Public Health Alerts West Nile Virus

County | West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus Information Center (pg 4)
 

How Can the Diagnosis of a Chemical Sensitivity Be Confirmed Medically and Legally?

1.) You can check your breathing with a Peak Flow Meter (Call 1 800 787 8780). Simply blow into this tube with a gauge on it and record your usual level of expiration. If after exposure to a spray, the level falls significantly, this suggests something has affected your breathing. Your physician can use a more complicated procedure to document such changes more scientifically.

2.) You can check your pulse. The usual pulse range is typically around 70-85 if you are rest. If your pulse suddenly goes over 100 or falls below 55, or the pulse becomes irregular, document this with your physician.
Chemicals can unquestionably do this.

3.) You can monitor your blood pressure before, during and after a chemical exposure and in some patients there will be a significant change. Again, have your suspicions documented by a physician. If you can find and eliminate the cause, you may have nothing to treat.

4.) To confirm the diagnosis of a specific chemical exposure, the blood and/or urine can be examined You can immediately collect a urine sample in a clean well-rinsed glass bottle when you have symptoms shortly after an exposure. Do not allow the urine to touch the bottle cap. It might help to save the next morning’s sample of urine in a second bottle. If your symptoms persist, your urine will probably reveal the type and level of chemical to which you were exposed. This sample can then be sent in the proper container to the appropriate laboratory for analysis. If your symptoms have already subsided, check with the laboratories listed below.

5.) You can have your blood, urine, breast milk or semen checked for chemicals contact AccuChem, 972 234 5412 for pyrethroid or other pesticide tests or Immunoscience, 800 950 4686, for the Immunotoxicology Panel . ( Check on fee for urine test and kit ; the fees range from $150 to $950. Insurance may or may not pay so check with your provider). If you know the cause of symptoms, talk to the laboratory about which test would be best. This results of this type of testing might be essential for legal documentation.
(The average American has 91 chemicals in his/her blood and some have up to 500.  Chemicals unquestionably can damage the immune, nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems in animals, children, men and women. Many studies document repeatedly these types of health effects in both animals and humans.)

6.) There are also a number of other blood studies that can be ordered that strongly suggest a toxic chemical exposure and would be helpful both medically and legally. (These tests are specified in Chapter 3 of Our Toxic World and in Chapter 13 of Is This Your Child’s World? by Dr. Rapp.)

7.) You can have an environmental health engineer determine which chemicals are in the air, near or in your home. (See Phone Book. In the Phoenix area contact Russell Olinski at 602 432 1449.)

8.) You can expose mice to a suspect chemical used in your home or area and obtain videos and scientific documentation of what happens from such contact. (Anderson Laboratory 802 295 7344)
They can also examine items that may have accumulated chemicals in them, such as a fabric left outside during aerial spraying or an indoor carpet after indoor pesticide application. These tests provide insight concerning how safe such exposures might be for infants, young children and adults. ( See Video "Environmentally Sick Schools", 716 875 0398)

9.) You can find an environmental medical specialist who can sometimes do allergy testing for certain chemicals and clinically document a chemical sensitivity. They, and many specialists in alternative medicine can also advise you how to detox or eliminate chemicals. (Call - 316 684 5500, AAEM (American Academy of Environmental Medicine) to find a trained doctor in your area,)

10.) Chemicals can cause documented changes in the brain. Check with Gunnar Heuser, M.D., PhD, a remarkably well-trained Los Angeles neurologist, 818 865 1858.

11.) Consider a brain image test (i.e. SPECT, Dr. Theodore Simon, 972 566 471) to verify these changes. The brain changes often can be improved or reversed with proper treatment. If your nervous system and brain have been changed after some exposure, this test might document the damage.

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County | West Nile Virus