our bodies, they don’t just lay on the skin.
To me… that is scary!
I am most certainly going to spend some time checking up on the various ingredients that I am so keen to feed my body with from the outside.
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9 Responses to “Ramblings”
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Who eats foods/drinks specifically aimed at dieting.
Low fat yoghurts
sugar free drinks cakes etc
Who adds a sweetner to their tea or coffee?
Do you know what your artificial sweetener contains and how they affect you.
Take asparteme which is contained in many sugar free products.
http://aspartame.mercola.com/
As an ex-Vet Nurse of 8 years – you are not at risk from your over the counter flea remedies. UNLESS you do something incredibly silly like buy 10 large dog flea treatments and drink them all. On the dog itself – it is absorbed through the lipid layer, and is generally completely absorbed within 24 hours. This is similar to when we put a cream like EMLA on – the anaesthetic is just local and absorbed through the skin, and short lasting.
The real risk is to your pets, usually from two main errors:
– people “cheating” by buying a large dog flea treatment and trying to “split it” and put it on say 2 small dogs or even worse 3 cats. The dose is still very wrong, and once absorbed by the skin, it goes straight to the major organs, and begins to cook the poor pets. Seizures, cardiac arrest, neurological damage, coma and eventually often death. Severe tremors are usually the first sign. Treatment is more effective the sooner the animal comes in and the bigger the animal is, obviously for a smaller animal the toxic dose is much higher.
– other pets licking or rubbing up against a pet after it’s been treated and thus absorbing part of their dose. If it’s an overdose, see above.
So you shouldn’t really be at risk. Spot on flea treatments have instructions (and you should read them!! like with all medications) and they should say do not touch the sticky area of fur and skin after applying, keep other pets and children away from it for 24 hours, any symptoms contact the poisons hotline etc.
Sorry have to do my VN rant… 🙂
You are completely right about things like deoderants! I use a mineral based aluminium free roll-on, I’ve never had any kind of skin irritation but these work fine and I’d rather not contribute heavy metals to the environment.
You haven’t even gone into what we breathe in! Things aren’t considered part of our body until they’ve passed a few layers, e.g. things in your stomach are not officially “in” you until they’re absorbed through the stomach lining. The GI tract is considered a tunnel that goes through you, medically. That’s why your gut is really a huge part of your immune system – anything you swallow could get through, and we put things in our stomach pretty frequently. But air pollution is another huge one, and unless we can see it or taste it we often don’t think about it.
None of these things are entirely avoidable… in my mind the best we can do is minimise the risk and educate ourselves about what we are exposed to.
Janey
Hi Janey,
Thanks for posting. What I was trying to get across is that dogs flea treatment etc is done through the skin – and it works – so another case of toxins entering our bodies in an easy manner opposed to through the mouth. But not so controllable.
But dogs never live long enough for there to be “long term damage” 🙂 …. Not enough scientific research/tests have been done to show whether, should a dog live to be 50 or more say, with regular flea treatment, would there be long term side effects – noone knows – yet humans can be using those products for 50 years or more. The whole point is …. these are products entering our body through the outside. Something a lot of people do not think about. They only concern themselves with anything that enters through the mouth :). Products put on the skin do not just stay local and affect more thn the skin as shown by hormone replacement treatment etc.
The old days of flea collars and sheep dips is a great example of where not enough long term scientific study was done. Mainly because the toxins were aimed at animals that live short lives – and not aimed and the humans implementing the chemicals over a much longer period of time 🙂
Back to today’s flea treatment – if you have say four dogs trying to keep treated dogs away from eachother and from children is not always possible and totally impractical at times 🙂 sometimes instructions are not easy to implement.
This is where people think the chemicals cannot be that bad when some of the instructions cannot be implemented simply because they have more than one pet (as commented on by people in my survey). It is never enough for a company to hide behind instructions if they know that many cases the householders will not be able to implement those instructions.
Such products should have much better warnings included in the packets. So often companies will say don’t do this or that – but fail terribly in explaining why you must not do that. Saying it “may” cause some problem or other is not enough. Saying – allowing another pet to lick the area could kill that pet and underlined or emphasized – would work better, but then they probably would not sell any product with that warning in it 🙂 🙂 . The simple fact that a product is sold over the counter tells a lot of people it cannot be that dangerous or it would be prescription only.
I know at the end of the day it is up to each person to be careful with what they use. But ignorance will always remain unless companies are more clear with their products. Just one change of word from “may … do harm” to “can…. do harm” makes all the difference in how people interpret instructions. What some people may see as common sense (due to “knowing”) is not always seen that clearly by others. Warnings for any product must be exceptionally clear and emphasised in some way … upper case or in red or whatever – just something as simple as that can make all the difference.
When I did my survey I also “made up” some instructions for a make believe product. The instructions where serious warnings were given in red, bold, upper case – had far more effect than the same instructions, in normal text shown to them at the end of the survey. When asked which product was more dangerous than the other – everyone said the one with the red,bold, upper case, warning. Yet the instructions were the same for both products 🙂 🙂
Yes I am totally right about deodorants 🙂 personal experience has shown that as well as other people having problems . Also my immune system and under active thyroid and low working adrenal etc etc – fluoride in toothpaste and water being the main cause of my original condition. Fluoride was intended to be applied to the surface of the tooth to aid the enamel, not to be swallowed. Another case of governments trying to shut the stable door by adding it to water and not having good warnings on any products where it has been added i.e. toothpaste …. 🙂
No I didn’t touch on what we breathe in as to most people, when I conducted a survey, what we breathe in and what we put into our mouths through eating were the two main ways they all came up with for our bodies to receive toxins. Only 1 person (out of 100) mentioned the skin. And this article is only really a rambling 🙂 I could write a book on how we poison our bodies, lol! but felt just sticking to the lesser known at this time.
For people at risk, like myself, it is very easy to become sick because of a chemical that has gone into our body from the outside.
Basically this page is food for thought, hahaha, excuse the pun 🙂
Thank you so much for your input, it is great to know people are aware of the every day dangers to us in every day products.
I do also use HRT cream – plant derived. HRT generally prescribed by doctors such as Premarin (or any similar sounding one) is derived from pregnant mares and the cruelty inflicted on those poor horse is unimaginable. Another cause very close to my heart …..I have so many – but ones so easy for people to help solve ….
TTFN
Di
x
“It is never enough for a company to hide behind instructions if they know that many cases the householders will not be able to implement those instructions. ”
This sentence is what jumped out at me. I agree that it would be great if there was another way to control infestations of parasitic creatures like fleas etc. Unfortunately I think it’s more of a which is the lesser evil situation – and unknown unstudied long term effects is the lesser, and annoying disease carrying parasites is the bigger evil.
So the pharmaceuticals have worked out a way to create a product and cover their butts legally by putting those instructions there… and it is up to people and common sense to read them. Plenty of people don’t because plenty of the time they think they don’t need to, and maybe 90% of the time they are correct and safe.
When I was in the states last year I saw some mainstream tv commercials for pharmaceutical products where they actually legally have to read out all the awful side effects (like anal leakage! who buys a product after hearing that is a possible side effect!!!) and it was so strange! That doesn’t happen here at all.
I think, the onus should be partly on the manufacturers, but some also has to go on the user. It’s your body. You need to be smart and aware about it.
If you own four dogs and you can’t ever keep them and the kids separate, I think you have more problems than just fleas… but that’s another subject! It is difficult. Totally agree. There’s never going to be a perfect solution to a lot of the problems we treat with synthesised chemicals. Especially since we’re trying to kill or repel organisms which can and do develop resistance… it’s just like making antibiotics and them not working 10 years later. When nursing I read a lot of studies on pet products, such as studies showing how the population of fleas is now around 90% resistant to the chemicals in older flea products like frontline and supermarket pyrethrins. Those used to work so well!
I won’t even get started on animal use in pharmaceutical research and production. I’m vegan, and it’s a minefield of wormcans if I start thinking about it. Picking my battles.
I think we agree on most of this 🙂
I too have seen the adverts on USA TV and yes, the same thing should happen here. Just like on USA food menus they have to put that undercooked meat could cause a problem (not those words but same meaning). Which made me laugh when a chef came out and told me having my particular beef meal pink is how it should be. I just pointed out the warning on the menu and smiled 🙂 I refuse to eat raw meat, lol.
I don’t entirely agree with what you say.
You say “If you own four dogs and you can’t ever keep them and the kids separate, I think you have more problems than just fleas” .. well we have four dogs 🙂 :). How many people have FOUR separate spare rooms they can keep a dog in each room for 24 hours. Keep locked in to guarantee the children won’t go into one of the rooms???? Because …. you say in your first post, “– other pets licking or rubbing up against a pet after it’s been treated and thus absorbing part of their dose.” So you are saying each treated pet must have a totally separate area to all other pets for 24 hours. Impossible and nothing to do with the owner having a problem!!! And what about the treated dog that rubs up against the sofa, a child can later touch the sofa or other object the dog has brushed against – I suppose they have to be kept in rooms with no furniture, no carpet, just bare floor that can be hosed down afterwards. Sorry but some things you say do not make sense yet you put the blame onto the dog owner – like me!! This is just a classic case of where manufacturer instructions just do not work – no matter how much “common sense” the owner uses!! Such products should not be sold over the counter.
Yes it is up to both manufacture and user … but so often the manufacturer gives instructions that just are not practical at all. For me, I do not think any flea product should be available over the counter. It should all be through the vet only where it can be guaranteed clear instructions can verbally be given as to what to do after – and advice given as to how to implement those instructions. yes it will cost more that way, but if people cant afford to go to the vet use the Blue Cross.
Putting instructions in small print on a small piece of paper stuffed inside the medication box is not enough for the manufacturer to do. So often you don’t know the instructions or the precuations until after you have bought the product and opened it!! What good is that!
I am not a vegan but do try to make sure I know where my meat comes from and how it is produced etc. I do also try to boycott some companies altogether such as Purina etc and then the HRT manufacturers as previously mentioned.
“Sorry but some things you say do not make sense yet you put the blame onto the dog owner – like me!!”
It’s just my opinion, and I know I’m bias and super strict on pet owners because of my experiences being a VN and seeing so much neglect and cruelty and wilful ignorance. But do you have to treat all four dogs on the same day? Can you treat one a week, or one every two days, for the first 8 days of a month? That way only one dog “needs” to be isolated. Or say treat the dog at night before everyone in the house goes to bed. Put that one dog in a separate room to sleep. If by morning there is any residue left on the dog, wipe it off with a wet cloth. Everything that could be absorbed through the skin has been, and any residue has been removed. The dog is now safe for everyone. If you can’t isolate even one dog… what happens when one gets infectiously sick? What about when they don’t agree, or become old and cranky and want their own space? What about when one of them is on chemo and can’t be around other animals because of drugs in their system? What about when they break a leg and need to be in a crate to recover for weeks, and can’t be able to see the other pets because they become distressed and want to escape and play? These are all the things going through my mind when I say there’s a problem with the owner. Every case needs to be looked at separately though.
I totally agree that these preventative medications should only be available from vet clinics, so that only trained staff can give information and sell the product. Here they are trying to make that law, but big box pet supply stores get around it by having a vet order the product for the store, and giving the staff fairly negligeble training imho. I’ve never met a staff member in a big box pet supply store that knew what pyrethrin toxicity was. Generally the products that are actually reputable such as comfortis revolution advantage etc do only ever sell to vet practices. But the cheap ones will sell to anyone, and they are the ones with the dodgiest labelling and the most confusing instructions, and therefore the most likely to lead to wrong applications and potentially toxicities.
And it would be great if there was a nice sign on the box saying “this is poison” but it’s whatever agency controls labelling that is in charge of that. Generally medications are classified in various schedules, schedule 1 being the most dangerous such as drugs of addiction, and going up to those that are the least dangerous. The less dangerous it is the less strict the storage requirements and documentation is, so things like soaps and shampoos have no requirements, and things like flea products also aren’t controlled. I disagree. But who do you tell about these kinds of things? The only way the laws change is when awful cases happen and the media get onto the agencies and then they are forced to make laws stricter to save face.
No idea what the Blue Cross is sorry 🙂 Sounds like a good idea if it is for low income people to get pet help. Here if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t have a pet. Surrender it to a vet or a shelter if you can find one that will take it and give them the vet treatment they deserve, and then find them a new home. Again that’s a pretty tough opinion I know, but it’s just mine. The animals welfare is priority in my mind, and that means above anything to do with the owners, ever. Not one single thing is worth an animal suffering, except the animals future welfare e.g. a surgery with painful recovery is worth while if it helps the animals quality of life later on.
I don’t at all mean to personally attack anyone or their pet care ability. I do when I lecture clients specifically, but this isn’t that case, and it isn’t my place either.
“No idea what the Blue Cross is sorry”
Well you are probably the only person that does not. And you a VN !! Amazing. Google them.
“I don’t at all mean to personally attack anyone or their pet care ability”
Well it seems to me you know exactly what you are doing.
“Here if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t have a pet Surrender it to a vet or a shelter”
I am gobsmacked!! So the little old lady who has had her dog for 14 years and is her only companion .. her husband dies and she is in financial difficulties – and you would take her dog away from her??? Rather than OFFER HELP!!! That is the cruelest comment I have heard anyone say. A comment from someone who doesnt give a toss about the animals emotional state, or the owners – as believe it or not, dogs do have emotions, they do miss their owners. As for the owners – sometimes a dog is the only company, friend they have and can be devastating when they lose the dog. Every possible help should be given to owners with pets to help them stay together, when financial difficulties arise.
But oh no … rather than having organisations or other people available to help keep owner and pet together when the owner falls on hard times you would just grab the dog and give it to a total stranger.
It is NOT just about the animals, it is about a partnership between owner and animal. Dogs are like peoples children, they are part of the family, they love their family, they have strong bonds and emotions. Should the owner come on hard times and be in financial difficulties, only the cruelest of actions would be to jump in and take that dog away.
Being an animal owner, being a VN means having a heart, empathy, compassion. Something I see nothing of here. It is not about being the “goody goody” and putting the animal first at all costs, without even trying to find a way to help. You would be prepared to put that dog through emotional trauma taking it away from its owners, rather than working to help solve whatever problem there may be, whether financial or other. That to me is not being kind to the dog, its being cruel. Dogs do have strong emotions believe it or not!
I am leaving it there even though I have plenty more to say as quite frankly, I am totally gobsmacked by your replies and do not propose this page to become a battling ground full of such ignorant comments as I have just read. I know they are your opinions, and we are all entitled to our opinions, but some of them just leave me empty.
Hello,
I too, find some of Janey’s comments lacking in compassion and understanding of the bond between owner and animal. If someone hits hard times and cannot afford a dog, or any pet – giving it away should be the absolute last resort! Every possible help and assistance should be given first. Would like to see how the lady reacts should she find herself in financial difficulties and has the knock on the door and having to hand over her beloved dogs never to see them again.
If only we could predict the future and know what life would throw at us. We could then know whether our life takes a path of good fortune or bad luck.
I find some doctors can be like that. They have no empathy at all for their patient. Do not take into consideration family set up or requirements. Not prepared to put themselves out and encompass the whole scenario. My nan and grandpa both had to go into homes as they could no longer care for themselves in their own home. They were put into separate homes as they were single sex ones! As a family we could have all helped out and kept them in their own home – but Oh No! They were torn apart having been married for 50 years. Broke my nanna’s heart.
I only mention them because we used the Cinnamon Trust. Nanna had a little doggy. It was 12 years old. We could not take it in as our cat hates dogs and when we tried to have the dog, the cat attacked it.
The Trust have found somewhere local where they are fostering her dog and they even take it daily to visit my nanna.
Some people are just so opinionated and they do not even look into detail about individual cases. The lady who posted earlier seems like that. One hat fits all regardless. Very much like my doctor.
I hope she attacked those from the USA as they treat their pets horrendously. Cats get declawed which is an horrendous procedure. They always have a good excuse as to why they have to do it. Dogs even have plastic surgery for no reason at all. Some vets in the USA should be struck off for doing unnecessary operations on pets. As for the owners – they need to be banned from owning a pet ever.