October 15, 2006
South Burlington
She has asthma, has had it all her life. Says this was a bad allergy year but she never got better. She has to use her inhaler after she takes a shower and never had to use it before unless she was around “something in bloom or animals”.
Her 12-year old daughter has developed a chronic deep skin itch that started in July. The pediatrician can’t figure out what is causing it.
September 2006
Essex Jct.
Started noticing symptoms a week after 4/10
Burning tearing dry eyes, forehead itches — skin itches. Dry flaky skin. Congested sinuses, nose constantly dry and mucousy. Showers once a day, washes hair every time. Hair is extremely dry.
9/06
Charlotte
Teacher. Hands burn and itch from washing dishes, sneezes and runny nose after doing dishes, standing over hot water, breathing steam. Has a dry spot over an eye — never had this before. Washes dishes 2-3x a day- all the kids’ dishes, pots, etc. She is hauling spring water to cook food with, for drinking, for washing linens. BIG DRAG.
A colleague in Shelburne got bright red, burned skin from washing dishes, in 15 mins. it gets better.
September 2006
Essex Jct.
Has sore throat, dizziness, vomiting, bumps on hands that tea tree oil helps, lymph node on right side is swollen, hard to swallow, tired.
9/06
Winooski
Has a suppressed immune system, on certain drugs that require her to drink a gal. of water a day.
Showers in the spring made her skin itch right after a shower. Started in April/May. She told me this before I told her the date of the switch to chloramine.
She only has itchy skin now, but is very concerned about her future health, given her immune system situation.
9/7/06
Winooski
By the 2nd-3rd week of May he had developed a little rash, red skin, itchy, dry, tight skin. Noticed this particularly after each shower.
Red blotches all over body, scalp “all scabbed up like cradle cap”. Went to MD who said he had seborraga (sp?) and prescribed pills and cream. They help somewhat, he at least is able to sleep at night, but that’s about it. The itching is still pretty intense. He describes the blotches on his body: about an inch in diameter, white dried flaky skin around the edges, red skin inside, and what looks like a pimple in the center.
In July he had an episode in the heat where he got dizzy, had trouble breathing. He decided he wasn’t drinking enough water so he started drinking a lot of tap water. After 6 days on the tap water his teeth were all loose. Then he read a letter to the editor in the Burl. Free Press about chloramine and stopped drinking tap water. His teeth tightened back up.
9/7/06
Shelburne
I’ve been talking with friends and neighbors and am astonished to learn how few people even know that a change has been made to the water disinfection. Several people told me their eyes have been dry and burning and one mom said that she has not been able to figure out why her son’s asthma has worsened steadily since April.
August, 2006
A woman who lives in Winooski called to say she has open, weeping sores and scars on her face and body, and a pretty bad case of asthma that has developed since the switch to chloramine. She said her allergist recommended that she get a whole house water filtration system that would remove chloramine and that he was very concerned about her general condition. She made it very clear that it was her doctor who told her she needed to get a whole house system to get her away from the chloramine; he brought it up, not her. She went on to say that he was recommending this because he was seeing others with her symptoms coming into his practice this summer. She called the National Sanitation Foundation to find out about whole house systems that they might endorse to remove chloramine and was extremely disappointed to find out that there aren’t any they endorse.
Dry mouth, cracking and bleeding skin, hair loss
Aug. 25, 2006
South Burlington
Since May:
Elderly woman called, has asthma, dry skin, skin blemishes, extremely dry mouth having a negative effect on teeth/gums, flaking fingernails, cracking and bleeding skin, hair loss.
Dry Skin and Chloramine
August 14, 2006, Vermont
When the switch to chloramines came on, I noticed my hands getting incredibly dry. I have this problem in the winter, anyway, but it was rather late in the season. I wash my hands a lot (children in diapers for nearly 6 years now…!) and have had various skin creams prescribed for my hands since our first child arrived. This very dry skin arrived at the end of the heating season, at which time my hands have recovered in the past, and at the time the chloramines were introduced to our water supply. I just happened to be at the doctor at that time and she prescribed another skin cream to help me and commented that chloramines could be the source.
8/5/06
She saw recent letter to the editor in the Free Press. She is concerned because she has a suppressed immune system. She suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. She gets allergies from the fluff from cottonwood trees in mid-May.
She has terrible respiratory and dermal symptoms.
Dermal symptoms: She has open, suppurating ulcers on her face and body since shortly after the switch to chloramine. Her dermatologist told her he has seen nothing like this before and has cultured it to see if he can get to the bottom of the problem. Meanwhile, she is using prescription Mupirocin ointment, which doesn’t work. (This week, when she was there for an appt., a nurse in the office told her that some of the MDs in that practice are having dermal symptoms as well.)
Respiratory Symptoms: Her symptoms were especially bad this spring- she knew it was an especially bad year for allergies. They’ve got worse and worse, however, since the pollen season has passed. She feels she is getting asthma. She wheezes and is short of breath- she says it is a very scary feeling. She never had these symptoms or asthma in the past. She says taking a shower wipes her out. She really has a hard time breathing after a shower even though she has the door open, 2 fans on and the window open.
She called to make an appt. with her allergist in May and this week was the earliest she could get in. He tested her breathing: 20% below normal. He’s given her an inhaler to use 2x a day called Advantair Diskus . He told her he is also quite concerned about the ulcers on her face and body.
The Dr. recommended to her to get a whole house water filtration system to remove the chloramine. He told her that his patient load is huge since the switch to chloramine. Apparently he believes that the chloramine is to blame for her condition because of so many new patients exhibiting the same symptoms are coming in this summer.
She is daunted by the idea of staying completely away from the water in order to get better. She is going to order spring water delivered to the house. At first she’s going to try rinsing off with spring water after a short-as-possible shower in cold water and wash her face in the mornings with spring water. If that doesn’t work then she is going to bathe completely in spring water and see if her skin clears up and if her breathing improves.
She mentioned that she washes her clothes in warm or hot water and that the laundry room is tiny and fills up with steam. When that happens she starts to wheeze, gets short of breath, and has to get out of there.
Because of the open sores on her skin, she constantly has bloody clothing and says she cannot get the blood out because of this new water disinfectant. She says she’s had to throw out a lot of clothing — mostly underwear.
8/5/06
Shelburne
Horrible scalp condition, scabs, sores, flakes and such. Blisters under arms and VERY dry skin. It all hit in mid-April- it was immediate. Been to the Doctor — doesn’t know what’s causing this. Has been using cortizone — it helps a little. She started washing her hair with bottled spring water very recently. Her scalp feels ~much~ better after only one washing. It just feels tight now.
Digestive symptoms: stomach aches, runny and exploding stools, cramps, etc. It’s been getting worse and worse. She has diverticulosis to begin with. She’s been drinking and cooking with tap water all along. Will now use only spring water. She is now, as of today, off CWD water completely.
She was so angry at what the CWD said (“what’s the problem- no one’s died or been hospitalized yet”) in the chloramine article in the 8/3/06 Shelburne News.
Severly dry skin
Aug. 3 2006
Milton
She and her son have severely dry skin. She’s using prescription cream. Her doc didn’t say anything about the water. She puts tons of lotion on his skin — helps a little. He has dry skin in summers but this year it’s over the top. They have an above ground pool. She pH-tested it while we were on the phone: between 6.2 and 6.8.
Rash, Burning Eyes, Burning Lips
7/26/06
Winooski
Spends the summers with her mother who is 92 yrs. old. Mother has a rash on her cheek for 2 mos. – the dermatologist has no idea what is causing it. She has steroidal ointment that’s helping. Also, they’ve been drinking and cooking in tap water. Couple was here for a week starting 6/18, then came back on 7/12 and have been here since. They both have burning eyes all the time. She bathes every day. She also has burning dry lips, burning inside her nose.
Every time this summer when they went back to NYC all their symptoms disappeared.
Dry Mouth, Dry Throat, Sinus Congestions
7/25/06
South Burlington
Dry mouth, dry throat, feels like her throat is closing up, sinus congestion. She went to Europe for 3 weeks this summer and all her symptoms cleared up but then returned when she got home.
