|
|
|
||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|||
 |
|||
|
DEAR EARTHTALK: Are there natural
headache remedies that can get me off of Tylenol, Advil and other medicines
whose side effects can be as bad as or worse than the pain that led
me to use them?
All headaches are not the same and gobbling down pain pills will not address the causes, whatever they may be. Some headaches are caused by tension; others stem from sinus congestion, caffeine withdrawal, constipation, food allergies, spinal misalignment or lack of sleep. And then there are migraines, which researchers think are neurological in nature: The brain fails to constrict the nerve pathways that open the arteries to the brain, resulting in a pounding headache as blood flows in unchecked. Assessing what kind of headache you may have can help lead the way to a solution beyond deadening the pain with a pill. To make tension headaches go away, the Farmers' Almanac recommends applying an ice pack to the neck and upper back, or, even better, getting someone to massage those areas. Also, soaking the feet in hot water can divert blood from your head to your feet, easing any kind of headache pain in the process. Another all-natural headache cure is acupressure (like acupuncture, but without the needles), which promotes healing throughout the body by stimulating channels of energy known as meridians. Victoria Abreo, alternative medicine editor for the website BellaOnline, says that anyone suffering from a tension headache can employ a simple acupressure technique to help relieve the pain: "With one hand, press the shallow indention in the back of the head at the base of the skull. Simultaneously, with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand, press firmly into the upper hollows of the eye sockets, right where they straddle the bridge of the nose and meet the 't' of the eyebrow bridge." She says to press softy at first, and then more firmly, holding for three to five minutes.
According to Dr. Linda White, who writes about natural health for Mother Earth News, some recent clinical trials have shown three nutritional supplements - magnesium, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10 - to be particularly effective at reducing the frequency and severity of migraines. Also, a number of herbs - including feverfew, butterbur, lavender, gingko biloba, rosemary and chamomile - have proven track records in preventing or stopping migraines. Since herbs can be potent and are not regulated or tested, headache sufferers should consult a trusted doctor or naturopath before using alternative remedies. CONTACTS: Farmers' Almanac; BellaOnline; Mother Earth News.
DEAR EARTHTALK: There has been
a lot of news about lead-tainted children's toys being recalled.
Where are these toys ending up and are they creating pollution problems
there? THE BIGGEST PROBLEM with the recall of millions of lead-tainted toys over the last few years has been getting shops and consumers to comply. According to Mattel - which has issued dozens of recalls in recent years, including some 2.2 million Chinese-made toys contaminated with lead paint - historically only about six percent of recalled toys are returned. For those that do come home to roost, Mattel sells or reuses the zinc and some of the resins they contain, and then recycles as many of the other components as possible, off-loading the lead to companies that specialize in the safe disposal of hazardous materials. But what becomes of the 94 percent or so of the recalled lead-tainted toys that don't make it back to Mattel? Many of them no doubt have found a comfortable home with a child somewhere long before word of the recall - ignored or missed by parents - got out. Of the remaining toys, some of those that were recalled in the summer of 2007 ended up on auction website like eBay and business-to-business sites like Made-in-China.com - and then eventually into the hands of unwitting consumers, many of them overseas.
The fact that these toys got out there for sale in the first place is the real shame, as research has shown that kids who have been exposed regularly to lead or lead paint have lower IQs and may experience learning disabilities as well as behavioral problems. The good news might be that recalls are getting more exposure than ever, with better results. Illinois-based RC2 Corporation has already gotten back upwards of 70 percent of the 1.5 million lead-tainted Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys it recalled just last year. While there is still no nationally accepted procedure governing the disposal or recycling of such items, individual companies are bound by the laws of their respective states regarding disposal of the harmful materials. Those who worry about lead leaching out of landfills and into groundwater and soils would like the see the federal government mandate strict safety rules for dealing with lead and other hazardous materials. Consumers unsure about whether a particular toy or other item has been part of a recall should check online at the "Recalls and Product Safety" section of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website. If a given product has been recalled, you can probably return it to the store where you bought it and let them deal with the hassle of getting it to the manufacturer. Or if you know an item was recalled for hazardous materials, you can drop it off at your local municipal hazardous waste collection facility. The website Earth911 provides a comprehensive national database of such facilities coast-to-coast. CONTACTS: Mattel Product Recalls; RC2 Recall Information; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; Earth911.
DEAR EARTHTALK: How can the new
Obama administration and/or Congress undo the many anti-environmental
actions the Bush administration undertook over the last eight years,
including the obstruction of Bill Clinton's landmark "roadless
rule" legislation? THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION has certainly been no friend to the environment. Besides working for eight years to overturn the Clinton administration's "Roadless Rule" that prevented road building (and the logging that usually follows) on 58.5 million acres of national forests, the Bush White House has opened up 45 million additional acres of public land across the American West to oil and gas drilling during its tenure. Right now Bush is pushing to open up thousands more acres in sensitive areas around three national parks in Utah to more oil and gas extraction. According to The New York Times, these new oil and gas "leases" (the government leases drilling rights on public land to private companies) will be auctioned off on December 19, 2008, the last day the White House may carry out such transactions before leaving office.
On the Roadless Rule, itself an 11th-hour executive order by Bill Clinton that has been mired in the courts since Bush tried to overturn it in 2001, Obama promised during the campaign that he would work with Congress to codify it as the law of the land. Luckily for greens, the back-and-forth on the issue over the past eight years has meant that only seven miles of new roads - yielding access to just 500 acres of timber - have been cut on lands slated for protection under the Roadless Rule during Bush's tenure. Obama also has his work cut out on a number of other environmental initiatives ignored or opposed by the Bush White House. Chief among them is taking action on global warming. If one can believe the campaign rhetoric, Obama will work to get the U.S. on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 through a number of initiatives. Jason Grumet, the Obama campaign's lead energy and environment advisor, has indicated that the president-elect plans to move quickly on getting climate change legislation through in 2009 and working to make the U.S. a leader on mitigating global warming. Another way Obama can win green friends is to undo a Bush proposal, slated to take effect in December, to cut wildlife experts out of decisions affecting plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Bush has faced sharp criticism for disregarding or ignoring the input of scientists on many issues. Obama seems likely to want to re-assert the importance of science in policy decision-making. CONTACTS: Barack Obama on the Issues; U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule Information.
© the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine, 2009
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Read the column archives at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. |
|||
 |
|||
|
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
|
|||
MANY OF US may be too
dependent on over-the-counter painkillers to treat the occasional headache,
especially given the side effects of such drugs. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
can increase the risk of heart and circulation problems - including
heart attack and stroke - and is also tough on the digestive tract.
Too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) has been linked to nausea, diarrhea,
and kidney and liver problems. Many natural health care practitioners
disparage drugs for merely masking the symptoms of larger problems.
As for migraines, avoiding certain trigger foods might be key to staving
them off. Abreo says migraine sufferers should try steering clear of
dairy products, processed meat, red wine, caffeine and chocolate. New
research has shown that some people with specific dietary deficiencies
are more prone to migraines.
Unfortunately, there is still no federal law or regulation against reselling
recalled toys, although some members of Congress are trying to change
that. For its part, eBay has agreed to try to keep recalled products
off its auction website, but enforcement can be a challenge.
