Insecticides linked to auto immune disorders

[D Bergy]

Thought this was kind of interesting.

by David Gutierrez, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Using pesticides in the home may significantly increase women's risk of developing autoimmune disorders, according to a study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Philadelphia.

Although the study was not set up to prove that insecticides directly caused the disorders, the researchers did control for all other known risk factors, and none appeared to play a role.

"It's hard to envision what other factors might explain this association," lead researcher Christine Parks said.

In autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the body's own immune system attacks some other part of the body. Previous research has shown that women exposed to agricultural pesticide use are at a higher risk of developing both rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Women not living on farms, however, tend to be exposed to much lower doses of the chemicals, even if they use them in the home.

In the current study, researchers examined data on approximately 77,000 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79, sorting them by self-reported home pesticide exposure. They found that regardless of whether they had lived on a farm, women who were exposed to more insect-killing chemicals in the home were significantly more likely to develop either of the diseases. Women who had been exposed most frequently or for the longest period of time had twice the risk as women who had never been exposed.

Either mixing or applying insecticides counted as exposure for the purposes of the study. Insect repellent exposure was not included.

"I would recommend that people read the labels and take precautions to minimize their personal exposure," Parks said.

Although significant insecticide exposure can occur when people use pesticides, Parks noted that much exposure actually occurs inside the home itself -- from roach sprays, ant traps and other insect-killing poisons.

 

[Crohn's 35]

Thanks for this Dan and you are probably dead on. Down the street is a Nursery and home business, and the woman is about 65, terrible arthritis, diverticulosis, thyroid ....really bad, she was also brought up on a farm.

I avoid pesticides, and never use them in the house. I am converting to "natural cleaning" products, and even not going to use fertilizer any more. We spray our apple trees with a natural product too. I havent painted inside the house in years and found I am better for it.. I guess. I even quit smoking 8 years ago, just to avoid chemicals. Makes sense!

 

[Lydia]

I am leary about chemicals in the home too. I dont use household cleaners anymore. I dont disinfect anything. I just wash things with baking soda, vinegar or hot soapy water. Funny thing is, even though my house is probably teeming with germs, my daughter has never had an infection and neither have I since I stopped using all the chemicals. I disinfect the dishrag in the microwave every few days.

I dont even use air fresheners. I just boil some water on the stove and add some cinnamon or a couple drops of essential oil. Lavender and lemongrass are my favourite.

Cancer is really bad on my husbands father side of the family. 6 out of 10 siblings have had cancer and 4 are dead. They grew up on the farm with lots of pesticide exposure. It surely had a role.

 

[D Bergy]

I did not live on a farm, but would spend Summers at my Grand Parents who did have a farm.

It was normal to spray the DDT or whatever it was to kill the flies in the barn. They also would spray the house with Black Flag some evenings to get rid of mosquitoes. Shell "no pest strips" hung all over the house. They do not even make them anymore.

We also would play around at the dump when they would burn it. At that time everything went in the dump and we would be dodging exploding aerosol cans of who knows what. We breathed it all in and thought nothing of it.

I would think I should not only have Crohn's, but a third nipple, or a tumor the size of a Ham growing on my head.

Given what I have been exposed to, I think I am pretty lucky to be alive.

Dan

 

[RogerDoger]

It was normal to spray the DDT or whatever it was to kill the flies in the barn.

My father told me how he would toss DDT on the vegetable garden when he was a kid. His mother died in her 50s of some cancer of the digestive system. He's still alive and kicking, though, which I attribute to onions, hard physical labour all his life, stubborness, and whiskey. His two younger brothers had prostate cancer, but not him. He really likes onions. He's eaten raw onion sandwiches all his life (onions were cheap and he was just a poor Nova Scotia boy, emphasis on was).