Re: Allstate rates to increase

[Guest guest]

Having worked in the psychiatric field for over 20 years I can state the

following: People in crises, experiencing PTSD in survival mode are going to be

more concerned with basic survival needs at a cost to their own physical health

needs. The comparison of measurement of respiratory problems experienced by

Katrina survivors with the general population through emergency room visits

will as everyone here already knows, create a misconception that mold exposure

has not created health problems.

The types of cases this can be a measurement of are those in acute extreme

distress unable to breath, stricken with severe asthmatic attacks and or types

of respiratory distress that would require immediate action. Unfortunately,

because of the increase of numbers of individuals especially with children who

are all to frequently ending up in emergency rooms for various types of

respiratory problems, there is no true comparison.

Recently, I got a call from a desperate mother of three small children under

the age of 5, all with asthma and numerous bouts of pneumonia. She called me

in response to her 6 month old being hospitalized a second time with

pneumonia and being diagnosed with asthma. I was stunned when she told me the

number

of times she has had to take her children to the emergency room for these

respiratory problems with increasing visits.

When she asked her children's doctor if the respiratory problems could be

related to mold, he told her no, that asthma was genetic. Neither the mom or

dad

or any family member had any history of asthma and this was made known to

this doctor. This pediatrician would not even consider mold exposure as a

possibility of the cause to her children's respiratory problem. He just simply

accepted this as a problem without exploration of a cause, or source of the

problem.

Not even a suggestion of an air purifier.

He justified this by saying this is a very common problem for children these

days.........And we continue to pick up the cost of all of this in every way.

In a message dated 4/23/06 7:21:02 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

tigerpaw2c@... writes:

> `Katrina Cough' myth disproven

>

> Despite claims that there have been more coughs, sore throats and

> runny noses since Hurricane Katrina, a new state health department

> study has found that the effects of the storm do not include an

> increase in respiratory problems. A check of more than 56,000 local

> emergency room visits from October through March showed that rates

> of respiratory sicknesses were similar to those found nationwide.

> Researchers did find a slightly elevated risk of respiratory

> problems among people living in damaged, mold-ridden homes, but

> there was no conclusive finding among people such as construction

> contractors and mold specialists who worked in such environments,

> and no long-term consequences were seen.

>

>