It's BAAAACCCK!

For nearly 4 months I was completely free of the painful rash and eczema that manifests on my 'bumper' when exposed to mold. Oh, how nice it was, too. But as all things do - they come to an end. Well, it didn't have to, but it came back to my 'end' .. ': (

Now I am dealing with the painful discomfort that comes with the rash. It also means that I am once again forced to remain indoors. I also will be limited to what I can wear and when I can even go anywhere. O' the pain!

This is a real puzzle. I've been staying inside. My wife and I have rarely gone for walks - and when I do go out I wear the mask. So - I don't know what could have caused this to return. I am at my wits end. As nice as they are - the docs aren't much help either.

I guess it's back to the cremes and steroids... not what I wanted to do again.

MoldChron

Coconut Oil: Tropical Traditions

UPDATE: In my 02 JULY 2005 post Up and Down, Up and Down, I wrote about using coconut oil to treat my mold allergy itch; with success. I'm back to tell you more about the specifics of Coconut Oil and the brand I recommend.

A BIT ABOUT COCONUT OIL

What is coconut oil?
Well, first off, it's from coconuts. That much everyone is pretty well aware of. But not all coconut oil is alike. Like many products on the market today, there are premium quality coconut oil and coconut oil you should just plain avoid.

What can you use coconut oil for?
Prior to World War II coconut oil was used as a primary cooking oil; second only to olive oil. The war cut off access to coconuts - since the Philippines is the primary source. So, cooking is one use. Coconut oil is also a healthy food; used as a spread on bread or along side other foods. Coconut oil is a natural skin softener; lotion. Coconut oil is high in antioxidants and is therefore a healing salve as well. So, coconut oil has many uses.

Isn't coconut oil bad for you - to ingest: unhealthy fat content?
Actually coconut oil is quite healthy. Coconut oil is not hydrogenated, thus has no trans fats. Coconut oil produced in the time honored tradition of slow, gravity separation of oils and coconut water, are high in antioxidants. The notion of coconut oil being unhealthy, is a marketing propaganda, used to bolster sales of corn, soy and other mass produced oils.

Is coconut oil an effective 'healing oil'?
Coconut oil is not a medicine and should not be considered as such. However, the high levels of antioxidants, natural lubrication, levels of lauric acid, absence of trans fats, means the oil itself does not 'bring to the body' any unnatural entities to deal with. Thus it is healthy. And good health assists the body's natural healing properties.

Solid at temperatures below 76º F, why?
This is the natural property of coconut oil. Also good to remember that when coconut oil is ingested it, the temperature it is subjected to in the body is well above its emulsifying level and is therefore highly digestible.


WHAT BRAND WORKS BEST?
I've tried a number of brands of coconut oil, but nothing works as well as the brand Tropical Traditions. Other brands provide adequate lubrication, offer skin softening and are in general 'OK' products - but none are equal across all criteria to Tropical Traditions.
Tropical Traditions may be difficult to find in your local brick-and-mortar store, but it is available ONLINE without any difficulty. Tropical Traditions Coconut oil is sold under 4 different labeled types:

• Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil: Highest Quality
  
• Green Label Virgin Coconut Oil: Very Good Quality
  
• Organic Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil: High Quality
  
• Non-Certified Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil: Better than most (bargain brand; not organic; chemical free)
  

Tropical Traditions runs Specials so you can purchase quantities throughout the year at very good savings.

Here are a few basic points to know to make your choice of Coconut Oil:

Organic:
You want to be sure the coconut oil comes from native coconut palms and is grown under true organic principles. No pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilizers are used in the production of the coconut.

Virgin Coconut Oil:
Only achieved by using fresh coconut meat or what is called non-copra. Chemicals and high heating are not used in further refining, since the natural, pure coconut oil is very stable with a shelf life of several years. Virgin coconut oil has the full, natural scent and taste of coconut. VCO remains solid below 75°F.

There are currently two main processes of manufacturing Virgin Coconut Oil:

• Quick drying of fresh coconut meat which is then used to press out the oil. Using this method, the coconut meat is quick dried, and the oil is then pressed out via mechanical means.
• Wet-milling. With this method the oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat without drying first. "Coconut milk" is expressed first by pressing. The oil is then further separated from the water. Methods which can be used to separate the oil from the water include boiling, fermentation, refrigeration, enzymes and mechanical centrifuge.

Expeller-Pressed:
Coconut oil that is separated by use of mechanical extraction. No chemicals solvents used. Not hydrogenated. No trans fatty acids. It is tasteless (no coconut odor or taste) and remains solid below 76° F. Expeller-Pressed coconut oil is works, but not as good a Virgin Coconut oil.

RBD (Refined-Bleached-Deodorized) **AVOID**
Most commercial grade coconut oils are made from copra. Copra is basically the dried kernel (meat) of the coconut. Standard copra starting material is not suitable for consumption and must be purified, that is refined. The way copra is dried is not sanitary. The standard end product made from copra is RBD coconut oil. RBD stands for refined, bleached, and deodorized. High heat is used to deodorize the oil, and the oil is typically filtered through (bleaching) clays to remove impurities. Sodium hydroxide is generally used to remove free fatty acids and prolong shelf life. This is the most common way to mass-produce coconut oil. RBD oil is also sometimes hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils contain trans fatty acids.


PERSONAL NOTE:
I have used several brands, as stated earlier, of coconut oil to treat my body rash; a form of eczema; and it has helped immensely. Coconut oil relieves the itching and soothes the skin. It also helps to restore moisture. The relief does not last as long as some medications. Therefore, reapplication is required more often. But there are not 'side-effects' from the use of coconut oil either. I will take the annoyance of having to attend to application, over side-effects, any day.

I would highly recommend anyone with skin rashes, due to allergic reactions to consider using coconut oil.

However, I will caution anyone who may wish to try coconut oil... CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR to be sure you ARE NOT ALLERGIC TO COCONUT!!!

moldchron, mold, allergy, skin, disorder, dry, itch, coconut, oil, Tropical Traditions, virgin, expeller-pressed, healthy, cooking, antioxidants, lauric acid

Weather Cycles

It's been a while since I've posted to MoldChron - I've either been busy trying to find another job, working on other projects or just trying to get my 'act together'; and when you feel louzy, that's hard to do.

The weather this year in Hooseirland has more than made up for last year's - to some - dismall lack of HOT WEATHER. But for me - not yet knowing I was suffering from an allergy to mold - but suffering with a rash that would NOT let me either set down or go anywhere with clothing on - was a real 'god-send'. The weather was cool; that allows you to NOT sweat. Sweat causes body-parts to chaffe and get raw. When they are already RAW, the sweat - bearing all the salt that normal folks exude - stings anyway - but on RAW flesh, there's not stings - there is INCREDIBLE PAIN and a lot of SCREAM.

So, fortuntely the cooler weather we were having was keeping a lot of this misery away. However, it did allow a good deal of moisture to exist and persist which affords great growing climate for mold. And the mold took advantage as well.

This year, we've had HOT WEATHER; 22 days of over 90 degrees farenheit. Last year at this time we'd only had 2! The humidity has been tagging right along as well. For me, I am very fortunate to have a place that is 'relatively mold free', which in Indiana there is no such thing as 'mold free. Unless you live in a completely hermidically sealed and climate controlled environment; both expensive and very confining, you are compromised by mold spores. We are able to keep the air conditing on, and as yet have not had to acquire the very expensive filtration system that keeps the mold count down quite low: hepafiltration. But we do have hepafilters over all ducts in the house. I don't check the moldspore count in the house - can't afford the system to do so. But as long as I stay inside and limit the number of compromised situation I will not [have not so far to this date] have reactions. I also have seen the results of compromise be elimnated once confinement is maintained. Oh how wonderful!!

NOT!

Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have a 'place' where I am relatively safe from exposure and thereby compromise - but for sure, I am not a happy camper with this. I am an OUTDOOR person. I love nothing better than to slog through the muck and dirt of outdoors. But I cannot do this here in Hoosierville; not as long as the outdoor temps are above 25 degrees F. !! And then the water gets a bit hard to wade in.

I will begin posting daily tomorrow. The posts will either be made to build the 'history' - so the dates will fall chronologically - or the current situations. Sometimes both as need dictates.

Until then.

MoldChron