Toxic Teacher Syndrome

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Toxic Teacher Syndrome

(_http://www.drgrisanhttp://www.drgrhtt_

(http://www.drgrisanti.com/teacher.htm) )

Written and Researched by J. Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O.

A 25 year old women begins her new career as a 2nd grade school teacher.

After many of years of preparation, this new educator is ready to serve the

public and help her young students learn how to read and write. Beginning in

a

newly renovated school is an extra bonus which makes our new teacher proud

that

she became part of the educational system. Everything is moving along fine..

she couldn't be happier!

Three months pass by and our teacher has noticed that her concentration is

just not right. She has been getting a little " edgy. " Definitely not like

her.

Her husband is concerned that maybe she is pushing herself a little too much

and encourages her to simply slow down and pace herself. As the weeks go by,

she begins experiencing headaches over her eyes and the back of her head.

The headaches are now occurring more frequently a minimum of 3-4 times a

week.

Six months into the school season and her symptoms are getting worse. In

addition to her headaches, lack of concentration and irritability, she is

now

having insomnia, cries over nothing and has noticed an unusual tingling in

her

face, hands and feet. Concerned, our once " excited " trainer of children

decides to see her family physician. After a brief consultation and a basic

physical evaluation, her physician is confident she is again just overdoing

it and

recommends she lighten her work load. In the mean time, she is prescribed

Xanax, a mild tranquilizer to settle her nerves. Feeling reassured that

nothing

is seriously wrong, our teacher returns to her young students and pushes on.

Another three months pass and this time our once highly motivated teacher is

only a " shadow " of herself. It takes every ounce of energy to get started in

the morning. She is having greater difficulty preparing her school

assignments and simply is just exhausted! In a state of desperation she is

referred to

a psychiatrist. He diagnoses her with depression and prescribes an

anti-depressant and also recommends counseling.

After two emotional years of trying an assortment of anti-depressants and

hours of counseling, our young teacher is stuck in a nightmare.. a web of

medical labels... depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, stress, body and

joint

pain, ... just name a few!

Is It Possible Something Has Been Missed?

Every year thousands of teachers are afflicted with a condition that simply

" zaps " the life right out of them. Most physicians are at a total loss to

understand what is behind this mysterious illness. Unfortunately, many

people

are looked at as hypochondriacs and continue to suffer year after year.

The Diagnosis

By a stroke of luck and a lot of prayer, our school teacher stumbled on a

medical article that " painted " an exact picture of her health challenges.

She

was amazed to find that she was not alone and that thousands of other

teachers

were experiencing the same problem.

She was able to find a physician who was trained in making this difficult

diagnosis and learned that she was suffering with something called " Multiple

Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). " Some physicians have coined the term " The

Toxic

Teacher Syndrome " due to the numbers of teachers suffering with the same

symptoms.

What is MCS?

Chemical Sensitivity is not a new term. It has been around for many years.

The diagnosis MCS was researched by allergist Theron G. Randolph, M.D.

(1906-1995). Dr. Randolph discovered that many of his patients became ill

from

chemical substances that were normally considered safe at the recommended

dosage.

In the 1950s, Dr. Randolph concluded that people were failing to adapt to

modern-day synthetic chemicals. As more research was done on the effects of

MCS,

doctors suggested that the immune system is like a barrel that continually

fills with chemicals until it overflows and symptoms appear.

Chemical toxins include:

Formaldehyde which can be found in foam insulation, plywood, particleboard

and press cabinets, fabric finishes, new carpet, polyurethane foam rubber

(used in pillows, cushions, mattresses and rug padding), mobile homes,

adhesives,

synthetic clothes that crease resistant, wrinkle resistant

Oil vapours: from oil furnaces, motor-oil air-conditioning filters,

electric kitchen appliances such as food processors, blenders, can openers.

Polyethylene plastics: fake leather, artificial flowers, shower curtains.

Household chemicals such as dry cleaning chemicals in clothes, mothballs,

rug-cleaning products, paints, solvents, stain removers, air fresheners,

window washing compounds

Polyesters in clothing, upholstery, drapery, furniture and stuffing for

pillows and quilts.

Pesticides residue on cottons and woollens; residues from exterminators.

Epoxy adhesives on plastics, electronic equipment (TVs, microwaves,) which

release gases when heated up.

Common school paraphernalia such as carbon paper, ink, mimeographic and

duplicating chemicals, glue

How do these chemicals cause health problems?

For most people the constant exposure to the above chemicals may not pose

any health challenge. However, an individual may come in contact with a

freshly

painted room and begin to experience dizziness, nausea, headaches etc..

Usually, however, it requires the constant everyday exposure to various

toxins

that simply become cumulative and eventually overwhelm the body's ability to

eliminate them. When your detoxification system is in good working order, it

protects you from low level chemical build-up. It is interested that most of

the sixty thousands chemicals in current use today have been developed in

the

last forty years.

In other words, it seems quite clear that these chemicals are being made at

a faster rate than our bodies are able to get rid of them. Chemicals are

noted to injure the part of the cell that produces energy causing swelling

of the

cell membrane and a decreased ability to pump out chemical toxins. When this

occurs you can experience fatigue, weakness, poor memory, migraine

headaches, insomnia, anxiety, etc..

So what happened to our teacher?

When the teacher first arrived in her new school, she was greeted with fresh

paint, new carpet, new furniture etc.. which was all piled in her small

room. This was further complicated by inadequate ventilation. When the

chemical

load to her system was too high, some of the chemicals were simply unable to

be detoxified. This resulted in the slow accumulation of chemicals backing

up

in the blood causing her health to slowly spiral downward.

How was she helped?

Our school teacher was thoroughly evaluated receiving a physical

examination, blood tests for liver function and a comprehensive

detoxification blood

test. This test is used to determine how well her body is getting rid of

toxins.

(_http://www.genovadihttp://wwwhttp_ (http://www.genovadiagnostics.com/) )

Detoxification Profile Explanation

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A chemical blood exposure test was also performed. This test is extremely

valuable in determining the levels of chemical toxins in the blood.

(_http://www.accuchemhttp://www.achtt_ (http://www.accuchem.com/toxmain.htm)

)

Chemical Testing

A checklist of suspected chemical toxins was done as well as an assessment

of the schools ventilation system.

The Results

After suffering for a little over two years, her tests revealed the

following:

1: The Liver Profile was normal

2: The Detoxification Profile was seriously compromised resulting in an

inability to process the load of chemicals.

3: The Chemical Testing revealed high levels of

Formaldehyde:

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(http://www.epa/http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html) )

(_http://www.epa.http://www.epa.http:_ (http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html)

)

Toluene:

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(http://www.atsdr/http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts56.html) )

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(http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts56.html) )

(_http://www.accuchemhttp://www.ahttp://wwhttp://www.ahttp_

(http://www.accuchem/http://www.accuchem.com/toluene.html) )

(_http://www.accuchemhttp://www.achttp_

(http://www.accuchem.com/toluene.html) )

Xylene:

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(http://www.atsdr/http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts71.html) )

(_http://www.atsdr.http://www.atsdrhttp:_

(http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts71.html) )

(_http://www.accuchemhttp://www.ahttp://wwhttp://www.http_

(http://www.accuchem/http://www.accuchem.com/xylene.html) )

(_http://www.accuchemhttp://www.ahttp_ (http://www.accuchem.com/xylene.html)

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4: The checklist accurately correlated with her high levels of chemicals in

her blood.

5: As suspected, although the school received a face-lift with new furniture

and a fresh coat of paint, the ventilation system was functioning at

approximately 40% efficiency and needed a major overhaul!!

The Treatment

The first step was too begin treatment on improving her ability to detoxify.

(For specific information on medically approved detoxification management,

you may send an e-mail to _mailto:detoxinfo@you may sen

(mailto:detoxinfo@(mailto:det__detoxinfo@drgrisan_detox_

(mailto:_detoxinfo@...) _ (mailto:_detoxinfo@drgrisantdetox_

(mailto:detoxinfo@...) ) )

The next step was for the school to upgrade the ventilation system and for

the teacher to purchase a Four Stage Air Filtration System

(_http://www.cwrenvirhttp://www.chtt_ (http://www.cwrenviro.com/intro.htm) )

for her classroom.

Finally, our teacher had a comprehensive safe environmental check of her

classroom. Chemical toxins were replaced with non-toxic products. This was

carried over to her home as well.

The Outcome

Within 2 weeks, our school teacher began to notice an improvement in her

health. Her energy gradually increased, headaches were reduced to 1 every 2

weeks, the depression lifted, insomnia was replaced by sound restful sleep.

By

the end of 2 and half months, she felt like her old self again and has

continued to do well ever since. She must avoid exposure in order to stay

well.

Dr. Grisanti's Comments:

This article presents a real case and demonstrates the sad fact that

thousands of people are suffering needlessly. Unless a physician has studied

and

been trained in the diagnosis and treatment of environmental illness, many

more

people especially teachers and other professionals working in similar

environmental surroundings will continue to develop MCS and unfortunately be

" branded " undiagnosable and sadly a hypochondriac. The truth of the matter

is..

there is an answer and this answer can pull many people out of this

nightmare.

THANKFULLY, THIS TEACHER FOUND OUT ABOUT MCS SOONER THAN LATER. THE MORE YOU

ARE EXPOSED THE HARDER IT IS TO REVERSE ORGAN DAMAGE.

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(_http://www.ncbi.http://www.nhttp://www.ncbi.http://www.nc_

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" Medical research has made such progress, that there are practically no

healthy people any more. " – Aldous Huxley

" ....Perfume to you, to me is excrement. " - Pope

I will not have my life narrowed down

.. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's

ignorance. -bell hooks

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TREMENDOUS! lOVE THE LAST QUOTE!