Life Work Potential shares an interesting perspective on personal care products. Take a look.

Hello Everyone!

I don’t often share a newsletter or blog post in this way, but it really got me thinking about our habits and some of the items that we use every day at the same time and repeatedly.  This article by Jane Thurnall-Read is very interesting.  I have used her vials for years and she has been a great resource for several challenges over the years.  I hope this causes you to ponder your habits and products usage as well.

 

One of the often over-looked aspect of the allergy/intolerance work many of us do is the importance of personal care products.

I once had great success with an insomniac; I found she was allergic to the toothpaste she was using to clean her teeth – the last thing she did every night before going to sleep. Of course, it’s important if this shows up not to assume the client/patient needs simply to change to another brand, because many brands share the same basic list of chemicals.

Personal care products often contain a huge array of chemicals – we have many of these in our Personal Care Test Kit. When we use shampoo, creams, cosmetics and all the other personal care products, some of it will have a direct effect where it is applied; some of it will also end up on the hands and in the mouth and nose, so can affect digestion, joints and other parts of the body.

Of course, fragrances can also be a problem, even when they are not worn by the person who gets the allergic rhinitis or similar substances. It once took me a while to realise that about an hour after I’d hugged a dear friend, who wears lots of aftershave, my eyes would start itching and I’d get a bunged-up nose.

Fragrances are also in other things we are exposed to – washing powders, fabric softeners and those personal care products. (We have a Fragrance Test Kit  that covers many of the common synthetic chemicals that are widely used.)

Many people believe that natural personal care products and fragrances are always safe, but this isn’t always true. Think of all the people who suffer with hay fever, a reaction to natural substances. One of my sons would become hyperactive when he ate carrots, including organic carrots.

I once learnt the hard way not to assume natural products are safe. I suddenly started feeling sick every time I ate. I got large blisters on the roof of my mouth. My joints started to feel very strange – I felt I had to move very slowly or they would dislocate. I felt exhausted all the time. I began to believe I had some serious illness. Then after about a week of this I realised that these symptoms coincided with me starting to use Ecover washing up liquid. This company avoids harsh chemicals and other nasties. I am ashamed to say that I had assumed it would be safe for me and my family.

The washing up liquid had chamomile in it. I turned out to be highly allergic to chamomile essential oil. We got out all the pans, crockery and cutlery and rinsed and rinsed them. My symptoms disappeared. A few weeks later I had a meal and all the symptoms came back. I realised that I’d used a pan from the very back of the cupboard that I’d missed rinsing. We have two Essential Oil kits you can use for testing purposes, as well as actual substances.

It can seem overwhelming when you consider all the different things that a client/patient could react to. When I was a practitioner doing a lot of allergy testing, I always started off by assuming that a new client’s treatment was likely to be simple. Only if that didn’t work would I cast my net wider and look at fragrance and personal care products.  Once I learnt to do Verbal Questioning (see my book of that name), it was easier to pin down what I needed to test. Using this skill I would know on the first session if it was important to look at personal care products and fragrances.

Best Wishes,

Jane Thurnell-Read
www.lifeworkpotential.com – test kits and books for practitioners worldwide.
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