Despite a wonderfully green birthday for my son yesterday - which was totally fabulous I will soon tell you all about... I'm feeling pretty "ungreen" today.
This week, we learned that my younger son has severe food allergies, including coconut (this is something my eldest was not allergic to) and guess what most "green" health and beauty aids, as well as household cleaners, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent etc is made with.... coconut.
In addition to feeling horribly GUILTY that I've been coating him with coconut, I'm just so frustrated that I can't find things that are safe for both him, and the planet. Given the choice, I'm going to have to go ungreen to keep him safe.
It appears that a coconut allergy is rare. (Go figure) So I'm having a hard time finding research on this topic. Annoyed that our allergist can't meet with us till late October.
Off to continue my research. Luckily, I got several crafty projects in this morning, so I'll be back with things to post over the next few days.
Please pardon my grumpitude. I'll perk back up soon.
Aug 17, 2008
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Don't you dare feel guilty about this little bump in the road. It's tough enough fighting allergies without ideals colliding--good mother or good to Mother Earth? It's a no brainer. And try not to feel bad about "coating him with coconut." You didn't know and now you've stopped. Meanwhile you're an inspiration to the rest of us who work hard to shrink our carbon footprints. Best wishes!
love you babe and you're the BEST mother...a wonderful inspiration...
xoxoxo
How about Mrs. Meyers products? They have SUPER customer service, so while the ingredients say "Plant Derived Surfactants", I'm certain you can email them and they will tell you exactly which plants.
Good luck!
Great idea, Lisa! I can't imagine though how overwhelming it must be to worry about a food allergy. I'm thinking you can handle this, being a day care provider, demo, mom, etc. Best of luck to you.
Kids come first so don't stress about it.
Also, have you tried seeing a natropath at all. Need to make sure you get a good one, but they maybe able to help you out --friend of mine's child had mild and wheat allergies and can actually eat dairy now and they are working on the wheat aspect now. Even if it means he can only have it every third day or something, it's better than not at all. Best of luck.
Jo, you have made so many healthy and green improvements in your life recently you shouldn't feel at all 'ungreen'! If everyone would just make a few changes, just think of the carbon footprint reduction! Anyways, the whole point is to make our family healthier while saving the world at the same time. S just got a whole lot healthier by discovering the exzema/rash allergy problem!
oh, crap. coconut.
Coconut, or cocamides, or coca-insert chemical name here are in so many shampoos and soaps - arrgh!
Okay, so check out Cetaphil, which is probably coconut-free, and is a nice soap for a kid with sensitive skin. I use it as both soap and shampoo for my eczema boys (food allergies, environmental, argh argh argh), and it's good stuff.
Most of my cleansers are now vinegar and water, or vinegar, water and essential oil mixes. I figure that this way, i can make the kids clean up their own mess (we're potty training over here, sigh) without worrying about chemicals. Make them yourself - maybe once every couple of months - and you'll know just what's in them. And you get to be green...
Allergies are a seriously impressive PIA, but you just have to take them one step at a time. You are going to get to the other side of this learning curve, even if you growl (okay, i growled) every step of the way.
Some kids really push the 'but I'm worth it' envelope, don't they? Lucky for them that it's true...
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