General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: YEA! Ring of Fire plans to go after Monsanto's Roundup big time in the next few weeks! [View all]womanofthehills
(8,698 posts)NAC really gives me energy and helps with allergies big time. L'taurine is also good.
In September 1994, my whole neighborhood was poisoned by the Environmental Health Dept of the City of Abluquerque - spraying for mosquitos with some old Malathion they found in a shed when they ran out of pyrethroids. (Hard to believe, but that is what the workers told me.) This was just the topping as my neighborhood block had been sprayed on summer nights for yrs because we were up against the ditch and river.
Due to incompetence, they sprayed Malathion 4 nights in a row - around 3 am without notice. I actually called Monsanto and was told they never even spray that often in the jungle. Many of the kids got asthma - many are my Facebook friends and still have asthma to this day and I got Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. This left me very sensitive to pesticides, chemicals, etc. I'm about 90 percent better as I moved way out to the country - clean air, no farming, no traffic, no businesses, neighbors far away.
Malathion like glyphosate is an organophosphate . My symptoms were extreme salavation (which still happens if I am exposed to a pesticide/herbicide - but now it will end in a day or so- not be continual) , bronchospasm, muscle tremors - esp at night in bed, and muscle weakness where my legs would just give out sometimes.
The organophosphate (OP) pesticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase. Hence, acetylcholine accumulates at nerve synapses and neuromuscular junctions, stimulating muscarinic and nicotinic receptors and the central nervous system.
They are used as pesticides but can also be used as 'nerve gas'. This is prohibited under the Geneva Convention but could be used by terrorists or rogue regimes. There is some suggestion that the use of OP pesticides may have caused some neurotoxicity and be responsible for 'Gulf War syndrome'. Certainly, insecticides were freely used, as were many other chemicals. The syndrome is inconsistent in those affected but is neither simply a post-traumatic stress disorder nor the result of acute OP poisoning and is likely to represent low-level chronic toxicity. This is supported by a case control study which reported that chronic exposure to OP pesticides can lead both to depressive and anxiety disorders and also to cognitive defects (unrelated to psychiatric disorders). This is a significant problem which may also affect children and further research in this field is necessary.
Presentation
The presentation of OP poisoning depends upon whether the poisoning is mild, moderate or severe. The symptoms are basically those of excessive acetylcholine activity.
Mild
Small or pinpoint pupils.
Painful, blurred vision.
Runny nose and eyes.
Excess saliva.
Eyes looking 'glassy'.
Headache.
Nausea.
Mild muscle weakness.
Localised muscle twitching.
Mild agitation.
Moderate
Pinpoint pupils, conjunctival injection.
Dizziness, disorientation.
Coughing, wheezing, sneezing.
Drooling, excess phlegm, bronchorrhoea, bronchospasm.
Breathing difficulty.
Marked muscle twitching or tremors.
Muscle weakness, fatigue.
Vomiting, diarrhoea, urination.
Severe
Pinpoint pupils.
Confusion and agitation.
Convulsions.
Copious excess secretions.
Cardiac arrhythmias.
Collapse, respiratory depression or respiratory arrest.
Coma.
Death