earthing/grounding

Hi everyone,

I'm chemically sensitive and possibly somewhat electrically sensitive as well. In any case, I try to reduce my exposure to BOTH sorts of toxins as much as possible but do not have the painfully extreme reactions that many of you do.

I'm pretty sure the chemical sensitivity developed when I was living in a moldy apartment in France. I think I was probably saved from worse reactions by the fact that it was a very old drafty apartment, so there was more of an air exchange, less concentration of mycotoxins. I was in a lot of pain during that period and started to understand how illness can make people lose the will to live...and how frustrating it is when no one thinks you have legitimate reasons to be sick! Now I have a corn intolerance (apparently it is full of mycotoxins) and react pretty strongly to Formaldehyde. Can't deal with the artificial fragrances and so many plastics drive me nuts....not to mention cleaning products.

I'm writing to you because about 3 weeks ago I started grounding myself at night while I sleep and I am curious to know if any of you have tried it and what results you've had? Especially if you are EHS?

Personally, I have surprisingly good results and wanted to share my experience in hopes that some of you might get some relief as well. The first night I tried it, a back ache I'd had for over a year went away. (I really hate those miracle product stories, so please bear with me, I'm not selling anything!). I have noticed other improvements in my health as well.

My husband and I are looking for a home to buy and today we went into one that had one of those plug in air fresheners on. Usually those things make me have practically a panic attack - a feeling like I have to flee immediately. We've visited several houses that had them plugged in and that was my reaction. Well this time I could smell the thing and knew it was a horrible artificial smell, but I didn't have the same reaction..it didn't set me off like it should have. When I realized this, that's when I decided to write you all about it! I really think the grounding has helped, is helping my body fight off aggressors better than it had been.

Basically the idea behind the concept is that in the modern world we're cut off from the earth as a source of negative ions (that we evolved with over millenia) since we are always walking around in rubber or plastic shoes and are therefore insulated. Grounding or "earthing"  puts us back in contact with those positive ions. There is a company that sells "earthing products" (I have no affiliation with them) and one of their sheets is what I've been sleeping on.

The good news is, you can also just go barefoot outdoors to get the same "treatment"...just go stand or walk on the bare ground (dirt or grass or sand) for 30 min. intervals, weather permitting, obviously.

A note though on the earthing products - if any of you with MCS decide to try them, be forewarned that the plastic connecting wires in the kits are NOT MCS-friendly. I was able to position the wire away from me so I can't smell it. They need to be off-gassed for sure!

Wishing you ever improved health and well-being!
 
Kristina Carlet
Building Biology Practitioner
LEED Green Associate

biodwell.org
biodwellblog.wordpress.com

Kristina,
I am always happy to read of someone finding relief in symptoms, be it from MCS, or ES. That is fabulous news indeed!
I also use a grounding system...but a different design. And I do agree that grounding the body safely does play a role in both MCS and ES. The body that is not grounded will be much more susceptible to emf's, be it dirty electricity, or wireless radiation- or other frequencies. So it  does makes good sense to ground the body.
I wanted to comment on the walking barefoot issue. Ideally, this is a sound and healthy idea. But as always, there are exceptions and often, these are not RARE.
While many people have heard the term" stray voltage"....the technical real defintiion of stray voltage is CURRENT/ AS IN LIVE VOLTAGE.
 Walking barefoot on the ground can actually, be quite dangerous. The why is this: back in the 70's, regulations were changed, that essentially allowed the utility company's to use the ground to run excess stray voltage from the power lines. The theory at that time was that the ground we walk on could absorb all this excess ELELCTRICITY and therefore, wouldn't be harmful. The reality is just the opposite. The theory was that the so called "stray voltage" would just neatly return to the substation, via the ground. Anyone who knows the basics of electricity knows that electricity will take the path of least resistance. So if you happen to be standing on that ground, you will be the path of least resistance. Factor in different minerals in the earth- some are which are much more conductive, factor in the older city municapal cast iron/metal  water line  pipes.....buried underground....and it can be a recipe for disaster. It has been stated that the electric companies actually LOSE something like 40% of the electricity....because it does NOT return to the substation. Gee, wonder where it all goes? Also, there IS a way to fix this problem. It involves a 4 or 5 wire system, instead of the current 3 wire system that the Utility companies use. Unfortunately, it is cheaper to run the wiring this way. AFterall, they charge US for the lost electricity, and then we pay again, by being conduits.
In New York, just as one example,  dogs have been electrocuted, standing on the metal grates on wet pavement. JI also read of this happening where a person died.
This  dogs being shocked is documented in the below links.     Adding insult to injury, investigations showed that many light poles were not wired properly, thereby adding to "stray voltage". Where I live in Michigan, there is an awful stray current problem. When I walk my dogs, I have to vigilantly AVOID walking over those metal grates in the ground. I have seen my dogs get shocks from these things, as well as light poles...and no longer let them pee on anything METAL.
I have friends who have taken their meters and done readings in built up cities- in the downtown areas- who have told me that electrical fields are literally OFF the charts! (They did say you had to hold meter down, by your feet, to get accurate readings.)
So because of what I now know, I tell people if you can find a park that isn't wifi'd....or loaded with electrical equipt.....(stadiums, ect)...they might find they are able to ground themselves there, by the trees. I have an old park 8 miles from my house, that is such a park. The trees hold magnifient grounding abilities.
Its a bit of a catch 22. The newer areas, more built up, will have more wifi, smart meters, ect...which piggyback both to buried wiring and other sources. The older areas often have the cast iron city water lines.
Stray voltage" pathways, more precisely called "returning neutral ground currents", can cause a range of problems, from EMF exposure symptoms to instant death, depending on the situation. My daughter can FEEL this stuff!
Because of the snow, I find myself being extra careful- Salt-laden slush plays a part in the conductivity  
Some of you might find the below reading quite interesting. What I want to know is, why are the effects of humans being ignored?
Lizzie
Street Zaps Episodes




www.streetzaps.com/episodes.htm
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2005/03/08/740000-sought-for-electrocuted-dog/UPI-37871110315288/#ixzz1jxkROIff
Leaking voltage puts a shock in some Minneapolis dogs
Here's another example of how the public works infrastructure of Minneapolis is going to the dogs.
In at least two known cases, canines have sustained electric shocks while urinating at the base of aging parkway light poles, where the wiring has deteriorated. The unlucky dogs let loose a stream of urine, completing an electrical circuit.



To: [hidden email]
From: [hidden email]
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:54:19 +0000
Subject: [eSens] earthing/grounding


 



Hi everyone,

I'm chemically sensitive and possibly somewhat electrically sensitive as well. In any case, I try to reduce my exposure to BOTH sorts of toxins as much as possible but do not have the painfully extreme reactions that many of you do.

I'm pretty sure the chemical sensitivity developed when I was living in a moldy apartment in France. I think I was probably saved from worse reactions by the fact that it was a very old drafty apartment, so there was more of an air exchange, less concentration of mycotoxins. I was in a lot of pain during that period and started to understand how illness can make people lose the will to live...and how frustrating it is when no one thinks you have legitimate reasons to be sick! Now I have a corn intolerance (apparently it is full of mycotoxins) and react pretty strongly to Formaldehyde. Can't deal with the artificial fragrances and so many plastics drive me nuts....not to mention cleaning products.

I'm writing to you because about 3 weeks ago I started grounding myself at night while I sleep and I am curious to know if any of you have tried it and what results you've had? Especially if you are EHS?

Personally, I have surprisingly good results and wanted to share my experience in hopes that some of you might get some relief as well. The first night I tried it, a back ache I'd had for over a year went away. (I really hate those miracle product stories, so please bear with me, I'm not selling anything!). I have noticed other improvements in my health as well.

My husband and I are looking for a home to buy and today we went into one that had one of those plug in air fresheners on. Usually those things make me have practically a panic attack - a feeling like I have to flee immediately. We've visited several houses that had them plugged in and that was my reaction. Well this time I could smell the thing and knew it was a horrible artificial smell, but I didn't have the same reaction..it didn't set me off like it should have. When I realized this, that's when I decided to write you all about it! I really think the grounding has helped, is helping my body fight off aggressors better than it had been.

Basically the idea behind the concept is that in the modern world we're cut off from the earth as a source of negative ions (that we evolved with over millenia) since we are always walking around in rubber or plastic shoes and are therefore insulated. Grounding or "earthing" puts us back in contact with those positive ions. There is a company that sells "earthing products" (I have no affiliation with them) and one of their sheets is what I've been sleeping on.

The good news is, you can also just go barefoot outdoors to get the same "treatment"...just go stand or walk on the bare ground (dirt or grass or sand) for 30 min. intervals, weather permitting, obviously.

A note though on the earthing products - if any of you with MCS decide to try them, be forewarned that the plastic connecting wires in the kits are NOT MCS-friendly. I was able to position the wire away from me so I can't smell it. They need to be off-gassed for sure!

Wishing you ever improved health and well-being!

Kristina Carlet
Building Biology Practitioner
LEED Green Associate

biodwell.org
biodwellblog.wordpress.com




     

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