By Julian A. Cox

12/27/13

At a glance the title seems somewhat insignificant.  Even so, those windows hold a powerful key to unshackling you from the pangs of asthma, the cruel totalitarian rule of colds and flu’s as well as eliminating the ripe environment that would help to germinate other respiratory woes.  Yes those lonely windows that rarely get any more attention than peering eyes that wish to observe the world outside would give them.  How could a mix of glass, wood, or other various materials hold such power over these cruel, ravaging, forces of disease?  Hold on to that thought and we will find out.

Along with the many pleasures derived of the industrialized society most of us are a part of, comes the Catch 22 that is naturally created from the ease of technological advancement.   Unlike those unacquainted with such pleasure, we live in a culture far removed as possible from the natural ebb and flow of nature’s elements and enclose ourselves in the warmth and comforts of our homes.  Unfortunately many of us are so snug and cozy that according to Science Daily (2009):

The United Nations Development Program estimated (1998) that more than two million people die each year due to the presence of toxic indoor air, while other studies estimate that 14 times as many deaths occur globally from poor indoor air quality [emphasis added] compared with outdoor air pollution. The economic consequences of polluted indoor air can’t be ignored either; one Australian study estimated that the cost of unhealthy indoor air in that country exceeds $12 billion annually (House Plants Cut Indoor Ozone, para.  3). 

If you are wondering what all that indoor air quality has got to do with the powerful key that windows hold, in a word – everything. It is first necessary to discuss how those toxins become so toxic in the first place.  To realize that you need to understand the types of toxins that you are dealing with, that confront you daily in the comfort of your home, school or office.

Let’s do a little toxin roll call:

• CO2.
• Animal matter.
• Gaseous chemicals.
• Fumes.

While they are not necessarily ranked in a specific order I would wager that the greatest threat to your person is CO2.  The reason why this makes the number one most dangerous indoor toxin is that it is the litmus of inside air quality (Ministry of Education, 2007, Why is IAQ important?, p.  25). According to the Ministry of Education (2007) “Indoor concentrations above about 1,000 parts per million (ppm) CO2 indicate that Indoor Air Quality is unacceptable (Section 3, Passive Ventilation, p.  20). That’s right; we are speaking of that natural byproduct of the air and respiration.  Once you have inspired a fresh breath of air your blood takes from it a considerable percentage of the 20.9% of oxygen that is present and discards the rest during exhalation.  However, that exhaled breath is quite poisonous to be respired, considering that it is lacking in the amount of available oxygen that it once contained.  According to Robbins (1860):

Dr. CARPENTER had ascertained that air containing five or six per cent of carbonic acid gas would produce immediate death, and that less than one-half that quantity would soon prove fatal; and Dr. T. HERBERT BARKER had ascertained by experiments with this substance, that an animal in an atmosphere containing only two percent of carbonic acid would die In about two hours. Now the air which we exhale from the lungs contains, according to standard authorities, about five percent of carbonic acid, and hence if exactly the same air were re-inhaled it would quickly prove fatal.

The amount of carbonic acid gas that is released per exhalation of an adult in a closed up room or area is about 28 cubic inches per minute, per adult (Robins, 1860).  Also an increase in CO2 levels has been directly linked to:

• Drowsiness.
• Inhibition of concentration.
• Lack of cognitive function.
• Headaches (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 26). 

Furthermore, to meet the requirements of air fit to be breathed, the carbonic acid component should fall within the range of 2 parts in 10,000 (Collier Engineer Co., 1899).  Is it now evident why CO2 takes the top spot of most dangerous toxin out of the ones you are faced with every day in your own home or even school or place of business?  Aside from the greatest source of it coming from your expired breath a room closed up and left to its own will yield a natural increase in CO2 as the oxygen levels degrade.

Another toxin that you may not be so well aware of that also originates from your own expired breath is animal matter.  Robins (1860) tells us:

there is also, according to the best authorities, constantly being discharged by the lungs and pores of the skin, an equal amount, by weight — that is, about 3 or 3 1/2 pounds in twenty-four hours — of effete, decaying animal substance, in the form of insensible vapor, which, we often see condensed in drops upon the windows of crowded rooms and railroad-cars. Those drops, if collected and evaporated, leave a thick putrid mass of animal matter. The breathing of these exhalations . . . [are as] efficient in producing disease as carbonic acid itself.

Is it becoming a little clearer as to why the indoor environment becomes such a cesspool of toxins?  This is only just the tip of the iceberg considering that we must now also look into the threats from gaseous chemicals.  These sinister chemicals easily find their way into your home without your knowledge and are constantly being inspired into your bloodstream with every breath you take.  These chemicals are:

• Benzene.
• Formaldehyde.
• Trichloroethylene.
• Xylene.
• Toluene.
• Ammonia.

I’m sure you want to know how you willfully invited all of this toxic baggage into your home.  Let’s just start from the top and work our way down and the pieces should fall into place. Your usual suspects of leaking Benzene into your home are:

• Inks.
•  Oils.
•  Paints.
• Plastics.
• Rubber.
• Dyes.
• Detergents.
• Gasoline.
• Pharmaceuticals.
• Tobacco smoke.
• Synthetic fibers.

Your usual suspects of leaking formaldehyde into your home are:

• Foam insulation.
• Plywood.
• Pressed-wood products.
• Grocery bags.
• Waxed paper.
• Fire retardants.
• Adhesive binders in floor coverings.
• Cigarette smoke.
• Natural gas.

Your usual suspects of leaking trichloroethylene into your home are:

• Metal degreasing
• Dry cleaning industries
• Printing inks
• Paints.
•  Lacquers.
•  Varnishes.
• Adhesives.

Your usual suspects of leaking xylene and toluene into your home are:

• Adhesives.
•  Caulking.
• Printers.
• Photocopiers.
• Paints.
• Stains.
• Varnishes.
• Wall coverings.

Your usual suspects of leaking ammonia into your home are:

• Carpeting.
• Cleaning products.
• Photocopiers.

Now, as if those gaseous chemicals were not bad enough you still must take into consideration the fumes that are also continuously being emitted from:

• New carpet.
• Synthetic furniture.
• Synthetic candles.
• Perfumes and colognes.
• Fake plants.
• Air fresheners.
• Household cleaners.

This only applies to materials and substances that are not naturally based.

 It should be easier to grasp why the death count is as high as 2 million in industrialized nations on a yearly basis due to poor indoor air quality.  If you’re thinking that this is where the windows holding that powerful key comes into play, then you are absolutely right. If you are serious about finding out just how powerful then you will have to join us on the second half of this two part series.  Don’t miss out as we wrap this up and find out just how beneficial a factor that window really is along with what history has to say in vouching for the power that lies within it.

 References

Collier Engineer Co. (1899) A Treatise OnArchitecture  And Building Construction Vol4: Plumbing And Gas-Fitting, Heating And Ventilation, Painting And Decorating,Estimating And Calculating             Quantities NewYork: Press of Eaton & Maines

Ministry of Education (2007) Designing Quality Learning Spaces: Ventilation & Indoor Air QualityRetrievedfromhttp://www.minedu.govt.nz/~/media/MinEdu/Files/EducationSector            s/PrimarySecondary/PropertyToolbox/Moder   nLearning/VentilationIndoorAirQualityGuide.pdf

Pros Who Know (2010, 01, March) Best Houseplantsto Improve Indoor Air Quality  retrieved on April 30, 2013 from ttp://proswhoknow.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/best-houseplants-to-mprove-     indoor-air-quality/

Robins Y.E. (1860) Ventilation as Influencing Healthand Longevity.; Lecture Retreived from http://www. nytimes.com/1860/03/23/news/ventilation-as-influencing-health-and-longevity-lecture-by-mr-ey-robbins.html

Julian A. Cox

October 09, 2013

     Pollan (2008) speaks of the works of biochemist Bruce Ames and how “He’s convinced that our high-calorie, low nutrient diet is responsible for much chronic disease, including cancer” (pg.  122). It is also noted by Ames that the missing macronutrients from the diets in adults in children that can lead to the destruction of DNA are supplied in fruits and vegetables that are lacking greatly in their daily diet (Pollan, 2008).  The concern here is the reasoning for such disdain for the consumption of fruits and vegetables.  According to Douillard (2000) “Throughout evolutionary history, the human body burned primarily fat, reserving sugar stores for those emergency situations [such as avoiding potential animal dangers]” (pg. 50).  The point here is that since the industrial revolution and the growing demand for convenience over the centuries there has been a great shift in consumer demand no from nourishment to comfort, as in stress relief.  According to Adam & Epel(2007):

Stress as well as palatable food can stimulate endogenous opioid release. In turn, opioid release appears to be part of an organisms’ powerful defense mechanism protecting from the detrimental effects of stress by decreasing activity of          the HPA axis and thus attenuating the stress response. Repeated stimulation of the reward pathways through either stress induced HPA stimulation, intake of highly palatable food or both, may lead to neurobiological adaptations   that          promote the compulsive nature of overeating (Stress, eating and the reward system, Abstract, para.  1). 

     All of this stress is a result of the ever growing demands placed upon people from the rapidly moving society; created to provide maximum comfort and ease.  In this society of comfort people find themselves always plugged in and never escaping the latest prevailing stressful events taking place somewhere in the world, which media outlets thrive on ensuring society, is abreast of.  Aside from this the family institution is in tatters and on many occasions both parents work and children are in the care of themselves or another due to nonstandard work hours that their parents share.  The work of Andrew et. al. (2012) have proven through the review of several research studies have given much credibility to the link between these work hours and things such as negative impacts on child mental health, behavioral problems cognitive development, and even childhood obesity.

     In conclusion, heavy reliance on technology and demand for greater comfort caused a shift in our societal foundations all the way down to the family level.  In exchange for the satisfaction of such health and family structure along with basic morals and accountability.  In a song by Pink Floyd he mentioned how he had become comfortably numb; in the case of our society today and the rise of western disease we have become comfortably deficient, nutrient that is.

References

Adam C. T. & Epel S. E. (2007) Stress, eating and the reward system Retrieved from

http://www.foodaddictionsummit.org/documents/StressEatingandtheRewardSystem.pdf

Andrew S., Dockery M. A., Johnson S., Han, W., Kendall G., Li J., Strazdins L., Parents’

nonstarted work and child wellbeing: A critical review of the existing literature Retrieved from http://business.curtin.edu.au/files/2012.02_NShours.pdf

Douillard J.  (2000)  The 3-Season Diet, New York, NY: Three Rivers Press

Pollan M. (2008) In Defense of Food New York, NY: The Penguin Group

     If you got what it takes to be healthy then:

• Don’t let anyone dictate to you what healthy is.
• Don’t be duped into believing such a thing exists as a “bad food”; there are no bad foods, just ”poor “ food choices.
• Question everything “they” say but be open to receive it.
• Be “thankful” for what you do and don’t have.
• Eat slow, chew well, and be present during your meals and drink before or after.
• Breathe deep (nasal inspiration/expiration),think fast and act slow.
• Mind your posture and your manners.

     No matter what your view on healthy is make sure that you don’t become its slave and can still put on a big smile and enjoy the wonderful life that God has allowed you to experience.  In the bible it tells us that God allows the same rain to fall upon the just and the unjust so he doesn’t play favorites.  Everything we experience in this life is either for our own benefit or that of someonelse we have yet to meet and while some ventures may not be so pleasant you never know what you will have to impart to another in the future.

     Sugar doesn’t make the bitter sweet, just more tolerable to digest, so accept things for what they are but stand on your head so you can see the rest of the picture you are missing and just keep moving forward.  As long as you keep moving you will get where you are going but even if you are just drifting with no real destination you will eventually end up somewhere.  However, when an obstruction brings your momentum to a violent halt consider it a good opportunity to reconsider your heading and make necessary adjustments as you see fit but “don’t become inert”.

By Julian A. Cox

October 18, 2013

The “epic flaw” of science is that reason can’t explain all that man sees; at some point the acceptance of the unexplainable yields to “faith” (it is because it is and not because it is understood or not).  It is for this reason that science at its best is just a semi-accurate “shot in the dark” and even its accuracy is proven sufficient or not by new knowledge that is gained over time.

Although science may seem to provide a good foundation it is no more reliable than the ever shifting tectonic plates of the earth.  At times these result in great error of those who trusted in their security and lose the very livelihood that was founded upon them.

In the end science will never disprove that which man’s finite, intellect cannot grasp such as “the flight of the bumble bee”. So while its use of establishing level grounds of grasping the world at large is beneficial in the cognitive development of man’s understanding of it, it is poor grounds to disdain those things which its tools lack the power to fathom.  Those same tools are also no more useful than man’s ability to use them to grasp the unknown.

Julian Cox

September 21, 2013
 

          While the ancient philosophy for health relies on “balance” I am persuaded that what we define as balance as it equates to health is not what we believe it to be.  It is not natural for anything or system in life to ever be “even or equal” and the more one strives to accomplish such the more “imbalanced” their life becomes.  An oxymoron; is it not.  Nature does not work on the basis of equality but on “restoration“.  When you have too much of one thing your body will naturally either store it such as sugar to fat or dispense of it such as the excretion of too much vitamin C into the urine.  So then wherein lies the balance that we are all seeking so desperately to obtain?

          It is there but not in the equality that it is believed to be in.  The “balance” we seek lies in paying heed to the excessiveness we tend to indulge ourselves in and pulling back far enough for things to right themselves.  No matter how many times we do so we will naturally become lopsided and this is truthfully a natural and “healthy” part of life.  Amidst the push and pull of yin and yang is the building of strength, gaining of wisdom, breaking of the mold, and realization that more can be achieved than what was believed.  However, equality does not exist in this world and never has at least not in the terms that you believe it to be.

           How many times have you stressed out over trying to achieve a “healthy balance” it is scary when you think about it right?  My point is being so determined to fight against nature we create unrest within ourselves then we cry for a good ole release from the madness and fling ourselves to the opposite polarity and then beat ourselves all over again.  This is not the “health” that we seek.

          I am very much speaking of myself also but it is something to consider and it may help you save some of your hair in your ongoing quest for “optimal health“.  One thing I have come to realize is that “optimal health” is not obtained by dictation but by tuning in to your body.  Nobody knows your body like you do because you are in it all the time so if we would just begin there and be more attentive I think that we have the power to change our current state.  I’m not saying that outside assistance is no good but without the aforementioned you just end up with two people or more trying to guess at something only one really has the answers to.

As you have likely noticed I am having some technical difficulties with this site so I ask for your patience until I get them resolved.

Molecular

This fundamental is really the culmination of the previous three and yet has its own specific contribution to your painful woes. It is here that the mental, nutritional and physical fundamentals merge and have an overall total output on your painful or chronic condition. Why is this the case? It is so because all of them express themselves on the cellular level in their specific areas but it is the combination of these various routes of stimulation that have the overall impact on your condition. So you can see if you were to solely focus on each it would be difficult to truly determine the complete influence of each and I would debate the necessity in doing such.
The other role the molecular fundamental plays in the influence of pain is in the trigger of environmental influences that directly influence your cellular activity without you even realizing it. That’s right, not only do you not realize it but you have no direct control over this impact either, at least to a certain degree. So what might these things be and how does it all affect the other fundamentals? We will discuss all of that in this article as well as tie it altogether.

Invisible disruption

Whether you are aware of it or not your life is constantly being bombarded by the electromagnetic spectrum in good and bad ways. At least 60% of the electromagnetic spectrum is invisible to us. So what is the electromagnetic spectrum? It is composed of the varying wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation such as:

• Cosmic rays.

• Gama rays.

• X-rays

• Ultraviolet light.

• Visible light (7 rainbow colors.)

• Infrared.

• Microwaves.

• Radio Waves.

The invisible portions of this are the above excluding the 7 rainbow colors. The thing that is most important to you is the impact that they have on you. The EMS influences you at the cellular level and totally bypasses that of your psyche. So my point here is that this is a total molecular influence that has physical and mental ramifications. This brings us back to the fact that all of these fundamentals are very much separate parts of one whole. The easiest proof of this is what happens when your friend comes back to the office looking like a lobster from lying out in the sun until they were well done. Before I continue, let me stress something here about radiation. In short radiation has to do with energy emissions. Now as concerning the EMS we are concerned with whether that energy is either ionizing or non ionizing. So what is the difference between the two?

The difference is:

• Ionizing type radiation is a very large amount of energy. This kind of energy has the ability to disrupt your molecular make up to the point of striping electrons from atoms along with causing damage to DNA and bring about the onset of cancer.

• Non – ionizing type radiation will only resonate with an atom but will not disrupt it. In other words this type of radiation is not harmful to the body.

So let’s revisit the lobster red friend issue that got a little too much sun light. That ultra violet light falls on both the ionizing and non ionizing part of the EMS. It really depends on the time of the day like when the sun is at its peak as to which type of ionization you will be exposed to. Either way being inappropriately dressed mixed with overexposure will lead to some serious molecular disruption regardless of how tough you think that you are. I would like to emphasize the fact that the EMS encompasses sound as well as what is visible which could be as simple as radiation of your own voice or that of a loved one. It is important to understand that this radiation impacts you on a molecular level and while the voice may not carry the harmful ionizing impact it does in fact stimulate a certain molecular chain of events that can have an overall positive or negative impact on your person.

Connecting Dots

So the question here is one of how does this all come together in impacting your painful state of being? I will provide a little real life scenario for you and then put all the pieces together as I have been doing. Let’s say that it is the middle of summer and around lunch time in my house. An hour has passed since I began preparing our meal and I have made the necessary preparations as turning on the air conditioner and a fan to keep the temperature from the stove and oven balanced. However, I begin to feel those familiar tingling sensations along with a rapid increase in body temperature. Like usual I decide to slow down a little but not stop until it becomes a burning stabbing like sensations that is rapidly intensifies. I realize at this point if I don’t break, things are going to get really bad really quick.

So I have my wife pick up where I left off and take care of serving everyone. When lunch is over I decide to just take a long break to give my body some cool down time but the children really would like me to go out back with them and play for a bit. I let them out and decide to rest at least a half hour and out I go. The sun is out and barely a cloud in sight. A gentle breeze brushes my face in its coolness and so far things seem to have quieted within. After a few minutes of UV bombardment my body explodes from head to toe in increasing sensations of burning and stabbing pain and I quickly retreat to the comfort of indoors.
So let’s fundamentally break down these events and identify the root cause of the pain I was dealing with. Before I start, it doesn’t matter in what order you begin to analyze all of this. What is really important is understanding the role that these various fundamentals play and addressing them individually and collectively in order to gain control over your situation. Also you must realize that although they have their own separate input they have a combined total output.

In the case of me cooking in the kitchen we will first began to look at the various factors of the physical fundamental that influenced the induction of my painful state:

• Heat from the stove.

• Heat from the oven.

• Heat from outside.

• Body heat from exertion.

Yes I did have the air conditioner on along with a fan blowing to help compensate but the combination of the above eventually became greater than the benefit of coolness that they provided and therefore I became too hot and pain thus ensued.
Okay so what about the mental fundamental? I generally stay cool under pressure but like any person when the pain begins to intensify past my threshold I start to slowly lose my grip. In this scenario that would have been when I realized that things were getting pretty intense but I decided to try pushing on. Shortly after this my anxiety levels go off the chart and so does my pain and I quickly retreat. My perceived state is that I can’t take this, it is too much. From what you have learned so far in this series, which way are my pain levels going to go? If you said up than pat yourself on the back because you are a most astute pupil.
In consideration of the nutrition fundamental let’s say that I had coffee after my meal. Big deal right. It actually is quite a significant deal in my situation. The reason why is any time I consume coffee, which is usually after a meal, I become a lot more sensitive to the environmental heat around me and my body temperature rises very rapidly. In case it is not apparent to you this just means that I am much more sensitive to movement, exertion, emotional stimulation and so on and will have a painful episode that much faster.

Now that we have covered that let us look into the combined total impact of these things on the molecular side of the house. Would it not be a safe bet that my elevated heat levels from the physical components along with the coffee consumption and that of stress from the ensuing amount of pain would naturally yield to:

• Elevation in blood pressure.

• Increase in heart rate.

• Increase in reactive oxygen species production due to an increase in cellular respiration.

• Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

• Increase in muscle tension.

• Production of adrenalin.

• Increased depletion of antioxidants.

• Increased depletion in minerals.

Is the picture becoming somewhat clear here? No I am not trying to get very scientific or complex, because it is not necessary to make the point here. What should be apparent here is that you have all of those different forms of stimulation yielding the same net output at least to a degree. It is to a degree because those different stimulants have varying influences on my state of being. What I wish to bring your attention to here is that this is a cycle that compounds upon itself until all or some of the stimulators are no longer active. Also this cycle inevitably is the precursor to your body hitting the pain switch. In case you may wonder how this is possible, keep in mind that an action potential is moving at a rate of 224 mph or so. The greater and more prolonged the stimulation the greater the output, but if you are medicated your are not likely to take immediate notice as we have discussed before, which is why it hits you like a tidal wave and leaves you scratching your head why.
However, by realizing that they play a role it shifts the importance to the list of the initiators of these things. This is what makes breaking it down fundamentally so important because as you logically influence the various stimulating factors would you not also influence the degree of the impact that they have upon you or me in this instance. I can answer that with a resounding yes. On the other hand when you are in a situation in which pain seems to spontaneously come upon you rather than being so quick to fret by fundamentally assessing the matter it will provide you with a road map to helping you to alleviate or decide if you need to evacuate before things really get bad.

I apologize that it has been such a long stint in my posting but I’m working on a M.S. in Holistic Nutrition and I’m left somewhat mentally taxed and as you know my blog postings are quite dense.

On 6/27/13 my second youngest child had a violent uprising upon his body in the form of a croup de tat.  It was quite the event and much has been learned from this.  I wish to share with you the insight that I have gained after a brief recap of what happened.

The Crisis

My wife and I were downstairs, I was in my office and she in the family room.  I was doing some research for a future blog posting and thought I’d heard the faint beckoning of the word “Daddy”.  I kept about my reading and turned a keen ear toward the door and was eventually convinced one of my five children was in need of my assistance.  It was my second youngest child, a 2 year old boy, I found him sitting up on his bed wheezing heavily and crying that agonizing heart wrenching cry.  Needless to say, he was very stressed and extremely sensitive.  His nose was full of mucus and he wasn’t going to let a tissue or nasal aspirator near it with a ten foot pole.  So I scooped him up and just held him tight trying to calm him.  My wife had a near heart attack thinking the worst.

After some prayer, and notification of our pastor for prayer we called 911 for assistance.  The diagnosis of the EMT was that he likely had croup and they decided to take him to the hospital where the doctors there said the same thing. After a round of medication and time he eventually calmed down and though he was still wheezing my wife noted that it was not as bad as it was at the house.  They advised that it usually gets worse for the first 3 days and then begins to taper off.  They also said to get him outside in the fresh air and hold him in a steamed filled bathroom with the hot water running due to the adverse impact of the dry air.  They also made us aware that it is typical for children suffering with croup to be fine by day but it is during the night that things get really ugly.  By the way this all began between 12 – 1 a.m. and I picked him and my wife up from the Emergency room around 5:30 a.m. or so once the hospital considered it safe to let him go.

The deduction

I began pondering over the events of the prior day and considered why the situation was really as traumatic as it was.  These are the things I deduced:

• My son could not breathe from his nose as he is prone to do.
• My son panicked due to the above and was in much pain.
• My son due to his mouth breathing ended up irritating his throat and his breathing became severely restricted hence his wheezing.
• Due to his continual mouth breathing all the air he was taking in was dry, and unfiltered of all the invisible irritating dust particles that are caught by the nasal vibrissae and mucus.
• Due to his panicking I was unable to successfully unclog his nose so that this vital passage of inspiration could be free.

I also considered the reasoning behind the advice of the steamed bathroom treatment and the retreat to outside air.  In truth the sole reason behind both is to provide moisture into the air so that the irritation in the throat would be lessened.

The lesson

What I found very interesting is the fact that the EMT medics, the Emergency room doctor and even the great pediatrician Dr. Mendelsohn all recommend the steamed bathroom treatment and outdoor air treatment in the caring for croup.  This along with the administration of medication to open the air ways (not Dr. mendelsohn).  The only problem with this is that we are missing a very vital element in which is essential for a croup de tat.  So what is that?  That would be the compromise of the most vital respiratory orifice that you possess, your nose.  Also on the other side of the house it is essential to ensure that this orifice is in its optimal state in order to negate or even pacify all respiratory dysfunction.

The two greatest contributors to respiratory dysfunction are:

• Dry air.
• Habitual Mouth breathing.

This is so due to these reasons:

• All air regardless of how dry it is is moistened as it passes through your nasal pathways and enters your pharynx.
• All air, regardless of how cold it is, is warmed nearly to blood temperature as it passes through your nasal pathways.
• All air regardless of how much dust it has is filtered as it passes through your nasal pathways.

So is it a little clearer to you that once you eliminate this that you easily end up with an itchy, irritated, and very sore and dry throat?  Especially since your mouth does not do any of this.  So the greatest thing that should be looked into would be how to go about freeing up the nasal pathways right?  Just walking outside or steaming up the bathroom are not necessarily enough to do the trick.

Something to consider is the fact that with inflammation comes swelling and with swelling comes muscle constriction and with constriction of the muscles comes impeded blood flow.  This would in fact be what is behind the blockage of your most vital orifice.  Therefore, would you not consider it the utmost of importance to reverse this problem?  Well that is the conclusion that I came to in pondering this incident in order to prevent it or at least deal with it at the root in the future.

The plan

So, I decided to consider what it was that I needed to do in order to best deal with a situation like that in the future.  The solution was having the means to stimulate the relaxing of the inflamed muscles and allow the blood to flow freely while making the nose to drain without inserting any object into the nasal pathway.  Therefore, I was looking for an aromatic agent that would do just this.  I am more prone to do things the holistic way and steer clear of chemically laden products or medicine when I can but am not opposed to doing what is necessary in order to get the job done.

Let me give you a quick update on the first and second night after the drama with taking the advice of the doctors along with getting to the root of the matter.  My family and I made a trip to our local Super Supplements and my wife purchased a few things.  The most useful of them was:

• Gaia Kids warming chest rub.
• Olbas natural inhaler.

Before the kids went down for the night my wife took them into the bathroom and steamed it up with them in there for about 20 to 30 minutes and she added eucalyptus essential oil to the water.  She also gave them some raw honey and raw honey with royal jelly and bee pollen that was broken down by centrifugal force and not heated.  After this she applied the chest rub to their chest and back as it recommended and held the inhaler under their noses so that they could breathe it in and she cleaned their noses with H202 and a q tip along with spraying their noses with a homeopathic nasal spray.  Throughout the night I held the inhaler under their noses including my wife while they slept at least 3 times.  Last but not least I kept all the bed room windows cracked and ran the heater of course.  Update for my second youngest was a complete quelling of the coup de tat.  Things did not go as predicted by the doctors or as the nature of croup is.  The most essential and vital factor in the croup uprising was eliminated.  It is a very difficult matter to have a severe respiratory dysfunction with a well functioning, maintained, and utilized nose.  Just for your understanding I will enlighten you that in the case of any respiratory dysfunction you are always at the very least dealing with two distinct situations:

• Compromise of the respiratory system due to improper breathing.
• Bacterial or viral infection.

However, just eliminating the respiratory obstacle will naturally lighten the load of the latter considering that you will allow the inspiration of more oxygen and therefore help to propagate a less favorable environment for the foreign visitors.  There are other factors that must be addressed but I will not speak of them at this time.  I will say this that nothing beats good old fashioned time, rest and cleanliness.  It is not always necessary to do anything right away at least not until you have thoroughly analyzed the situation awaiting the natural cues which will guide you as to your next steps.

All in all the glory belongs to God and I am very thankful for the uplifted prayers of my pastor and other brothers and sisters in Christ who were aware of the situation.  When the body that God has blessed us to utilize is maintained properly and each part is utilized for its created use such as breathing through your nasal cavity then things tend to run much more smoothly.  Even without the knowledge of such measures the power of prayer alone is sufficient backed by faith, considering that God has the blue print for our bodies embedded into his mind and knows what switches to flip to set things right so don’t get too overly confident in your knowledge and means for pacifying your ills, he may just allow them to fail so you can remember who really calls the shots.

I share all of this with you in order to empower you.  No matter what you do, do what you think is best, as we did.  Once again I’m all about doing what is necessary, especially when my child’s health is on the line.  However, as their guardian I must empower myself with the knowledge to protect them rather than cave in to the fears that arise from ignorance.  So act on ignorance but also empower yourself with the knowledge to understand what is really going on as you lean on the helping hands of your family physician.

The morning makes a light upon the sea,

Curving before me, like a crescent moon,

With slender violet waves that gradually

Kindle into the fiery fields of noon.

Line upon line, out to the farthest rim

They reach immeasurably, pale as the breast

Of a sick child, and tremulous and dim,

Save where the wind has kissed them out of rest

So hard it leaves a mark all foam and

white. O delicate, violet, autumnal sea,

Like a wide field made for the sheer delight

Of the cold wind to walk on, and be free,

Like a clear harp made for the eager hands

Of the September wind, chilly and pale !

There is a wistfulness about the lands

When summer ebbs and all the flowers fail.

Therefore I come to you that guard and keep, O

changeless one, the memories of all things,

The dreams of all the world in the vast sleep

Of the pale waters, drowsy with murmurings.

Here deep Eternity has conquered Time,

No trace of ruthless autumn lingers here;

But on the shore the roses cease to climb,

And fading wings ebb with the tidal year.

Love leaves the body, as summer leaves the lands,

But the waves, like the heart, remembering moan;

Therefore I sit beside you on the sands

That I may mix my memories with your own.

And the wide, level fields of the flat sea,

Always the same, reach to the farthest bound,

With waves lifting and lapsing wearily—

And the eternal heavens all around.

~ Unknown

Fundamentals of Pain Induction

Physical

This fundamental encompasses both the external and internal physical aspects that affect your painful condition.  Don’t be fooled considering that the greatest impact to your physical state has much to do with the environment and that too goes for you internally just as much as it does externally.   While you may grow weary of the reminder,  I will emphasize the fact that we are only looking at a piece of the whole and it is not significant to solely place the greater emphasis upon such in order to remedy or even alleviate the pain issue.

So why is the environment such a factor?  The environment is such a great factor due to:

• The fact that it is somewhat constant or static, in other words you often are unable to change it.
• What you do or don’t do actually adds to the total impact of the environment upon your person.
• The type of environment either significantly makes your painful condition much worse or extremely better whether you like it or not.

I’m sure this all could be quite a mouthful to swallow if you are not accustomed to understanding such in accordance with pain but I will assure and explain to you how vital it is to realize this.  You will alsosee how easily that the physical impact externally and internally can play out due to the environment alone.

Falling bridges

In order to convey this truth to you, once again we will call upon our tall, dark, and fearless model to act out another scenario for us . . . ME.  Drum roll please.  Okay, just to lay the foundation here let’s say that I was very sensitive to heat, and excitement even to the extent of not tolerating the metabolic sensations of joyfulness, anger, happiness, and such.  All of these on top of the increase in temperature would eventually end up in me being in very excruciating pain from head to toe.

Being the good husband I am, since I am feeling pretty good I decide to tackle making dinner for the family on a cold winter evening.  At this time the windows in the kitchen are closed and I have a few pots permeating the air with a wonderful blend of spices and cooking meat.  The longer I stand in front of the stove tending to the food I begin to feel some minor tingling sensations throughout my body.  I remain calm and stay at it.  A few minutes go by and the thermostat drops below 75 degrees and trips the heater.  About another ten minutes or so pass and the food is nearly done.  However, those tingling sensations gradually increase and become burning stinging sensations that are more so equivalent to a bothersome itch from head to toe.  My face feels as if ants are crawling all over it and I want to scratch them off but I decide its best to maybe step back from the stove and just take a break and keep calm.

Suddenly I hear the defiant screams of my second youngest child as my wife calls after him to come to her.  Still screaming and pouting he makes his grand entrance into the kitchen where I try to fight back that suddenly rush of adrenaline that pumps through the veins of any parent when dealing with such an episode.  Unfortunately, this sudden rush is accompanied by further intensifying burning; stabbing sensations that teeter on the verge of erupting me into a seriously painful episode, with just a little added pressure.  My muscles are so tense that my skin feels as if someone is pulling it from the outside in and that it would literally just rip apart, in conjunction with all the burning and stabbing sensations.

Breaking it Down

Just like all the scenarios I have used this far, these are very real events from my personal life that I am sharing with you for you to understand better the correlation of these fundamental aspects in how they relate to your painful state.

So then what is the environment that we have here?

The external environment was the temperature change that was caused by both the cooking and the thermostat.

Then there was the internal environment that was impacted by the above but also by the psychological or mental side of the house.  Although I did not mention it, things that excite me cause me to get internally hot as it does for any person but in my case I don’t sweat and heat leads to pain after awhile.

So we have an initiation of my painful state due to the combined efforts of external heat brought upon by:

• Cooking.
• The heat due to the thermostat.

Then we also have the internal rise of body temperature that occurred from my emotional reaction to my defiant son.

So what was the outcome of this?

The outcome was that I ended up in a significant amount of pain.  While I was not burned by any of the food, I felt the temperature externally against my skin which would be an external physical influence that began to cause me to feel mild painful sensations.  Also these mild sensations were compounded upon by the rise in temperature when the thermostat flipped the heater.  Then to top it off there was the internal influence that put me over due to the emotional reaction I had due to my son’s defiant behavior.

So you see although we have solely focused on the environment, it should be apparent at how great of a role it plays in the triggering of your physical external and internal painful aggravators.

Now with that said there are times in which you can control or manipulate the environment in your favor but most of the time that is not the case.  In this sense I could have made sure that the heat would not come on or even turned on the A/C unit in our kitchen window to keep things cool enough for me to finish cooking but I could not have stopped my son’s defiant behavior considering I was not in the room with he and my wife.

However, before I close this out I would like to give you an example of what things are like in a different environment.  There was a time that I was working for a temp service company and was tasked to assist load cargo into a trailer.  The thing is that this required me to work in a freezer warehouse.  I have already stated my issues with rising temperature, so being in such an environment was perfect for me to do the type of hard labor required of me.  I wore a pull-over sweater and a leather jacket to keep me warm while I built pallets and wrapped them in shrink wrap.  The problem was that the faster I worked the hotter I got and I quickly had to discard both the leather jacket and the sweater and work in my T – shirt.  I got a lot of funny looks from the other workers who were very well bundled up.  I did not take the time to explain the secrets behind my seemingly super human toleration to the extreme cold temperatures but needleless to say I was not phased.  I did not even experience the pain I was feeling while I was wearing the leather jacket and sweater while doing the same work.

So how are things different in this example?

First off we have a more favorable environment to compliment the nature of my condition but I still end up in pain.  Why is that?

It was due to:

• The influence of heat produced from increased activity.
• The influence of heat produced from layers of clothing.

Both are external physical aggravators to the onset of my painful state.  Then we also have the internal production of heat as a result which further compounds upon the later.  The end result is escalating levels of pain.

In all of this the environment has not changed but it has been manipulated or adapted to some degree due to my clothing and activity.  Likewise, I was able to manipulate things to be more favorable by removing the extra layers in order to be cold enough to compensate for my activity levels.  Therefore, the colder it is the more active I could be but once the pain ensued it would then be a matter of decreasing my activity in order to complete the job, which is what I had to do in this case.  So now you have been given two opposite examples of how great of a role that the environment plays in the onset of a painful condition.

If this is not real enough for you then remove me and plug in yourself with a scenario change so it will be easier to put the pieces together.  I use myself because I already am aware of how these fundamentals play out in my own life and by knowing this;  I have greater control over my condition.  I have gone from victim to victor in how I view my state of being and I am here to help you achieve the same.

Part 6