Allergic Reaction:
"Name That Toxin!"

Have you ever had an allergic reaction?
Do you suspect perhaps a smoke allergy?
Sensitive to chemicals, foods, mold, dust?

Perhaps you'll recognize some of your own suffering
in our story.

From Generic to Green

Do you recall dissecting frogs in biology lab in high school? I will never forget the smell of the preservative, formaldehyde . It made me sick. If you have ever smelled a strong dose of it, you may recall having a nauseated, suffocating feeling.

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) was also an issue. You may discover, as I did, that if you eat sugar or caffeine on an empty stomach, you may become shaky and light-headed.

Learning to balance healthy eating with a proper balance of protein is essential for staving off hypoglycemia.

Ever wondered if you have a smoke allergy? The summer after graduation from high school, I got a job in a factory to earn money for college. I was put in an area in which I was required to work side by side with one other specific employee. Unfortunately, she was a smoker. Although I did not like the smell of smoke, I seemed to be able to at least tolerate it - that is, for several days. Back then, we were pretty unaware of the effects of second hand smoke.

Although I have nothing against smokers themselves, I have to be extremely cautious about my exposure to cigarette or pipe smoke. I also have to be wary of burning leaves (which provokes a similar coughing reaction) and wood fires.

Twenty-Something

In later years, I could understand my baby son's allergic reaction to smoke, as it mirrored my own. However, he also had serious reactions to dairy products (which took a lot of detective work to figure out) and certain dyes in foods.

He had reactions to each of his vaccinations, the most serious at 18 months. It was after this that he developed asthma.

I welcomed another son less than a year after the first, and he also reacted to dairy products and the shots. It took time, effort, and a lot of detective work to figure out which reactions were allergy related.

Given the fact that my oldest son would be sick for weeks
at a time, I began to study allergies, asthma, and allergic reactions.

Besides the smoke allergy and the food allergies, I found he was extremely allergic to pollen and mold.

Not only was he exposed outdoors because of the numerous trees and leaves continually composting, but we discovered a mold problem in our home itself.

These asthma triggers had to be eliminated. Add to this the fact that we resided next to a busy highway, it soon became apparent that we needed to move for the sake of his health - and for all of us.

Research for a Healthy House

Over 12 years ago, information on healthy houses was spotty at best. I spent hours of research on info from the local library on allergies and allergic reactions, asthma, mold, healthy building, and pretty much anything I could get my hands on that related to these.

We were fortunate to locate a "healthy house consultant" who provided information and options on building an allergy-free haven to help us regain our health. Story continues...

Fast forward to the present. A couple of moves later and with many years gone by, I assumed that standard building practices were safer and the materials used were now less toxic. When I seriously considered building a new home, I assumed that "standard" meant "ok" - even for people prone to allergic reactions.

Boy, was I mistaken!

Open Houses

In my country, many builders build what they call "spec houses" or houses built speculatively. That means that they build a new house with the hope that they can sell it for a profit soon after (or even before) it is completed.

This also gives people the opportunity to get to see the builder's workmanship.

It was during such open houses that I became aware of the hidden hazards of new construction materials. And I soon realized we could never live in a "standard - built home."

That experience led me to begin again a long process of research, study and investigation that brought me back full circle: and realizing once again the many benefits of building green.

I hope our story will inspire you to look into this area of green healthy building - and that you will find renewed health and welfare as a result.

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