Last fall, the FDA came out saying that cough medicine usually doesn't work for kids, and when it does, its risks do not outweigh its benefits (covering up annoying symptoms of a respiratory illness).  In the articles above, we find out that Benedryl, cough suppressants, cold meds, don't work any better than placebos.

We're blessed to have very few colds, one ear infection (the only child ever in group care - "Mother's Morning Out"), and no strep throat in our 11 years of family life.  Hardly anyone gets sick.  I attribute it to years of nursing each child, no group care (including school) exposure, avoiding junk, and a LOT of luck.


More recently, doctors are saying that cough & cold medicines don't do any more than placebos for adults, either.

I'm celebrating my 11th anniversary.  Oh, my, what a WONDERFUL 11 years!  I could never have dreamed myself so blissful.

Last month I celebrated 10 years of nonstop breastfeeding.  That's right, I haven't been longer than 2 weeks (iirc) w/o nursing since 1998.  Mooooooooooo!

I also ... uh... "celebrated" ... 1 year of not going down the bath & beauty aisle ... and it's not b/c I stocked up.  1 year of no shampoo, no lotion, no sodium lauryl sulfate, no methylparabens, no petroleum byproducts on my skin or hair!

Huzzah!

Yahoo recently put up an article on sunscreen and how it increases skin cancer.  It confirms several points I've found in digging around the online medical journal studies:

• sunscreen does not protect against melanoma
• relying on sunscreen instead of covering up or managing sun exposure increases skin cancer risk
• our bizarre habits of semi-nudity at beaches are the cause of most of our skin damage
• many sunscreens break down in the sun, some begin in just 15 minutes
• most people use nowhere close to enough sunscreen to provide the claimed SPF level, anyway
• chemicals in sunscreen cause DNA damage and may contribute to cancer, including skin cancer

(The EWG referenced in the article is the consumer group responsible for the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database linked in my other posts on sunscreen.)

Concludes the Yahoo article (from LiveScience.com):  "We merely think we are protected; few really are."

ETA: Link has gone; here's the original from LiveScience.com.

Yes, olive oil.  No, I'm not kidding!

Unrefined olive & coconut oils, and shea butter, have a natural sun protection equivalent to about SPF 4-6.  That means if you are super pale and can't stay out more than 15 min w/o burning, extra virgin olive oil will give you an hour.  For most folks, most of the year, olive oil will get you 2-4hrs protection all by itself.

I've tried it.  It works.  With no chemicals, and the added bonus of being a wonderful moisturizer!  Affordable, too. (esp. compared to commercial natural sunscreens)

Caveat: do read my experience with using it over the course of a day in FL here.  I've found that re-applying will only get additional sun protection if preceeded by a good long session in the shade first.

(No, it's not greasy - just use a little, and it rubs right in.)
(No, it doesn't fry you.  Chances are, the "oil" you remember your friends coating themselves with in the 70s was "baby oil" (mineral oil, a petroleum product), which, according to one site (which I have NOT substantiated), dissolves the skin's natural oils, leaving you more exposed than if you had nothing at all!)
(We keep it in an old vitamin E oil container - holds an ounce or two - with a flip-top lid reclaimed from a lotion bottle.  Perfect, and lovely, too, with the golden oil & black lid.  Fits perfectly in my purse or glove box.)

LYM, are you insane?  How can you recommend one day to avoid sunscreen, and the very next to get daily sun?  That's ridiculous!

Here's the thing.  We need sun.  We're biologically designed to be outside most of our lives, so it's not too surprising that it benefits us.  Not just for vitamin D, but for eyesight, circadian rhythms, mental wellness, and who knows what else we haven't yet discovered.  Our bodies haven't yet gotten the memo that we live indoor lives now.

But - we've migrated.  My pale skin is made for Germany, not Georgia.  I simply do not have enough melanin distributed throughout my skin to protect me from the sun at this latitude.  I can't just go outside and hang out all day in a tunic. 

Sunscreen seemed like a great solution - till we found out it doesn't do much of anything.  It prevents the symptoms of damage w/o preventing the damage itself.  Not to mention the chemicals that are layering onto our largest organ.  So what next?

What does sunscreen protect us from?

• Not melanoma
• Not basal-cell carcinoma

It seems it protects us from most UVB rays, which cause vitamin D production in the skin & cause a burn to start when we exceed our personal tolerance for the sun we're getting.  Most sunscreens made in the last few years also offer some degree of protection from UVA rays (which seem to be responsible for premature aging of the skin).  So that means, best case:

What does it definitely protect us from?

• Sunburn
• Wrinkles

But what happens when you take away the body's warning system - sunburn?  We spend far more time in the sun than our natural protection would allow, so:

What's the cost?

• Vitamin D deficiency
• Depressed immune function.
• Skin cancer.  Old, UVB-only, sunscreens never protected us against 2 of the 3 skin cancer types, including the most deadly form.  Scientists are hoping that newer UVA/UVB ("broad-spectrum") sunscreens do, but so far it's only a guess.  Even if we're right, the most UVA-shielding ingredients are also the ones that break down in the sun, and there is no guarantee that even SPF 70 is protecting you against UVA - SPF only refers to UVB.  (There is rising evidence that melanoma is caused by sun *deficiency*.)
• Risks from the chemicals and nanoparticle physical ingredients themselves.

Three of the risk factors for non-melanoma skin cancer in a recent study - increased time in the sun, changes in clothing style (people who choose not to use sunscreen tend to wear clothing with more coverage), and immune suppression - are increased by sunscreen use.

Many people say, "Go to the beach, play golf, swim all day, but don't forget your sunscreen!" 

But when we put that sunscreen on, are we really protecting ourselves from anything at all?  Or just removing our natural warning system that we've exceeded our personal ability to process the good from the sun, and continuing to stay out with no protection at all, only the appearance of it? 

Get the details here.

Sunscreen doesn't prevent melanoma.  A few years ago, that was an established fact..  Did you know that?  I didn't.  I asked my mother if she knew sunscreen doesn't prevent deadly skin cancer and she said, "No, of course it doesn't!  But it prevents sunburn!"

If sunburn is the body's warning system that I've gotten more sun than my body can safely manage, then what happens when I remove that warning system, but continue to get the sun? 

Naturemomsblog has a great review of the BPA-free sippy cup options, and a low-down on why we've determined that our cumulative Bisphenol-A load is something that needs to be reduced.  For me, I'm trying to eliminate my use of plastic for food, and greatly reduce it in other areas.  I don't feel a strong attraction to "BPA-free plastic" - b/c just a year ago they were swearing that BPA was safe.  What else is in there that we're not hearing about yet?  I think I'll just forgo the chemical cocktail for now.  (Here's a guide for choosing the right plastics when it's unavoidable.) 

So we have some Kleen Kanteens, a Sigg, and a Foogo. 

"I thank God for Pampers!

I can't count how many times I've heard that, and I was solidly in that camp for a good 8 years.  I mean, I read What to Expect & it said that even environmentally, it was a wash - the multiple washings, mega chemicals, & diaper service trucks needed to get cloth clean meant there was no clear advantage. 

(Did I really believe that?  If someone told me that disposable clothes were no worse for the environment than reusable, would I believe that?)

Why kill myself for them, then?

But if it weren't for the work - the filthy, back-breaking, disGUSting work - wouldn't I rather wrap my baby's bum in soft cloth than plastic & gel?  Do I really want my baby's poo wrapped in triple plastic (diaper, genie refill, & landfill liner) for the next 850 years?

What if the work isn't what I thought it was?  ( What if there were no pins, toilet dunks, ... )