Burn Pits 360: Invisible Wounds of Toxic Exposure

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
Medicine / Environmental Illness
______________________________

Environmental illness comes in various forms. Some people get sick from molds and fungi. Some people are susceptible to pesticides. When in the military, a whole new toxic overload comes into play: the Burn Pits.

From vaccines, chemicals, to depleted uranium, the military often does not discuss the health affects of going to war. Sure, veterans know about the psychological ramifications, but are rarely told of the medical issues that can manifest upon return.

Veterans' symptoms are ignored or told their failing health is due to a psychological disorder. Civilian Environmental Patients are told these lies as well. Anything to keep patients from finding out about the irresponsible and profit-making world of toxic chemicals in everyday life..

Luckily, Burn Pits 360 is a resource for military personnel and veterans to research more information and see if their symptoms are a match for exposures they received in the military.

Here is but a few symptoms that Environmental Illness Patients have in common with their military counterparts: 

Symptoms

• FATIGUE
• JOINT PAIN
• MIGRAINE HEADACHES
• SHORTNESS OF BREATH
• CHRONIC COUGH
• MEMORY LOSS
• REFLUX
• SKIN RASHES
• ACID REFLUX
• HEART BURN
• MUSCLE/BODY ACHES
• BACK PAIN
• ABDOMINAL PAIN
• BLISTERS
• LOW TESTOSTERONE LEVELS
• EYE TWITCHING
• VERTIGO
• NIGHT SWEATS
• HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
• CHOKING
• CHEST PAIN
• INDIGESTION
• LOSS OF SMELL SENSES
• NAUSEA

For more information, please check out our source material.


Source: Burn Pits 360

Don't Play Victim; Be an Advocate for Your Invisible Illness

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
MCS / Awareness Month
________________________________

Living with a chronic illness is never fun. I should know. I am an environmental illness patient because my former employer overused and misused pesticides and the condition of the buildings, which led me to believe the place suffers from tenets of sick buildings as well.

Many chronic and debilitating illnesses are invisible. That means, I look normal. Sometimes healthy to people who do not understand the condition. Instead of giving into the negative taunts of others, you can become an advocate for not only yourself but for others with invisible illnesses.

In the article, How To Deal With People Who Don't Believe You're Sick, we learn that there is a healthy way to correct others as well as your own behavior.

1. Be concise. Be clear. Be confident.
2. Silence the skeptic.
3. Create boundaries.
4. Lose the guilt.
5. Join a support group.

When you are ill, you should never have to apologize for it. You should never have to lose friends or family over it. Chronic illness affects millions of people and being ill is not a game. 

Take the time to understand and respect people with chronic illness and you could learn beneficial facts to keep yourself and your family happy and healthy while showing compassion and understanding to others.

Source: MindBodyGreen 

Movie Night: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Life Altering Condition

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

MCS / Medicine
____________________________________

Since May is Environmental Illness Awareness Month, the VDP Gazette's Movie Night has found this documentary about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS):

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Life Altering Condition

This documentary emphasizes the importance of making our workplaces safer for those who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), so that they can remain productive members of the workforce. Footage includes interviews with Gulf War veterans and 9/11 First Responders who have developed MCS.