blog

Body: 

As it turns out, I’m not hooked up to the blogosphere yet, but hope to be just asap. Everything associated with this project is very expensive.

I’m curious though, about the lack of response I received from my last blog entry. Aren’t any of you (thank you, Amy!) outraged at what I discovered? I wore my jaw around my knees for those several days I was putting it together. That chemical is outlawed in food, and unregulated in cosmetics, medicine and much of agriculture. That it ever got into a widely prescribed vaginal lubricant in the first place is horrifying, but that it remains there after thirty years is just damn eerie. Comments?

And find them really informative. I don't have any personal experience/knowledge of the lubricant you were writing about, which was why I didn't comment. But your research is v. much appreciated, and often a real eye-opener!
Wendy

i didn't know you had a blog here as i go straight to forums - just as i did when you had the old style of site... Perhaps many other women didn't notice it either. I'm gonna check it out from now on tho. Sounds like a great addition. Hope things are not too much or a drain financially - i can see how this endevour is expensive.

Just a thought

Anne

but it didn't surprise me. I have been very aware for many years the chemicals and potential carcinogens that are in our food and health care products. What I appreciate about you, Christine, is that you are so well-versed in the medical field that you can write persuasively and intelligently on these matters. These are things that women need to know. Personally, I use a very natural vaginal lubricant; the one I used to use was almost pure propylene glycol, which research has shown to be toxic. I certainly don't want that right next to my internal organs and absorbed in my tissues.

I also am very conservative when it comes to skin care products, which contain a lot of chemicals that are ingested into the body through the skin. I have found the most amazing line of products that are so unbelievable -- this woman has done us women a real favor with her products -- they are seasonal and natural, with very healing ingredients and none of the toxic stuff usually found. If anyone is interested, it's ElinaSkinCare.com. I think you have to get them through one of her estheticians -- fortunately, mine trained with her and is using them in her business. Anyway, I'm going off topic here. But it's along the same line. What we put into our bodies is important!

Hi,

I love your comments on any of the posts and I did read the blog on the lubricant, just didn't post anything. I have done extensive research on chemicals for eight years, correspond regularly with two bio-chemists and was already aware of the toxin being outlawed in food and skin care products. I am a representative for a certified organic skin care line of products and have wanted to make comments several times on how important it is to be aware of what you put on your body as well as what you put in it, but didn't want to put in a "plug" for my products unless I had your permission.

It goes without saying that we do need to be label readers and get away from the chemicals in all products. The FDA has not regulated the cosmetic industry since 1938 but California is up to the mark on passing new labeling laws. Chemical companies have to provide a Material Safety Data Sheet on each chemical it produces, you can find the MSDS at www.hazard.com, just type in any ingredient name from the ingredient list on food or skin care products on that page and you can read about what it can do to you. They get by with comments like "may cause eye irritation" or "may cause skin irritation" knowing full well that in some people, the skin irritation "may" be something that lasts a lifetime.

Every person has at least three toxic waste dumps in their homes; i.e., under the kitchen sink, under the bathroom sink, and that wonderful pantry! If it isn't stocked with organic food, it is more than likely a toxic waste dump. Go read your labels. If a product is labeled "certified organic", then the manufacturer of the product cannot put a chemical in it. If it is labeled "organic" or "natural", the manufacturer can and does mix chemicals with organics. This includes food - more than 50% of the food in the grocery store is genetically modified and/or primarily made up of chemicals.

We do need all of this type of information out there, else how will we learn? We do have choices and can replace one pantry item or one bathroom item, one at a time, as we run out of the non-organic things. It won't seem like such an expensive outlay if you do it that way.

To your health,
Grandma Joy

Great information Grandma Joy, thank you! Are you back home now? Glad to hear you have been doing so well with your treatment!
Take care.
Michelle.

8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate isn’t like sodium lauryl sulfate though – the terribly harsh foaming agent that exists in about 90% of commercial soaps, toothpastes, and shampoos (Trimo-San contains both!) It is an acrid, yellow powder that you would find alongside other such pesticides in a commercial farming chemical supply warehouse. It was formulated at the turn of the 20th century into “Bag Balm”, the popular petroleum-based salve that many farmers dose their livestock with, which comes in a brightly colored, folksy square tin that many people associate with “good old-fashioned.” To quote OMRI regarding Bag Balm: “This product appears to have a long history of accepted use in conventional agriculture, but literature about toxicity and safety is not reassuring.”

Now I'm shocked. Yuck. Why? Cheap. Ignorance. Is money the bottom line? Sigh.

Grandma Joy,

Dont know if you allowed to post brand names on this website but I would be interested to know which certified organic skincare range you are representative for - we only have one certified here in Oz (australia) which I have been using since its inception. Im very keen on eating certifed organic food and using chemical free products around the house and on my skin and the children - but its like pushing water uphill for change here in Oz!!!!

Thanks for your post,

Helen T

I didn't post before, because I wasn't really surprised. Very annoyed, but not surprised. I have no reason to believe that a pharmaceutical company promoting its human health product would mention to a doctor facts that are of veterinary interest, especially if the doctor doesn't ask "Is it safe for cows?" What doctor would be interested unless she was planning to use it herself. And it would be a pretty random question to ask a rep.

And I wasn't surprised that the USA national regulator failed to notice the discrepancy, as their job is so big. What's one little discrepancy? =:-O Call me a cynic if you like. I think maybe I am just getting wiser after sorting out family health problems all these years, and discovering that ultimately I have to be the one to decide whether a treatment or drug is OK for me or my family members, not the doctor who is basically just promoting others' products when he says, this or that cream is best. That is not meant as a dig against doctors. It is just that a lot of the detailed information about drugs is not displayed up front, and I think many doctors are swayed by promotion, rather than doing an audit on every drug they are asked to prescribe. They are doctors, not auditors, and there has to be a degreee of trust in all this. Doctors are a great place to start, but I don't think we should take their opinion as the final word.

God gave us freedom to choose and a brain to use, and now, thanks to Christine, I won't be using Trimosan.

Cheers

Louise

Hi Helen T.

Welcome to another woman from OZ!! That makes four of us, as far as I know.

Just wondering which skin care range you are referring to? And if they have a product that would be useful for vaginal dryness and irritation? I'm not really keen to try Trimosan, that's for sure.

Cheers

Louise

Hi Louiseds and Helen T.,

So far as I know from my research, there is only one company out of Australia that is certified organic. I have actually used their body cream on 2 or 3 occasions for vaginal dryness and had no problems with it. After all, it's so pure, it shouldn't bother anyone, except for the occasional person who may be allergic to a specific plant or herb. Education is the key for all of us and being label readers on any product, including food, is an absolute must. And you are so correct, with the big companies, it comes down to money.
Hugs,
Grandma Joy

Just a word about the product issue. I think it's probably best if someone is interested in another's product or service they contact each other by email. That way the forum won't become a marketplace, which I think would add confusion and would also be difficult to monitor - for instance what products would be allowed in and who would make that decision.

Thank you Christine for clarifying that. I do appreciate having the opportunity you have given us to help with our prolapses. Your information is invaluable to all of us and I wouldn't want that changed. You have also made it easier for us all to correspond with each other and at least tell what works for us and what doesn't. Learning from you about the Trimosan (sp?) should open the doors for everyone to pay attention to labels and try to stay away from just that type of chemical. There are numerous chemicals out there that are not good for us and we do need to know what they are.

Blessings,
Grandma Joy
P. S. I believe my contact information is posted and I don't mind answering emails, though I may be slow. The PT popped a rib during therapy this week, so all things are slower. Don't know if it's just out of place or cracked, yet, that connective tissue tightens horribly and it could just be that.

Be well soon Grandma Joy!!!
Michelle xxx