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Shopper
| It is the dehumidifier
season and I, like the rest of the world, have
been trying to keep a finished basement free from
mold, mildew and other damp type of odors. I have
come to a couple of conclusions. Firstly, you are
much better off if you have air conditioning. It
does not accomplish all your dehumidification objectives
but it goes a long way. That being said, I like
the Danby
low temperature dehumidifier because it is quiet, and I use it in the finished
part of my basement. Its one drawback is it does
not have autorestart after a power outage, and
I seem to have had more than my fair share of those
recently. |
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On the other hand, the Comfort-Aire
low temp dehumidifier really
cranks away at moisture removal, but its noise level
is such that I would want it at least 12- 15 feet
away from me. So I have my Comfort-Aire dehumidifier
in an unfinished part of the basement, which would
otherwise be incredibly damp.
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I
have been buying towels for our new summer house
and thought that I had bought top of the line
towels, until I was on a photo shoot of our new Organic
towel line and
discovered the softest towels ever. These large
bath size towels never made it back from the
photo shoot to our sample room, and are now firmly
HER towels in my bathroom. |
I have been slowly falling in love with my new Sebo
C2.1 canister vacuum cleaner. I think it is a vastly
under-appreciated vacuum cleaner, its suction power is awesome, and for
those of you who are like me and drag their vacuum cleaner around corners,
this vacuum comes with huge thick bumpers so you will not mess up your
paintwork. |
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The plumber comes next week to hook
up my new Aquasana
whole house filter which I
have come to realize is the easiest way to avoid multiple
shower filters and water filters. My husband also spends
a fortune in bottled water which I regard as one of
Madison Avenue’s greatest successes - a dollar
for a small bottle of water? Someone somewhere must
be laughing at all of us. I will let you know next
month how the Aquasana performs.
Top
Why
your Sinus Infection Won't Clear
By Dr Murray Grossan
 With
a new miracle antibiotic coming out almost every
day, why won’t your sinus infection clear?
We have long recognized the difficulty
in clearing sinus infections completely. When FDA recommends
a dosage of an antibiotic, you take it for one week
for bronchitis but 2 weeks or more for a sinus infection.
Originally we assumed that was because the lungs have
a better circulation than the sinuses and that the
sinuses produce globs of bacteria in the sinus cavities
that the antibiotic can’t reach.
However, Dr Ramadan of West Virginia
Univ has demonstrated another factor – biofilm.
Biofilm
What is biofilm? In order to protect
itself form the ill effects of antibiotics, bacteria
have learned to make a cocoon around itself, like a
cellophane cover. This keeps the antibiotic from getting
to the bacteria. The toxins produced by the bacteria
prevent the cilia movement from removing this material.
Worse, it has been shown that simple irrigation doesn’t
regularly remove this material.
Fungal Infection
There are other theories to explain
long lasting sinus infections. The doctors at Mayo
Clinic feel that a fungus infection is present in these
persistent cases and the reason they don’t clear
is that the doctors don’t use the proper anti-fungal
agent. Actually it’s not the actual fungal infection,
it’s the chemicals generated by the bodies protector – the
eosinophiles – that causes the illness. Dr. Tichenor
has had some success in desensitizing some of these
patients to fungal products so that the eosinophiles
don’t invade the area.
The difficulty with this concept is
that you can culture the sick patient and get the type
of fungus that this sick patient has. But if you culture
the next 10 persons who are symptom free who happen
to be passing by, most will grow the same identical
fungus! A second difficulty is that you have to give
these anti-fungal medications for quite a long period
of time to try to eradicate these organisms and many
patients give up doing the whole course. Plus, even
in the completed courses the results have not been
consistent.
For the patient, a serious problem is
that many doctors use the same terms for various kinds
of fungal infections of the sinuses.
a. The serious fungal sinusits with
severe growth in the sinus cavities. This one is associated
with HIV and immunocomprimised patients
b. The "mayo type" where you
can get a positive culture and find the eosinopile
product that the body produces to try the kill the
fungus, but ends up harming the patient.
c. The fungus that grows in the nose
after heavy use of antibiotics, that is similar to
the vaginal thrush some get from antibiotics. Although
the culture may be positive, there is no harmful effect
from this.
Again, the dilemma is that you can always
find a fungal product because they are all over the
place – home, forest, etc. but rarely do they
cause illness.
Cilia Speed
When you have a sinus infection, and
the antibiotic clears the infection, you feel great.
But then, six weeks later you are back with another
infection. That’s a bummer. Is it because you
didn’t continue the antibiotic long enough? And,
at 2-3 dollars a pill, how long is long enough? What
about the side effects of the medication?
Among the patients I see, the common
cause of the early return of infection is failure of
the nasal cilia to return to their job of sweeping
out the bacteria. When you measure the nasal cilia
speed in these persons, it is invariably too slow.
If the cilia fail to sweep out the remaining bacteria
or the new bacteria, then the bacteria can just sit
there and enter the body.
Mucociliary System
Mucocilary clearance is a big word for
the system that the respiratory system uses to protect
itself from illness. People got well before they had
antibiotics. More important, some recent studies have
shown equal results with placebos and antibiotics for
sinus infections.
Takes 10-20 minutes to clear the nose
of invading particles.
On the surface of the nose you have
cells that secrete mucus. This humidifies the air.
At the surface are cells that secrete liquid, mucus
and cells that produce cilia or tiny oars. The bacteria
and dust is trapped in the mucus before it can get
to the lungs and by the movement of the cilia is passed
to the back of the throat where it is swallowed and
ends in the acid in the stomach.
Only 5% of the total mucus is from the
sinuses.
This system warms the air before it
reaches the lungs
Certain industries are especially bad
for nasal cilia function. Chromium, Cadmium, Nickel,
and Copper dusts all inhibit cilia movement and can
cause a sinus infection to hang on.
Diesel fumes are known to slow cilia
movement – which is why you feel bad when you
are trapped behind a diesel bus. On a bad smog day
there are dozens of chemicals that slow the cilia and
cause illness.
This same liquid system is also a roadway
for delivery of good white cells, and good enzymes
that tend to take out bacteria.
Treatment
Knowing these factors you can help avoid
sinus problems. I recommend:
a. Adequate liquid intake
b. Take products known to improve cilia
function such as warm green tea and lemon. Avoid iced
drinks as this slows cilia.
c. Avoid bad smog days. Stay indoors
in a filtered air environment.
d. If you are allergic, pay attention
to dust proofing your bedroom
e. Use pulsatile irrigation. Pulsatile
irrigation – as with the Hydro
Pulse Nasal / Sinus Irrigator – is effective
in removing thick phlegm. The pulse rate helps "harmonize" the
cilia back to normal speed. Pulsatile irrigation may
remove enough of the biofilm to allow a natural healing
from the body’s defenses.
f. Bed rest. There is only so much "energy" your
body can muster, and if you don’t provide enough
bed rest, healing may be slow or insufficient. The
ancient temples of healing worked because they allowed
the patient to rest physically and mentally.
g. The right medication. Although studies
do show placebo as effective as drugs, a proper medication
accompanied by attention to cilia function may be your
answer.
h. Do warm compresses to the sinus areas.
i. Reduce stress. There is no question
that being stressed reduces your immune factors. Some
stress is in the eye of the beholder – instead
of having that worker upset you, feel sorry for them
or keep an image of them without any clothes! I absolutely
100% guarantee that any laughter is a sinus curer.
j. Breathe in count of four and out
count of six. The longer your exhalation the longer
your body is relaxed and unstressed.
Be well!
I hope a bit of insight as to how the
sinus system works will be of help to you so you won’t
have to suffer another sinus attack.
 Murray
Grossan, M.D.
ENT Specialist.
The Grossan
Hydro-Pulse Irrigation System is offered on our site
at $89.00.
Top
Test
results Dust Mites and Airfree Sterilizer - Research
Report
Report on the effectiveness
of the AirFree air sterilizer manufactured under
license of US Patent 5874050 at reducing the
levels of Der p1 (A major house dust mite allergen)
on allergen placed within it for varying lengths
of time.
Phase 1
Draft Copy
Report No. Air/Mit/All/1
Compiled by Toby
C Wilkinson
June 2005 |
|
Disclaimer
The results described in this report
were generated in vitro. The samples tested
were accepted in good faith that they were representative
of the intended final formulation(s)/ product(s) and
the test methods employed were used on the understanding
that they were the most appropriate available at the
time the tests were agreed. As such the results should
be taken only as an indication of the potential for
activity of the formulations or products under test.
These results cannot be considered as confirmation
that a formulation or product will work in a clinical
or field application. Evidence for such activity can
only be obtained from properly constructed and executed
clinical or field trials.
Use of this report
This report may be used as part of a
portfolio of documentation by the sponsoring organization.
It may be used as part of a submission for regulatory
application or as a reference only as "Data on
File" in any promotional material. The name of
Insect Research & Development Limited, Cambridge,
may only be used in advertising or other promotional
material with the prior consent of the Directors of
the company. It should be noted that Insect Research & Development
Limited is an independent consultancy and contract
research organization.
Aim
The aim of these experiments was to
assess the effectiveness of the Airfree device at reducing
the levels of Der p 1 (A major house dust mite allergen)
in allergen placed within it for varying lengths of
time.
Materials and methods
House dust mite allergen, derived from
colonies of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides
pteronyssinus, maintained by Insect Research and
Development ltd was placed into the centre of the incinerator
for 1, 5 and 300 seconds using a probe. All of the
experiments were conducted in a controlled climate
chamber set to 25ºC and 75% RH. The probe was
constructed from straight metal wire measuring 120
mm with a diameter of 0.75 mm, a 5mm by 10 mm strip
of autoclave tape was wrapped around the wire leaving
an expose surface of 2mm by 10mm. Approximately 0.001
grams of frozen culture containing high levels of allergen
was placed onto this surface, calculations in the results
section will take this variation into account. The
incinerator was placed in the upright position and
turned on for 24 hrs prior to the addition of the probes.
The allergen was placed into the centre of the incinerator,
through a small hole made in the grill at the bottom
for 1,5 and 300 seconds, 3 replicates were conducted
at each time interval and 3 control replicates were
carried out at each time interval with the AiFree device
switched off so the incinerator was at room temperature
(25ºC). The incinerator was 13 cm long so the
tip of the probe was placed 7cm within it, in the central
hole. The centre of the autoclave tap was inline with
the centre of the incinerator.
After being placed in the incinerator
the autoclave tape was gently removed from the wire
and placed into a 25ml water tight container containing
5ml of dust extraction buffer (0.125M ammonium hydrogen
carbonate buffer + 0.1% sodium azide). The container
containing the allergen and dust extraction buffer
was spun with a blood rotator for 1 hour. 1ml of liquid
from each arena was then transferred to labelled Eppendorf
tubes using a micro-pipette, and centrifuged at 6000rpm
for 5 minutes. The supernatant liquid (0.2 ml) was
removed from each Eppendorf tube and transferred to
a new, labelled Eppendorf tube, after this the tubes
were frozen until they were analysed for Der p 1.
Results (corrected)
Exp/Control |
Mean
ng Der p 1 |
%
Reduction |
Results and discussion
The results indicate the AirFree device
has the potential to control the airborne house dust
mite allergen Der p 1 extremely well. After just one
second, the time which air is thought to remain in
the incinerator, the AirFree device was able to reduce
the amount of the house dust mite allergen Der p 1
by an average (mean) of 70.6%. In the field the airborne
allergen may be denatured even more as quite a lot
of allergen was placed on the probe, some of the allergen
on the probe may therefore have shielded the allergen
beneath it from the heat. Longer exposure periods resulted
in higher % reductions in allergen concentrations,
indicating that repeated exposure to the incinerator
would reduce the amount of allergen further.
The AirFree
Enviro RL 60 and the Wall Mount 60 are both available
on our site and the RL 60 model is currently on sale
for $199 – save $100.
Top
Allergies
to Dogs
By Jennifer Brooks
 Allergies
to dogs can strike anyone at any age, yet with how
attached most owners are to their dogs, they seem
to chose living with their allergies rather then
giving up their beloved pets.
If you find yourself getting congested
or suffering a runny nose, itchy nose, sneezing, itchy
and watery eyes, coughing, sore throat, skin rashes
or hives, headaches, fatigue, difficulties breathing,
or asthma symptoms when you’re around dogs, then
you probably have allergies. You can still indulge
in your appreciation for canines, but you will need
to learn some basic techniques for protecting your
health, while still enjoying your pet’s company.
One. Dog allergens
can adhere to clothing, drapes, walls, furniture
and even remain airborne for quite awhile. You can
ease your allergies by observing basic rules of cleanliness.
Keep the dog out of areas where you will be sleeping
or spending prolonged periods of time. Wash your
hands after playtime, petting or grooming. You may
need to take an over the counter allergy medication
prior to playtime, extensive petting or grooming.
A shower and change of clothing may help as well.
Never allow the dog to jump, sleep or
play on furniture where you will be sitting, sleeping
or using. Dander will pool in these areas and cause
a severe allergic reaction. Keep floors swept or vacuumed,
and shampoo or steam carpets every second or third
month. Keep the dog’s bedding, toys and feeding
area washed and clean also.
Two. A good HEPA
air filter may help keep airborne dander under
control, but you will need to maintain a rigorous
grooming schedule if you want to prevent dander
at the source. If grooming the dog yourself is
a problem, you might need to recruit a friend or
family member for this job. Bathing should be once
or twice a week, but be sure that the shampoo does
not dry out the dog’s skin or it will create
worse dander. Use of a soft body brush can be daily,
if gentle. It will remove loose dander on and in
the hair. A full body scrub down should be scheduled
once or twice a week, this will work loose any
flakes deeper in the coat. When I say ‘scrub’ I’m
suggesting a firm body brush that will be able
to massage the skin but not hurt the dog. If you
brush too roughly your dog will quickly learn to
dislike grooming, and it will become a miserable
chore for both of you!
Three. No dog
should be considered non-allergenic because, regardless
of strict grooming and prevention techniques, all
dogs produce dander, saliva and urine, which are
the cause of allergies. There are some breeds, however,
that produce less dander than others, and sufferers
should seriously consider choosing from one of these
breeds.
Airedales, Poodles and Schnauzers make
the best choices for allergy sufferers. All three of
these breeds shed less dander then other breeds. They
also shed very little hair, and have very little dog
odor if they are kept regularly groomed and cared for.
Airedales
Airedales are a medium large breed
originated in England where they were bred to be
a brave, strong, and intelligent hunting dog. Today
it is highly prized as a companion for its beauty,
shape and type. They are called the "King of
Terriers" by dog fanciers. They have a merry
temperament and love to play games. They are good
learners, good with children and adapt themselves
easily to the home, yard or garden.
On the downside, Airedale’s
coat should be trimmed by a profession al, as they
require their hair to be "plucked" or it
will cause unhealthy skin problems, severe irritation,
itching and of course, dander.
Poodles
One of the best features of this
breed is choice in size. The standard and giant sized
Poodles are a good choice for a family or individual
with a large house or yard. They make excellent watchdogs
or pets, and are so intelligent that they can be
easily housebroken and even taught to do tricks.
The miniature and toy poodles are less then 15 inches
tall at the shoulder, and are just as intelligent
and loving as their larger counterparts.
Poodles are an excellent choice
for allergen sensitive owners. They do not shed,
and the coat can be clipped quite close by your groomer,
making soft brushing less of a chore. In fact, some
poodle owners even learn how to clip their own dogs.
Bathing is very simple for a poodle with a short
coat, just avoid those lion manes and you’ll
have a perfect companion.
Schnauzers
This breed also comes in a variety
of sizes from Giant to Miniature, and the best part
is that they have almost NO doggy odor! Just like
Poodles, the Schnauzer needs to be clipped because
they do not shed out hair as most dogs do. But unlike
the Poodle, most Schnauzers are allowed to keep their
beard and some fuzzy socks. If necessary, however
you can modify his furry attire to best suit your
needs.
Schnauzers are very brave, intelligent
and aristocratic. He is excellent in a family setting,
and was even given the name "kinder watcher" for
his loving care of the children. They are so talented
and versatile that they are equally suited for hunting,
tracking, retrieving, security, guarding, military
work, agility, competitive obedience and even learning
tricks.
So if you find yourself driving past
the dog park and thinking about how much you’d
enjoy having a dog in your life, now might be a great
time to act upon your desires.
You don’t have to give up your
love of do gs; you just need to find the right balance
to fit a dog into your life. These beautiful and loving
creatures truly deserve a warm place in our hearts,
and the title of man’s best friend.
This article may be reproduced in whole
or in part provided that the reproduction includes
a credit of authorship to "Avid Pets", plus
a crawlable link to http://www.avidpets.com/ .
Author: Jennifer Brooke,
webmistress of www.avidpets.com
May kittens
purr, and puppy tails always wag in your presence!
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