Rudolph Garvin was a college student, the son of a physician, who wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. His prospects were dim because of his failing grades. For many years he had suffered from minus-one symptoms, such as rhinitis. He had repeatedly been examined for sinus infections, but none could be found. He also suffered from repeated “colds.”

When he entered college, his localized minus-one symptoms gave way to systemic minus-two symptoms: headaches and bouts of extreme tiredness. These would generally come on around 3 p.m. Tiredness and head pain interfered with his ability to study, concentrate, or perform his tasks. He had to try to sneak in some studying before the head-pain problems became too distracting.

Inexplicably, his fatigue fluctuated and was much worse on certain days. In general, his tiredness was associated with bouts of nervousness, tension, and feelings of frustration. He also experienced brain-fag, characterized by impaired reading comprehension and unretentive memory. For instance, he would read his assignment the night before a class but would be unable to remember what he had read the next day. When he first came for ecologic management, his afternoon fatigue had spread to the morning as well. Even after sleeping for eight or nine hours, he awakened tired. Like many such patients, his sleep was restless.

In office tests, two glasses of milk brought on a headache and a feeling of extreme fatigue. He had to lie down until he was able to return home. This was accompanied by stomach upset.

After eating eggs, on another occasion, he suffered a headache after forty minutes. Milk and eggs were daily foods in his diet. He was therefore taken off these items, as well as beef and peanuts, which were both suspected on the basis of his history. After two weeks on the diet, he reported feeling much less tired. He was then instructed to return beef to his diet for three days, followed by peanuts. His headache and fatigue did not reappear. The return of dairy products and eggs, however, was accompanied by a return of his physical fatigue and pain. By eliminating these foods from his diet in all their forms, he recovered his health. After a while, he was able to reintroduce these foods into his diet according to the principles of the Rotary Diversified Diet. His grades improved, and he was admitted to medical school. Today he is a successful physician.

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It is a common observation that automobile passengers are far less likely to become sick if they ride in the front rather than in the rear of the passenger compartment. In fact, moving to the front seat is the traditional “cure” for car sickness. But why is that?

One reason is that the rear passengers are exposed to more air pollution than those in the front. If the rear windows or station-wagon “gate” are open even a crack, exhaust fumes from the car will enter the rear seating area. This is because a car in motion creates a vacuum behind it, and the vacuum sucks exhausts into the passenger compartment. The location of the exhaust pipe to the side of some cars helps the problem but does not solve it. It should be noted that car sickness is not the same as motion sickness. This is shown by the fact that many people become sick while riding in cars who are not affected by trips in other conveyances, such as electrically propelled busses or trains.

Other forms of car-induced problems include “driver hypnosis.” This is the onset of fatigue and overpowering sleepiness which occurs after several hours of driving. Often the physical fatigue of driving and of staring at the road is heightened by the more subtle effect of exhaust fumes. People driving under the influence of fumes may find their ability to make quick decisions diminished and their tolerance for other drivers decreased, which can result in extremely hostile and violent behavior. If the driver is a “food-a-holic,” frequent stops at junk-food dispensaries along the highway will not improve his behavior.

In addition, massive exposures to chemicals commonly encountered along the road can result in immediate, acute symptoms. These include fresh road tar, car exhausts, pesticide sprays, and airport pollution. This usually involves some impairment in muscle coordination, nervousness, tenseness, blurring of vision, and so forth. The afflicted driver rarely understands the cause of his “attack of nerves.” Sometimes chemical reactions progress to the point of apparent “drunkenness,” although the driver has not had anything inebriating to drink.

Alcoholics may be unable to tell the location of their feet unless they first look at them. Drivers in the “drunken” stage of chemical reactivity similarly cannot tell how much force they are applying to either the gas or the brake pedal unless they look. And looking, of course, adds to the danger, since now the driver’s eyes are not on the road. Some patients, such as Ida Koller (Chap. 1), have been pulled off the road in such a condition and forced to take a breath test by the police, only to pass it, to the confusion and consternation of the officers. Some drivers may realize that something is going wrong and turn the wheel over to someone else or pull over to the side of the road. Some victims smash up their cars and those of others, never knowing the true cause of their bizarre behavior. One wonders how many of the thousands of “unexplained” automobile accidents are helped along by acute reactions to pollution.

What has been said about drivers also applies to pedestrians. A person on foot, wading through a blanket of smog, may temporarily become thoroughly confused and lose all perception of danger. Stand at a busy intersection sometime during a smog alert and watch the pedestrians. Seemingly normal people often walk like zombies in such situations, impervious to danger. In fact, in smoggy situations a driver cannot assume a normal degree of perception and awareness on the part of any pedestrian. I once saw one of my patients trying to cross a downtown street: he began to cross with the light, got half-way across, stopped, and then crossed back again in a daze. Further investigation showed that he was not simply lost, but was benumbed by the outdoor air pollution.

The automobile has been called the focus of our civilization, and has certainly transformed our lives, making transportation both more convenient and more pleasant, in many cases. But we are also discovering many drawbacks to this mode of transportation, including unsuspected acute and chronic health problems. The added load which the automobile adds to our chemical-susceptibility problem is certainly one of its major deficits.

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Food poisoning is a disorder of the stomach and intestines caused by bacteria or chemicals in foods. The classical form of food poisoning is caused by staphylococci (called “staph”), the same germs that cause boils and impetigo. The germs enter the food during its preparation. If the food is not properly refrigerated, the germs multiply hourly, contaminating the food with a toxin (poison) given off by the germs. The foods in which staph germs grow best are pastries and other starchy foods ordinarily served cold; salads; cold chicken; ham and beef in gelatin; whipped cream; and custards. Since staph germs and their toxins are odorless and tasteless, the contaminated food smells and tastes normal.

A variety of germs other than staph also can cause food poisoning of a milder nature. Two more serious conditions that are sometimes classified as food poisoning are botulism and dysentery.

Signs and symptoms

Eating contaminated food causes vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea within one to six hours. The child may or may not have a fever. Symptoms last 12 to 24 hours.

Food poisoning is usually considered when a number of people who have eaten the same food become ill within hours of one another. Food poisoning can occur after picnics, parties, or eating out in a cafeteria or restaurant where foods have been prepared in advance and improperly stored.

Home care

Home treatment is the same as for any vomiting and diarrhea. When a child has both diarrhea and vomiting, treat vomiting first by restricting the child’s diet to clear liquids only. Once the vomiting stops treat the diarrhea by limiting or not reintroducing solid foods – especially those with roughage, fruits (except bananas and apples), vegetables, butter, fatty meats, and peanut butter. Do not give the child milk, since milk may further aggravate diarrhea.

Encourage the child to drink plenty of clear liquids: tea, water, flavored gelatin water, and commercial mineral and electrolyte mixtures.

Precautions

• Do not prepare food that requires refrigeration for your child’s lunchbox or for a picnic if refrigeration will not be available.

• A child with diarrhea and vomiting needs plenty of clear liquids to avoid dehydration (a serious loss of body fluids).

• Do not give anti-diarrheal medications to children, since side effects are common and can be dangerous.

• Isolate an infant from children who are ill with vomiting and diarrhea.

• If there is blood in the stools, high fever, prostration (extreme weakness or collapse), or severe or prolonged diarrhea (more than two to three days), call your doctor.

Medical treatment

In severe cases, hospitalization may be required so that the child can be given intravenous fluids. Local health departments can investigate food poisoning outbreaks and trace the source of food poisoning by testing suspected foods.

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