MM and Cleaning with Bleach

In my Twitter feed I am calling today Toxic Thursday.

Following Hurricane Sandy, FEMA and The Center for Disease Control (CDC) are both advising people to be careful cleaning after the storm because the water has toxic chemicals and raw sewage all mixed together. After the storm water recedes there is one miracle product that will disinfect and kill bacteria, flu viruses and even AIDS: BLEACH.

Decades ago, as a high school student, I participated in the CDC AIDS companion advocate training program. This was back before we knew what AIDS was, and back when some ignorant people thought if a mosquito bit someone with AIDS then bit them, they would be gay. It was Colorado. In the class I learned that a solution with a little bleach would kill the AIDS virus.

Last week my baby was sick. At the pediatrician I learned that one of our local elementary schools has a whooping cough outbreak because I live in an area where people don't vaccinate their children (please vaccinate your children). I have a Master in Public Health, and I don't want to tell you about the MILLIONS of children who die every year. Fortunately, my baby had a different virus and recovered in 24 hours. All of the things going around can be killed by bleach.

When I first became bed ridden and incredibly sick over a decade ago, I was a medical mystery. I have always been chemically sensitive and use only plant based cleaners in my house.

Once, helping a friend move in college, we mixed bleach and ammonia while cleaning and almost killed ourselves. I've learned many things since then. Now I use organic cleaners and bleach.

There is increasing research that overexposure to a sterile environment is harmful to young children. Eating dirt helps build a good immune system. Generally, I use this as an excuse not to clean my house. Also, I let my kids get really dirty.

Last night, I hosted a Halloween party, and now my house is full of germs. I am immune suppressed, so now I have to clean. Other people's children put my kid's toys in their mouths, and it's time to disinfect while the baby naps.

I already have a headache. If you want to play from home, you could bet on how long until my fibro flares from the strenuous activity. Normally, I would stretch out the cleaning over the course of the week, and wait until the weekend when my hubby can help, but Sunday we are going out of town, so things must get done.

These are the things that make us Myalgia Mommies special. We decorate our houses like a Kindergarten classroom then have to take everything back down. I miss the days of putting on a costume and going to a party!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your best cleaning tip or just say, "Awe, poor thing, housework is evil!"

Cheers,
ALJ

Weathering the Storm

This blog is called "Myalgia Mommies" to be as inclusive as possible for all mothers living with some form of chronic pain. The more mommies I meet and the older I get, I am beginning to believe that most of us are "Myalgia Mommies".

I decided to start this on-line community because I have a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, so I am a pretend doctor and keep up on all the reading anyway. Also, I have suffered migraines since I was 5 and was diagnosed (after over 2 years of tests and visiting NIH to determine mystery illness) with a very severe case of Fibromyalgia in 2001. In the decade that I was dealing with my chronic pain, waiting for a good drug to be invented, I never found an on-line community that was positive support and included the challenges of parenting. 

I love Chronic Babe, but she gets massages and makes martinis. I have kids and chaperone dances, drive all over, plan lessons, play dates, sleepovers, etc. Mom stuff and cool no kids stuff is very different. 

This post is about the huge storm Sandy, hitting the East Coast today. 

I am mostly a Twitter person and am calling it Tea Tuesday! 

Mommies who have kids home from school, make some tea, get some craft projects and have a great day. I can't go outside today unless I am wearing about ten layers of clothes. For some reason I flare when I get cold, and it is 40 degrees outside. So, I'm building a fire, making tea and blogging. Later we will bake some cookies, sing some songs, maybe do a puzzle...

The latest meeting of the Fibromyalgia research group said that daily 30 minutes of exercise helps, but the best kind for me and others with various rheumatoid  problems is a warm pool and water exercise or swimming. See previous post, my baby is in a cast so no pool for us!

I don't know how some of you Myalgia Mommies live in cold places. Feel free to leave tips in the comments section. My aunt is a Myalgia Mommie and lives Up North. Her myalgia is a fused disk in her lower back that can't be operated on. The funny thing about my Aunt is that if the temp gets above 70, she gets really upset. She can't handle the heat. I love her to pieces, but if I go below 65 my whole body hurts. We rarely see each other, but we talk on the phone. We both have Scotties. 


I hope you all have power to read this blog and weathered the storm. We only recently moved back to the mainland from the USVI (great warm place, gets several hurricanes each year!) so I am familiar with hurricanes. My myalgia has a hard limit that I can't lift over 10 pounds or my back will go out. I've always relied on the kindness of friends or yelling at hubby to put up our storm shutters. 

If you and your kids are fine, please go check on an elderly or disabled neighbor. 

Also, if you would like daily silly tips from me, you can follow me on Twitter at IslandAnnaLand. 

Stay Warm and Dry!

Cheers, 
ALJ