Hello, People who Breathe Air!

Hello, fellow humans who breathe air. I’ve created this website in order to direct folks to a place on the web after we have an initial conversation and their eyebrows go up in interest:  “Wow! You mean that the dryer sheets we use contain toxins that can make me sick???!??” or “Holy Smokes, you mean the perfume I wear contains chemical fragrance made of neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors that may be the cause of my headaches, asthma, GI problems, or infertility?” they ask, and now I have a reply: “They sure do. Why don’t you check out TheAirWeShare.org and it’ll get you started on your learning curve to a safer and healthier environment,” I’ll say.

Our lungs and our skin are large organs. When we wear clothing that’s impregnated with these toxins via our laundry, we absorb the toxins across our skin. Or our body heat warms up the toxins and releases then further, and we breath them in to our lungs. It’s nasty stuff, Breathers, it really is. When we wear perfume it’s the same thing – the fumes are released into the air around us, and we inhale it. Not good for us. One of my biggest issues is with “Second Hand Fumes” – those that come from another person who choses to wear perfume or use laundry products, and then they contaminate the air around them.  You know what I’m talking about: you’re sitting in a gathering (business, church, concert or play) and someone walks into the room wearing enough perfume that it fills the room. And now, everyone is subjected to those toxins. Wouldn’t it be nice to hand them a pretty and non-inflammatory card asking them to plesase gather more information about The Air We Share and their Personal Fragrance Bubble? That’s my intent: To give folks a place to go to get better informed, to get healthier, and to improve The Air We Share!

I’m a veterinarian with a work history in government research (NIEHS), private practice (small animal general practice) and industry (pharmacovigilance), and I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), which means I am exquisitely sensitive to these toxins around us. And I breathe air. You can view me as a canary in the coal mine, and use me to tell you when the air around you isn’t healthy for you … or those you love. To say I was sick for many years before I was diagnosed is an understatement. I was chemically sensitive for decades before I was diagnosed. And I was not initially diagnosed by any of the many physicians I went to. So trust me: I am uniquely qualified to spread information about this topic. I am educated, I am motivated to share this information, and I am on the learning curve still myself, even after a dozen years have passed since my diagnosis. My motivation is pure: I want more people around me to care about the air we share, and then the air we share will become cleaner. And we’ll be healthier. There will be no requests for donations towards this website or me; I make a good salary and I don’t need money, I just need clean air and good health.

So because I have a full time job as a pharmacovigilance veterinarian, the growth here may be slow, but my commitment is to add info and links and studies as I am able. One of the things that has stalled me in creating this space is that there are already many great blogs out there that can help you make these changes. One woman I really respect has dedicated her life to educating other about the problems with chemicals in our air, so I’ll ask that Linda if I an share her site with y’all. (I’m from the South, Guys, but I grew up in NJ, so you’ll hear a little Southern mixed in with a little Yankee.)

And please forgive me as I tweak and perfect this page/site. I’m a perfectionist at heart, and it’s hard starting on a path you know little about (web-design), because doing-it-right is so important to me (another reason for the delay). What I do want you to know is I’m open to critique about design and content. So feel free to point out grammatical errors (oh, freaking horror!), inconsistencies, or dead-end links/websites. Or just stuff that rubs you the wrong way.

While my intent is to focus on the chemicals in our environment that affect The Air We Share, I will also have commentary and information about, well, other stuff that seems relevant and important to me. If you know of other sites that are consistent in my messaging, please let me know so I can add them to our list of references and recommended sites.

Thanks, Y’all, for reading thus far, and thanks for caring about The Air We Share!

Linda