Environmental Toxin Detection

What's in our environment

Our home and work environments can be full of things that adversely affect us. Mold, toxic cleaning products, undetected asbestos, mice and rats, termites, formaldehyde, radon, and many more. The air you breathe and the furniture you sit on can affect your health more than you may realize.

In addition to disease we also train our dogs to find those things in our environment that many doctors are starting to realize increase our chances of getting various diseases. Parkinson's, Alzheimer’s,

Autoimmune diseases such as PANS/PANDAS and MCAS are considered environmentally caused auto immune syndromes.

In toxic doses, toxic compounds can negatively affect human health. Many of them are known to:
• cause cancer (radon, formaldehyde, benzene).
• act as endocrine disruptors (BPA, pesticides, phthalates).
• cause organ failure or developmental problems (lead, mercury, cadmium).

Environmental toxins can cause serious health effects when exposure is allowed to accumulate, but it is important to remember that the poison is in the dose. Problems usually result from prolonged or excessive exposure; the occasional use of a plastic cup probably won’t hurt you unless you’ve built up a response or inherited one.

While it is impossible to eliminate exposure, a few simple steps will go a long way towards protecting you and your family.

Endocrine disruptors

Endocrine disruptors include a wide range of substances, both natural and human-made, that may interfere with the body’s endocrine (hormone and cell signaling) system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects.

Endocrine disruptors usually mimic estrogen and are found in many everyday products we use, including:
• some plastic bottles and containers.
• food can liners.
• detergents.
• flame retardants.
• toys.
• cosmetics.
• pesticides.

A major endocrine disruptor is phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals used to soften plastics. They are found in a wide variety of products that are not generally considered plastics: bottles, shampoo, cosmetics, lotions, nail polish, perfumes, colognes, and deodorant. Fragrances not derived from plants and flowers are generally made from phthalates. Others are made from coal tar derivatives.

In training medical alert dogs for those with Mast Cell Activation Disorders, training for phthalates and coal tar derivatives are mandatory as everyone encountered so far has these two substances as triggers for anaphylaxis.

Particle Pollution

The particles that compose particle pollution can range from dust, mold, and fungus particles to chemical compounds from fuel emissions. According to Dr. Bonnie Sager, the cofounder of Citizen’s Appeal for Leaf Blower Moderation, the landscaping industry accounts for up to 10 percent of air pollution in the United States—and the gas leaf blower is “one of the worst offenders,” depositing 30 percent of its raw gasoline back into the air.

Particle pollution can contribute to the development of heart and lung disease, asthma attacks, and lung cancer. And researchers are discovering that particle pollution is creating new syndromes and diseases as different parts of our bodies are affected.

More than two decades of research has shown that air pollution can trigger heart attacks, strokes, and irregular heart rhythms, particularly in people who have or are at risk for heart disease. The most dangerous pollutants appear to be very tiny particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which the Environmental Protection Agency reports as PM2.5. These particles come from car and truck exhaust, power plants and other industrial sources, wildfires, and wood-burning stoves.
Mold

A mold or mould is a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. In contrast, fungi that can adopt a single-celled growth habit are called yeasts. There is always some mold everywhere – in the air and on many surfaces. Molds have been on the Earth for millions of years. Mold grows where there is moisture.

Exposure to damp and moldy environments may cause a variety of health effects, or none at all. Some people are sensitive to molds. For these people, molds can cause nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing or wheezing, eye irritation, or, in some cases, skin irritation. People with mold allergies may have more severe reactions. Immune-compromised people and people with chronic lung illnesses, such as obstructive lung disease, may get serious infections in their lungs when they are exposed to mold.

Fragrances and Flavorings

Natural ingredients—flowers, grasses, spices, fruit, wood, roots, resins, balsams, leaves, gums, and animal secretions—as well as resources like alcohol, petrochemicals, coal, and coal tars are used in the manufacture of perfumes. Some plants, such as lily of the valley, do not produce oils naturally. In fact, only about 2,000 of the 250,000 known flowering plant species contain these essential oils. Therefore, synthetic chemicals must be used to re-create the smells of non-oily substances. Synthetics also create original scents not found in nature.

Some perfume ingredients are animal products. For example, castor comes from beavers, musk from male deer, and ambergris from the sperm whale. Animal substances are often used as fixatives that enable perfume to evaporate slowly and emit odors longer. Other fixatives include coal tar, mosses, resins, or synthetic chemicals.

According to the Environmental Working Group, the average fragrance contains about 14 secret chemicals that aren’t listed on the label, many of which are linked to hormone disruption and allergic reactions, as well as about 80 percent of them not being tested for human safety in personal care products.

When a product is sprayed into the air, it doesn’t just affect the person that sprayed it, but can cause many problems for other people around. It can throw their bodies into a frenzy of reactive behavior and trigger migraines, allergy symptoms, asthma, chronic lung disease and other health conditions. And even if people do not have immediate symptoms from these chemicals, due to the lack of testing these chemicals, we don’t actually know the long-term effects of spraying or rubbing them on our highly sensitive skin every single day. Perfumes are not the only culprit; these effects can come from furniture, adhesives, cleaning supplies, paints, and even paper.

Environmental Detection

What's in our environment

Endocrine disruptors

Particle Pollution

Fragrances and Flavorings