Water, Water Everywhere

But not a drop to drink... I was checking out the news the other day and they had an article on the drinking water. In 15 southern Ontario municipalities they found traces of painkillers and other drugs. Samples taken from downstream of a sewage outfall were the most contaminated while samples taken from lakes had low but still detectable level of the drugs. In samples taken from wells they did not find any traces of the drugs. The article went on to say that sewage treatment plants are not designed to remove drugs. Now since some of the drugs they were testing for were painkillers does that mean I don't need a prescription or to buy some Advil? Maybe I should just pour a glass of tap water.... Mmmm tasty....

Almost makes me want to buy bottled water actually. But then a lot of companies claim you're getting pure water... when really it's no better then tap water. In some cases it really is tap water. *Cough* Dasani *Cough, Cough* Kind of makes me want to pick up my nice, shiny red can then since at least then it has all kinds of other additives and I know what I am getting into.

Yet Another Toy Recall

Normally I wouldn't even comment on a toy recall or even pay any attention to it. After all I don't have any children and don't watch the news very often. But this one I feel the need to comment on.

The company Spin Master created a toy called Aqua Dots (Bindeez in Australia). I must say that I had seen the commercials prior to the recall and thought it was an interesting idea. You create various designs with the beads and then when water is added the beads fuse together.

The problem is that kids do what kids do best... they swallow the beads. According to Health Canada's web site, "Information from Australia and the United States indicates that the tiny coloured beads may be coated with a substance that can become toxic when it is ingested. Children who swallow the beads may become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures."

What they don't tell you is that the chemical coating metabolizes into gamma hydroxy butyrate or GHB. In case you're not familiar with it GHB is a common date rape drug. I am still trying to wrap my head around how it is that a children's toy... turns into a date rape drug. How is that even possible?

I am reminded of all those times on shows like CSI (or the movie Traffic) where they come up with new ways to ship drugs where it's undetectable. Was this not supposed to hit the store shelves and accidentally wound up in the hands of children? Did the scientists involved not realize what would happen? How does this happen?

As it turns out it is just another incident on account of using Chinese plants to manufacture the product. The toys were supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained the harmful 1,4-butanediol, which is widely used in cleaners and plastics. Why the switch? Probably because the second one costs 1/3 of the price.

Two weeks ago the government placed an export ban on 700 toy factories in the southern Guangdong province in China because of shoddy products. Perhaps companies should be looking at the true costs of doing business and clearly changes need to be made somewhere... In this case it's especially serious since the outcome could have been fatal.

And since the toys are currently being tested in Hong Kong what happens to the supplier if the chemical is found? They face up to 1 year in prison and a fine of $12,877. Something tells me that isn't enough of a deterrent. he Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton... so 2 metric tons of switching the chemicals and the fine is already paid for. Not to mention the fact it could potentially be lethal... so ~$13000 just doesn't seem enough. Shut the factory down, implement mandatory inspections, and use stiff penalties to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

Free Health Care, Or Is It?

As I previously mentioned I spent Friday at the hospital. Every time I spend time in the ER it always makes me think of the health care system here in Canada. It wasn't that long ago that being fast tracked actually meant that you were fast tracked. Now I have had times when it was a half hour just to see the triage nurse. Get the handy dandy wristband and you're off to the main waiting area. Then an hour later (or so) you are moved to the fast track area for more waiting. Fours hours (or so) later you're on your way home. Last time I checked the fast track was designed to get you in and out if it was something minor that could be easily checked/treated. So how did we get here?

There is a doctor shortage in many regions at the moment. Too many doctors are heading south or are going to the big cities where they can make more money. This is the reason my doctor is 2 hours away and I never see. The long and the short of it is that we need more doctors.... We need accessible health care. If I had a local doctor I wouldn't have to make use of the ER nearly as often. The same holds true of a number of other people as well. Let's face it if I had a local doctor on Friday I would've been making an appointment to see them instead of clogging up the ER but it's not feasible to drive all the way to Pickering because of a toothache/congestion.

They say that you can't put a price tag on health. But what if you can't afford it? If you have drug coverage count yourself lucky... or if you rarely need medications. I would love nothing more then to be healthy but that takes money. It cost me $43 for the antibiotics from my trip to the hospital on the weekend. I haven't even filled the prescription for my Fibromyalgia medication. Speaking of which there is a treatment clinic in Toronto that would allow me to get personal care and nerve blocking injections. But it costs money to get there and for the medication. So it's a vicious circle. Being healthy would make it easier to look for a job and feel at my best but it requires money.

The same holds true for dental care as well. I really need to get the tooth looked at but I can't afford to. I don't have $200 to spend on it... or $1000 if they wanted to crown the tooth instead. Oh to have a job with dental coverage again. Even once I go back to the land of the working most jobs require that you be there for a year before you get dental coverage.

It costs money to be healthy. While our access to a doctor, even if it means waiting four hours, might be free that's the only thing that is. If I was on social assistance instead of EI then I would have drug coverage. How does that work? I paid into EI on all my paycheques and while it does pay more then welfare at least on social assistance I would have drug coverage and dental coverage. I have discovered that there is the Trillium Drug Program in Ontario. However, with my current income there is a deductible of about $450. So I would have to spend $450 on medications before they would kick in and help out. At which point prescriptions (as long as they're on the list) would be covered and it would only cost me $2 to get the prescription filled. While there is no harm in applying for it there is little chance that my medications would reach that high. Even if it did I don't have that kind of money any ways. Pretty sad when you see prescriptions as a luxury item in the grand scheme of things.

High on Medication

Yesterday I rediscovered why they say people with Fibromyalgia are hypersensitive to medication. I took Benadryl to see if it would clear up the watery eyes, sneezing and hives. I'm not sure if it worked or not... I was too stoned to tell. *lol* Now some would say that is a good thing. I disagree. It was kind of like a mini-paralysis. All the muscles in my shoulders and neck tightened up. They still hurt. I didn't get the munchies... In fact I didn't move at all, which is probably why the muscles hurt so much. I just about passed out. Of course the fact I am also on Trazodone might have made a difference since it is also a sedative. Even if it would help I am not sure I want to repeat the experience.