According to the paraquat lawsuits filed in St. Clair County Illinois, and across the nation, the herbicide paraquat can cause Parkinson’s disease.

An experiment in Southern California in the 1980s showed that MPTP, a heroin contaminant, caused users to experience symptoms similar to those associated with Parkinson’s disease. The experiment demonstrated that the heroin contaminant killed dopamine neurons, the same neurons that are damaged in Parkinson’s disease patients. MPTP and paraquat have chemical structures that are very similar.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared in 1997 that the primary route of exposure to paraquat was during the mixing, loading, and application of the herbicide, as well as during the post-application period. The agency also stated that, despite the fact that the herbicide is not licensed for residential use, such exposure is possible for people who live near farms where the herbicide is used.

Over the last two decades, scientists have increased their research into the effects of paraquat toxicity on humans, especially the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

According to a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, any exposure to paraquat within 1,600 feet of a home increased the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 75%.

Environmental Health Perspectives, in collaboration with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, released findings from a comprehensive review of Parkinson’s disease cases and pesticides in 2011. Paraquat emerged as a major concern in this report.

Pesticides that block mitochondrial complexes and those that induce oxidative stress have been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Paraquat works by producing intracellular molecules that cause oxidative stress in cells. According to the report, “Parkinson’s disease was closely correlated with” paraquat. The authors also stressed that the risk of paraquat exposure extends beyond the occupational/agricultural climate, and that many people may be exposed to the pesticide without even being aware of its presence in their surroundings.

The study also found a significantly increased risk of Parkinson’s disease in people who had been exposed to both paraquat and a form of fungicide known as fungicide maneb. Finally, participants in the study who lacked an active copy of a particular gene (missing in 20% of Caucasians and 40% of Asians) were at a higher risk of paraquat toxicity.

The EPA announced in 2016 that it would re-evaluate paraquat, including the possible correlation to Parkinson’s disease.

The Unified Parkinson’s Advocacy Council sent a letter to the EPA on July 24, 2017, in anticipation of the agency’s paraquat registration review. The petition, signed by all council members, listed a laundry list of evidence linking paraquat to the development of Parkinson’s disease symptoms and pathology and concluded by urging the EPA to refuse paraquat’s reregistration.

The letter went on to emphasize the financial costs of Parkinson’s disease, including:

Individual treatment for a person with Parkinson’s disease costs $26,400 per year.

Annual economic burden in the United States between $19.8 to $26.4 billion. Costs associated with dependence on services such as Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

Syngenta and Growmark, the manufacturers of paraquat, were sued on October 6, 2017. The lawsuit was lodged on behalf of farmers and agricultural workers who were exposed to paraquat and developed Parkinson’s disease. Chevron Chemical has been added as a defendant in the case since the initial charge was filed.

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its protocol for a study of paraquat dichloride toxicity and Parkinson’s disease in 2018. Recognizing that hundreds of studies have been conducted to examine the correlation between paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s disease, the analysis will attempt to map evidence that links the two.

How does paraquat work?

Paraquat is sprayed directly onto plants, where it destroys the leaves on contact. When the compound comes into contact with soil, it becomes inactive.

The chemical is sprayed to clear fields before crops are cultivated, as well as to eradicate marijuana crops in Mexico and the United States.

Paraquat is often used as a herbicide for weeds that have gained resistance to Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides, according to the Unified Parkinson’s Advisory Council.

What Do We Know About Parkinson’s?

Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition that manifests itself in humans in their middle to late years of existence. Tremors in the arms and legs, weakened coordination and balance, sluggish movements, and rigidity of the body and limbs are some of the effects on the motor system. Such symptoms are due to the brain’s gradual degeneration of dopaminergic neurons.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world. The disorder is chronic and progressive, with current medical treatments only providing partial relief of symptoms. 

While genetic factors play a role in a small percentage of Parkinson’s disease cases, the primary cause of Parkinson’s disease has remained unknown for many years. A growing number of scientific studies in recent years have linked Parkinson’s disease to environmental exposures such as pesticides.

Guide To Cleaning Carpets in Your Home

Rug takes great deals of abuse from shoes, spills, as well as pet dogs. Yet it adds such heat and also comfort underfoot that we want to place in the effort to keep it tidy. Frequent vacuuming as well as regular deeper cleanings can prolong the life of any type of rug, wall-to-wall and also rugs alike. We’ll share the basic steps to clean carpeting and offer a couple of ideas and also methods that can help make the duty less complicated and keep carpet tidy for longer.

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Just How Often to Clean Carpet

Whether you have wall-to-wall carpeting or rug, vacuuming a minimum of when each week is a have to– much more regularly if you have pet dogs or youngsters. Spills and stains must be treated as rapidly as possible. Take into consideration working with an expert carpeting cleaning up firm or doing a much deeper tidy yourself at least twice each year.

What You’ll Need

Equipment/ Tools

Vacuum

Spray bottle

Microfiber fabric

Container

Oscillating fan

Scrub brush with tight nylon bristles

Old towels or cloths

Clothes steamer

Vapor wipe

Exactly how to Do a Regular Rug Cleaning

Eliminate Dirt as well as Dust

Permitting dirt and also dirt fragments to remain on carpet fibers is what creates them to look boring as well as maintain smells, and it at some point wears the carpet backing and also fibers. Utilizing a vacuum cleaner with strong suction– and also utilizing it typically– is the best method to tidy rug. Nonetheless, if you do not have a vacuum, there are various other ways to clean rug, like an old-fashioned mop or carpet sweeper.

A couple of pointers for your regular cleansing:
For the most complete vacuum cleaner task, make the effort to move furniture and also any other things from the carpet.
Set the vacuum to the appropriate height for your sort of carpeting to get the toughest suction.
Vacuum gradually as well as go over high-traffic areas several times for the best results.
Make use of a dust roller for quick clean-up of crumbs.
Run a rubber-edged squeegee over the carpet to accumulate animal hair.
Freshen as well as lighten up carpeting with a liberal sprinkling of baking soft drink each month. Allow it sit for a hr or even more to soak up oily spots and smells and afterwards vacuum it away.

Spot-Clean Stains

The very best time to deal with a carpet discolor is as quickly as feasible. For fluid spills, immediately blot away the wetness with paper towels or a white towel. Never make use of a fabric or paper napkin that might not be colorfast.

For more solid mud spots or dropped food, make use of the side of a credit card or a boring knife to lift away the solids. NEVER scrub a tarnish with solids, because it will certainly push it deeper right into the fibers. After the initial clean-up, comply with the recommendations on a stain elimination chart to eliminate particular kinds of stain.

Right here’s a quick reference list of the 5 most frequent and also tough to eliminate carpet spots:

Pet crashes

Merlot

Coffee

Ink

Toenail polish

Ways to Deep Clean Carpet

Eventually, carpet will require to be deep cleansed to get rid of hefty soil, recover the buoyancy of the fibers, as well as brighten the color. A lot of specialist carpeting cleaning company use a combination of detergents as well as vapor to deep clean carpeting as well as suggest cleaning at the very least when annually. Or, you can rent out a durable steam cleaner and utilize the recommended rug shampoo. Using an expert cleaning company or renting out a machine is particularly reliable if you have wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the home, but that can be costly.

For do-it-yourselfers, there are smaller carpeting cleaners that can be utilized with liquid carpeting hair shampoo or dry shampoo products. You can additionally deep clean area rugs and also wall-to-wall carpeting with some simple products and also tools you possibly have in your kitchen.

Clean With Distilled White Vinegar

Vacuum and also Deal With Visible Discolorations

Constantly start any kind of cleaning procedure by vacuuming the rug to get rid of loose soil, dirt, dust, as well as debris. If you avoid this step, you might simply be pushing dirt around or driving it deeper into the fibers. Removing some spots like oil, tar, and pet dog crashes will certainly need special treatment. Consult a discolor removal graph for the correct cleaners to remove those discolorations.

Mix a Vinegar and also Water Remedy

In a spray container, mix one part of distilled white vinegar and 3 parts of cold water. You will certainly need to replenish the bottle several times if cleaning a wall-to-wall carpeting.

Apply the Solution, Wait, as well as Blot

Working in a little 3-feet x 3-feet location, spray the vinegar option onto the carpeting until it’s very moist. Do not saturate. Comply with a grid so you’ll recognize where you have actually cleaned. If you are cleaning an area rug, take extra preventative measures to protect the flooring beneath the carpet from wetness damage.

Permit the option to stay on the carpeting for 5 minutes to start breaking down the soil. Utilize a microfiber towel to blot away the service and also the dirt. Have a pail of tidy water all set to wash the microfiber fabric. Adjustment the water regularly as it becomes dirtied.

Enable the Rug to Air-Dry

Open doors and also windows to enhance the air flow in the area or include oscillating fans to speed up drying. Do not enable web traffic on the carpeting till it is fully dry.

If you need to utilize the area while the rug is damp, area plastic sheeting or tarpaulins on the website traffic paths to stop discoloration.”

The new COVID-19 Delta variant of the coronavirus is sweeping the country. Mask mandates are being re-instituted and the vaccine is being urged more than ever before. COVID cases and hospitalizations have been surging by double digits. The new Delta variation snakes its way through all 50 US states. Experts are warning this new ultra-contagious virus could be the most serious you’ll ever catch in your life. It is impacting everything from elementary schools to big corporations like Apple, and millions of lives and families.

Here’s everything you need to know…

Fast Rising COVID Infection Rates, Hospitalizations & Deaths Due to Delta Variant

The CDC has reported a 36% increase in hospitalizations and a 26% increase in COVID deaths across the United States. This new ‘Delta’ strain of the coronavirus may be the reason.

Other countries, like the UK (United Kingdom), are reporting an enormous surge in COVID cases. This is potentially stalling or leading to a reversal in lifting coronavirus restrictions.

See a more detailed breakdown of the spread of the Delta variant, its origins, and impact on our blog.

What’s Different About the COVID-19 Delta Variant Strain?

The most notable issue with the COVID-19 Delta strain is that it is an evolved, hyper-contagious version of COVID-19.

This new strain is adapting and learning to become more infectious. Some began to think it was safe to leave their face masks at home, venture out to eat, or travel out of state again. We are yet again facing a high risk of infection.

Authorities warn that the vast majority of people will get COVID with this new strain, and the WHO explained that even vaccinated people shouldn’t feel safe against it.

The potential danger of this situation is serious. Therefore, imminent action from our current white house administration is crucial.

Social Media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are taking the lead. They are adding posts to users’ feeds to create awareness about the new Delta strain and blocking comments and text messages which discourage vaccination.

Not surprisingly, News 4 Jax reports that the five states with the most infections of the COVID-19 Delta variant have above-average vaccination rates.

Overcapacity in Hospitals

At the beginning of the pandemic, lockdowns and restrictions were put in place to avoid overwhelming hospitals, and the Delta variant may be tipping us over that edge.

The Director of Infection Prevention at UF Health Jacksonville reported that their hospital emergency room is full, and they are seeing a 7-8% increase in patients each day.

As hospitals become more and more overwhelmed, some medical centers are yet again choosing to reduce ‘elective’ procedures. Unfortunately, this can lead to the worsening of other prevalent health problems.

Who Needs to Keep Wearing a Mask?

Counties like Los Angeles and Las Vegas have already begun reinstating mask mandates for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

Even Apple called off its plan to allow employees to return to the office.

The former head of the FDA recently told CBS News that “this is the most serious virus you can get in your lifetime.” Therefore, both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Dr. Fauci recommend all children ages three and up wear masks as schools reopen this fall; even if they received both doses of the vaccine.

The current COVID vaccine, unfortunately, does not protect against the new Delta variant. Because of this, some vaccine manufacturers are considering developing a third vaccine dose.

Since Delta variant infected persons are ultimately at higher risk of hospitalization and death, it is important that all persons, vaccinated or not, continue to wear a mask.

Quality Face Masks Have Never Been More Important

Face masks continue to be the most effective form of protection from this new strain of COVID.

Former FDA head, Gottlieb says it is important for people to invest in high-quality face coverings such as n99 mask . He explains, “Quality of the mask is going to make a difference with a variant that spreads more aggressively as Delta does. People are more contagious and exude more virus.”

Unfortunately, even people who continue to wear face masks often choose fashion masks with non woven fabric. Repurposed clothing, accessories, and simple fabrics are not effective at filtering out the virus. This may not have been as big of an issue with the low transmission rate variants of coronavirus but with the new Delta variant, these masks will create serious risk.

There is a huge difference between the masks mentioned above and legitimate particulate respirator masks. The N95 mask is designed and tested to filter at least 95% of virus particulates in the air. There is also the superior filtering for those who want even more protection.

Look for the CDC-recommended and NIOSH certified N99 and N95 masks which have official approval numbers.

Summary

The Delta variant is a new hyper-contagious strain of COVID. The data shows that it is dramatically accelerating both hospitalizations and deaths. Thus, hospitals are becoming overwhelmed and are running out of room for new patients.

Even fully vaccinated individuals are being warned that they are not safe from this strain of the virus. Experts state that quality masks are going to make all the difference in being protected.

Now is the time to reload your stock of quality N95 masks before they sell out. Even if you are a medical professional, or are in a profession that requires dust masks, it is vital to ensure you have enough of a supply to weather any pending shortages.