To all those using Preparation H wipes, please check the label out! Included in the ingredients are: Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylene Glycol, and Propylparaben. Read on a little further, and you will see just how harmful these chemicals are!

Start Checking All Product labels: Avoid these harmful ingredients!

Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40): a very drying and irritating solvent and dehydrator that strips your skin's moisture and natural immune barrier, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, molds and viruses. It is made from propylene, a petroleum derivative and is found in many skin and hair products, fragrances, antibacterial hand washes as well as shellac and antifreeze. It can act as a "carrier" accelerating the penetration of other harmful chemicals into your skin. May promote brown spots and premature aging of skin. A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients says it may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis, anesthesia, and coma. Fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less. Alternative: BGSE

DEA (dietholamine), MEA (monoethanolmine), & TEA (triethanolamine): hormone-disrupting chemicals that can form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines. Already restricted in Europe due to known carcinogenic effects, but Americans may be exposed 10-20 times per day! Used to create "foam" in products like shampoo, shaving creams, and bubble bath . Dr. Samuel Epstein, Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois, says that "repeated skin applications... of DEA-based detergents resulted in a major increase in the incidence of liver and kidney cancer". The FDA's John Bailey says this is especially important since the risk equation changes significantly for children. No alternative necessary.

DMDM Hydantoin & Urea (Imidazolidinyl): just two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep. Exposure may also irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma, and aggravate coughs and colds. Other possible side effects include weakening of the immune system and cancer. Alternative: Lonicera Japonica

FD&C Color Pigments: synthetic colors made from coal tar, containing heavy meatal salts that deposit toxins onto the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colors can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic. No alternative necessary.

Fragrances: mostly synthetic ingredients, often containing animal urine or feces! Fragrances on a label can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many toxic or carcinogenic. Symptoms reported to the FDA include headaches, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing and vomiting, and skin irritation. Clinical observation proves that fragrances can affect the central nervous system causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes. Alternatives: Aromatherapeutic, Organic Essential Oils.

Mineral Oil: petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastics, clogging the pores. Interferes with skin's ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Used in many products (baby oil is 100% mineral oil!). Alternatives: Moisture Magnets (Saccharide Isomerate) from beets; Ceramides, Jojoba and other vegetable oils, etc.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG): potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin's natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria. Used in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease. It adjusts the melting point and thickens products. Also used in caustic spray-on oven cleansers. Alternative: Planteren

Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: petroleum plastics which act as "surfactants" (wetting agents and solvents). They easily penetrate the skin and can weaken protein and cellular structure. Commonly used to make extracts from herbs. PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats! The EPA considers PG so toxic that it requires workers to wear protective gloves, clothing, goggles, and to dispose of any PG solutions by burying it in the ground. Because PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against skin contact to prevent consequenses such as brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities. But there isn't even a warning on products such as stick deodorants, where the concentration is greater than in most industrial applications. Alternatives: Water Extracted Herbs, Essential Oils, etc.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): detergents and surfactants that pose serious health threats. Used in car washes, garage floor cleaners, and engine degreasers-and in 90% of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain. Alternative: Ammonium Cocoyl Isethionate.

Triclosan: a synthetic "antibacterial" ingredient-with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! The EPA registers it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. It is classified as a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Its manufacuring process may produce dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion; that is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Hormone disrupters pose enormous long-term chronic health risks by interfering with the way hormones perform, such as changing genetical material, decreasing fertility and sexual fuction, and fostering birth defects. It can temporarily deactivate sensory nerve endings, so contact with it often causes little or no pain. Internally, it can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, and convulsions. Stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidney, lungs, and can cause paralysis, suppression of immune fuction, brain hemorrhages, and heart problems. Tufts University School of Medicine says that triclosan is capable of forcing the emergance of 'super bugs' that it cannot kill. Its widespread use in popular antibacterial cleansers, toothpastes and household products may have nightmare implications for our future.

Facts on Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is one of the most common and serious infectious diseases in the world. It is 100 times more infectious than the AIDS virus (HIV). Like the AIDS virus, HBV may be found in blood, semen, vaginal secretions, or by engaging in anal or oral intercourse. Following "safe sex" procedures, such as using condoms, can reduce the likelihood of transmission of the disease. Unlike the AIDS virus, there is a vaccine against the Hepatitis B virus. People who are engaing in sexual activity, or have sexual partners with HBV should be vaccinated against the disease.

IN THE WORLD

• This year alone, 10 to 30 million people will become infected with the Hepatitis B virus(HBV).
• 300 million people are chronic carriers of HBV.
• Hepatitis B is the leading cause of liver cancer.
• According to World Health Organization it is estimated that, Hepatitis B infection leads to more than one million deaths every year.

IN THE UNITED STATES

• One out of 20 people have been infected with HBV.
• Each year, 300,000 new people will become infected with HBV.
• There are one to two million chronic carriers of HBV. This means that one out of every 240 people will become a carrier.
• One-third of the chronic HBV carriers in the United States does not know how they were infected with the disease.
• As many as 5,000 Americans die of Hepatitis B or its complications every year.
• Approximately two health care workers are infected each day with Hepatitis B.

E-Coli

Infection with e-coli 0157:H7 is diagnosed by detecting the bacterium in the stool. Most laboratories that culture stool do not test for e-coli 0157:H7, so it's important to request that stool specimen be tested on sorbitol-mac conkey (SMAK) agar for this organism. All persons who suddenly have diarrhea with blood should get their stool tested for e-coli 0157:H7. Bacteria in the diarrhea stool of an infected person can be passed from one person to another if hygiene, or hand- washing habits are inadequate!!!

Viral Meningitis

The virus is transmitted by direct contact with nose and throat discharges and the feces of infected persons as well as through aerosol droplet spread.