this is the BS section and people can talk about whatever they want here. Re allergies, I watched my mother in law deteriorate with chronic fatigue syndrome. She was a woman who once did a lot of hiking (bushwalking we call it here in oz) ran her own art and pottery studio, and led a vigorous and dynamic life through several decades. In her last decade she caught Ross River fever, developed chronic fatigue syndrome
and became a different person. I watched her deep frustration in dealing with it, it was not something she imagined.

I always thought she may have ingested too many toxic chemicals from all the pottery glazes and oil paints she worked with. Until symptoms become diagnosed and given a name by the medical profession, sufferers are fair game for the ignorant. we live in a world where the air is now mixed with:
1 lead (Pb)- a heavy metal that is soluble in water and can be easily absorbed in the body, where it accumulates. One of the six criteria pollutants, it was commonly used in gasoline until it was banned in the 1980s.

2 Nitrogen oxides- gases that form when nitrogen and oxygen combine, such when fossil fuels are burned at high temperatures or when lightning strikes.

3 Ground-level ozone is a pollutant, a major component of smog. It is formed when nitrogen oxides react with sunlight and volatile organic compounds.

4 Particulate matter- 1. Fine liquid or solid particles such as dust, smoke, mist, fumes, or smog, found in air or emissions. 2. Very small solids suspended in water; they can vary in size, shape, density and electrical charge and can be gathered together by coagulation and flocculation.

5 Peat - Peat is a renewable, natural, organic material of botanical origin and commercial significance. In industry, peat is used primarily as a filtration medium to remove toxic materials from process waste streams, pathogens from sewage effluents, and deleterious materials suspended in municipal storm-drain water. In its dehydrated form, peat is a highly effective absorbent for fuel and oil spills on land and water.

6 petrol fumes

7Secondary pollutants- air pollutants that are formed in the atmosphere from the chemical reactions of primary pollutants or other pollutants.

8 smog-forming chemicals, since the chemical reactions that result in smog occur in the sky while the reacting chemicals are being blown away from their sources by winds.

its surprising more of us arent sick.

and i agree with GUEST,08 Dec 04 - 05:29 PM, and Van Lingle's comments about CarolC. she is one admirable catter.