One of the ingredients I have been trying to avoid, among all the parabens, aluminum, and preservatives (even in deodorant) is Propylene Glycol. “PG.” As in, NOT the movie rating.
I saw a deodorant labeled as PG-free, and I tried to figure out on my own what the letters stood for. I mean, since I had spent all summer researching, I figured I should know, right? Well, I didn’t. Mostly because I had Propylene Glycol on the safe list. Now here’s my crazy issue with PG and related chemicals…
Back when I had the shingles last year, I also had an odd feeling in my left shoulder. A surface irritation, like a sunburn feeling, where fabric moving against my skin would actually hurt, even though there was no obvious injury. That showed up three months before the shingles, and when I saw my dermatologist while enflamed with the shingles, she suggested that the shoulder was completely unrelated to my more prevalent issue, and that if it persisted she could send me to a neurologist.
A WHO?!!!!
After the shingles and all that great medication they had me on so I would not go stark raving mad, the shoulder pain subsided. I thought I was healed. YAY! No need for the neuro dude.
But, in June after the conference that kicked off what this blog is all about, I suddenly had pain identical to the shingles in my back. I went to my family doctor this time (she also saw me with the shingles…one of four doctors who treated me that crazy week!) Anyhoo…my family doc suggested that this intense back pain I was feeling was not likely to be shingles because of several reasons you are really not interested in, but more interestingly, if the pain continued she could send me to a….
You guessed it… a neurologist!
What is WITH these people?!!
Now, 60+ days later, I have a list of ingredients that cause nerve damage…freaky weird stuff no one can probably explain. These ingredients are called neurotoxins. Nice, huh? Here’s MY take on it: if these ingredients are KNOWN to cause neurological defects, and we use them all the time in all our products every day, sometimes several times a day, can we not expect to see some symptoms? And of course, if we believe our food and our beauty products are safe, would we ever dream of looking at them as the source of our issue? I wouldn’t have. EVER. Seriously, the threat of my child being brain-altered by chemical ingredients was my primary focus. This whole nerve damage from extended use of a certain ingredient I never even knew existed has given me a whole new insight.
OHH!!!! Not to be outdone by the dreadful preservatives, PG can also be found in our foods. I nearly dropped a pre-packaged muffin the other day at work when I read the ingredient list. Ack!!!
PG is not the only neurotoxin I’m looking to avoid. The list is so full of stuff I can’t even pronounce, but I recognized a few of the items, like caffeine, which makes sense. Please note that this does not mean I am cutting out my morning coffee…yet. Acetaminophen…well, it’s a medicine. If it didn’t affect the nerves, it wouldn’t work at all. Duhh.
Do I know for sure that I have nerve damage? No. Do I know for sure that I am suffering from overexposure to PG? No. Do I hurt? Sometimes. Can I learn more about the neurotoxins that might be harming us? Yes.
Will I? That’s a Hell Yes.
That is terrifying!
ReplyDelete1) It's scary how many chemicals go into our every day products. How can we possibly weed through all of them. Speaking of weeds, maybe if it doesn't occur naturally we shouldn't use it at all?
2) I hope your brain and nerves are ok!