Comments on: What Does Pesticide Poisoning Feel Like? LBAM Spray Preparedness.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:38:49 +0000

Dear Denise,
First, please let us tell you how sorry we are to hear for the scare you had and the discomfort you are still in. ER doctors are typically not trained to deal with unusual problems, and we would recommend that you find a naturopathic-type doctor who is willing to listen carefully to your story and symptoms. You’ve definitely experienced something that needs attention and we sincerely hope you can find help. Finding a good, caring doctor can be such a challenge. May you be fortunate enough to locate a really skilled one.

Mim

By: Denise

Denise — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:31:45 +0000

Six weeks ago I believe that I accidently smoked pesticide. In an effort to reduce my tobacco use I had been mixing store bought tobacco with Mullein which I picked in the park system in my city. I had been doing this for a number of years. Then 6 weeks ago I took a puff on one of my cigarettes and within seconds my throat began to close and I was gasping to get a breath. I called 911 and was taken by ambulance to the ER. I was able to get air, but choking and coughing uncontrollably. After telling my story, I was given Xanax, a throat X-ray, told to quit smoking, and sent home. I was shocked and later infuriated. Six weeks have passed and my throat is still tight and sore. I have difficulty swallowing and frequent shortness of breath, as well as sinis pain and sores on my tongue and the roof of my mouth.My symtoms have nothing to do with anxiety. How long will this last? Is there anything I can do at this point?

By: admin

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:44:44 +0000

Welcome Tiaa,
We are very sorry to hear that you are concerned you may be suffering from pesticide poisoning. Please, get yourself to a doctor. Some of your symptoms, particularly the muscular twitching, could be serious. Your symptoms could be related to pesticide or could be stemming from something completely different and we urge you to go to a doctor to find out. Don’t count on information on the Internet to try to diagnose yourself. There is no way of knowing who published it – laypeople, doctors, even spammers.

Your best bet will likely be to find a naturopathic-type doctor (one who combines both East and West medical knowledge). Frequently, people who are poisoned by pesticides and seek medical care from typical western doctors have to deal with the ignorance of the doctor who has not been trained to understand the toxicity of pesticides, herbicides and other substances.

I was able to find for you this article that claims to be a physicians guide to testing for pesticide-related illness, but please don’t count on the info in it being 100% correct. It should give you some information, but again, nothing can replace seeking actual medical aid:
http://www.getipm.com/thebestcontrol/physicians_guide/section-III.htm

Find a good doctor in your town, one who will listen to your list of symptoms and concerns and will commit to helping you determine a cause.

Regarding pesticides in marijuana you may be smoking, I can’t imagine it’s healthy to inhale the smoke of anything (tobacco, marijuana, incense, sacred sage plants) that has been grown with herbicides or pesticides, but I’m afraid we just don’t know what the effect of this would be. Using organic foods and other substances is your only protection against ingesting large doses of toxic chemicals.

Tiaa, we certainly hope you will take our well-meant advice and seek good medical aid. We think it’s really important that you do.

Best Wishes,
Mim

By: tiaa

tiaa — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:56:10 +0000

What kind of tests would show pesticide poisoning?(both, for inhaling pesticides or digesting them) How long can poisoning symptoms last? Months, even years?(if I were exposed to pesticides a few years ago, could I still experience the symptoms?) If pesticides were inhaled or consumed through the mouth (I accidentally licked a liquid, which I don’t know what it was, I had a burning feeling in my stomach, and then my stomach was inflated for weeks.
Could it be possible to get pesticide poisoning when smoking marijuana? (they mix all sorts of poisons into weed)
I get weird pressure on my forehead and nose after eating and even drinking water. My arms and legs are twitching for no reason sometimes, If I eat vegetables and home prepared food, the reactions are not so intense, and are tolerable. This has been happening for a few years now.
Can someone please tell me what kind of test should i run? If someone has similar symptoms, please let me know.
Thanks!!

By: Kikilani

Kikilani — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:31:58 +0000

The Canary Report has much useful information for dealing with pesticide poisoning when it turns into chemical sensitivity.
I have found the Pall protocol to be helpful in “knocking down” the reaction to pesticide exposure.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:04:31 +0000

Dear Peggy,
I am terribly sorry to hear of what you and your family have suffered and your experience with doctors mirrors that of what many people experience when dealing with pesticide exposure.

I would recommend that you get in touch with the people at East Bay Pesticide Alert in California and tell them your story. The editor of that website has more knowledge about pesticide poisoning than anyone else I know.

East Bay Pesticide Alert
510-895-2312
2399 East14th St #24
San Leandro, CA 94577
beneficialbug@netzero.net
http://www.eastbaypesticidealert.org

I wish I could recommend a medical resource for you, but I do not know of one and your doctor should be ashamed of himself for telling you your symptoms are ‘in your head’. I do not know what the medical scene is like in your state. In California, there are numerous alternative medicine doctors who would be more likely to take a story like yours seriously. Can you find an alternative medicine doctor in your state?

I am so wishing you good luck!
Mim

By: peggy

peggy — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:16:50 +0000

My family and I de flead a home that we had moved into. 2 weeks after I began having burning face hands throat sinuses chest I went to my Dr then several emergency rooms all of them to tell me they didnt know what was wrong with me I have been to 7 drs who have checked for everything accept for the one thing that I ask them to…pesticide poisoning. It has now been 7 months with no help from any doctors my primary care docto even gave up telling me it cant be poison. I have done great research and know that organophosphates are cholinesterase inhibitors they store themselves in your fatty tissues. Well now 7 months later my 13 yr old daughter and my husband are now showing the same horrible symptoms but now for me it is much worse. Twitching sometimes I feel like Im literally being strangled..no doctors will listen. What am I to do. My family doctor wont even give me a referrall to a toxicologist he says it is in my head. How is that possible when my family now has the symptoms. I use to want to be a nurse now with no help from the medical field I have lost all respect for physicians. If anyone knows where I can find some help please let me know. Thank you Oh I am from Ohio so our resources here are limited. My number is 419 455 3044

By: admin

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:05:34 +0000

Dear Bobby,
Thank you for coming back. Please, please go to a doctor. If you don’t have the money, go to an Emergency Hospital as they have to take you whether you can pay or not.

We are very concerned about the pains you are having and I will tell you why: many herbicides/pesticides are linked with kidney damage. This is something you need to find out about right away. Additionally, I wanted to tell you that my husband developed a condition called pleurisy after being exposed to pesticides. He was a perfectly healthy young man before this happened. Pleurisy is an inflammation of the lining of the lungs and it causes very sharp pains in the chest, back and torso when he is having an episode of it. Even years after us moving away from the pesticides he was exposed to, he is still troubled with this several times a year. Pleurisy, in itself, is not dangerous, but when he first got it, he got very bad pneumonia and ended up in the hospital.

Bottom line: we urge you to get medical attention right away. I understand that your uncle got you this job, but jobs are only about money…your uncle would definitely feel that your health is more important than any amount of money.

Please, go to a doctor, Bobby. We’re going to keep praying for you.
Mim

By: Bobby

Bobby — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:53:46 +0000

Thank you so much for your concern. Things are a little complicated where I work because my uncle got me the job and I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his.

As for updates, the rash seems to be getting worse and I now feel pain in my kidneys. Every time I take a full breath I feel a sharp pain under my right ribcage(i believe that is the kidney). I really hope this passes by like most things that happen to me.

Again thanks for your prayers I will need all the help I can get. This will be my last summer on the vineyards, that is if I make it to the next.

Bob

By: admin

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:28:01 +0000

Dear Bobby,

I am not a medical professional and cannot give medical advice.

My guess from your comment is that you are working in a vineyard because you have to, in order to support yourself. However, this being the second time you’ve had this reaction to working at this vineyard, you know now that something about this place is making you sick.

A rash is your body’s way of telling you it is having a big problem. When people react with a rash to a medication, doctors order them to immediately stop taking that medicine because the chemicals are harming the person’s body. You are experiencing harm from your job.

Your first step should be to go to your employers and show them the rash and ask for a written list of any pesticides, herbicides and fungicides they have used in the vineyard prior to your rash appearing. Then you should take this list to a doctor. My understanding is that there is a different treatment recommended for each different kind of chemical, and a doctor will need to know what the poisons are that you’ve been exposed to in order to know how to treat them. The doctor may not be able to do much to help you, but he can’t do anything if he doesn’t know what you’ve been exposed to.

While at the doctor’s office, you need to ask to have him help you fill out a pesticide exposure report, and if you have been harmed by your job, you may be eligible for some type of disability, unemployment or other worker’s compensation. In an ideal world, your employer would be sincerely concerned that you have been sickened on the job, but vineyard owners are unfortunately notorious for exploiting their workers. Every year, vineyard workers like yourself are sickened or die from exposure to the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used in conventional vineyards.

Bottom line, you need to find out exactly what you were exposed to, you need to see a doctor and have your exposure legally documented and you need to find out if you are eligible for any type of protection or compensation for being harmed on the job. This is very serious and you should not take lightly an exposure which caused you to have a rash for 3 months last year and is now causing you the same symptoms again.

My understanding of rashes is that they are the outward sign that something is not right on the inside. It’s not just your skin that is having a problem – it is a whole system or multiple systems in your body, and the rash is just the part you can see.

Please, take real steps to deal with what is happening to you, Bobby. The effects of chronic exposure to some chemicals include cancer, brain damage, nervous system damage, kidney damage and death. You need to act on this now.

We are so sorry that this has happened to you, Bobby, and sincerely care about you getting help with what you are experiencing. It is good people like you that have made us fight against conventional agriculture and urge all growers to adopt organic growing practices that protect workers’ health by not exposing them to toxic chemicals.

Please, take the steps we’ve suggested and find a doctor who takes pesticide poisoning seriously. Please, feel free to come back and give us an update. We’re going to say a prayer for you and hope you can get help soon.
Mim