I've been having pressure in my chest, feels like someone is sitting on me and it makes hard for me to breathe, I feel myself having to almost gasp for air and wheezing at times. Im thinking it could be something in the polluted air, or possibly something in my house. I have also been burping a lot, but I dont think the two are related. my mom felt like this a few months back, so is there any virus that causes things like this. its in the upper portion of my chest, around where my heart would be.

i have asthma and thats what happens 2 me so i think you should go 2 the doctors and get checked out.

check the house for water leaks. if there is mold in your house , some molds give off spores that can cause a lot of problems.

Make the connection… you will thank me later.

Being a nurse with over 25 years experience, I have seen a lot of children with various illnesses. While many allergic reactions are caused from eating certain foods, there are many more allergic reactions caused from common everyday chemicals and fragranced products as well as VOC's in homes, schools and workplace.

This is a growing problem and many people are not even aware that it exists as more and more chemicals are being introduced and used on a daily basis. many people believe that because something smells good or cleans well and it is on a store shelf that it is tested, approved and safe for use.
Think again !

We are now seeing more and more children and adults with Chronic Rhinitis, Chronic Headaches, Sinusitis, Migraines, Sinus Infections, Asthma, Allergies, Hives, Eczema, sinus / respiratory illnesses and Hormone related disorders. I can not emphasize how important it is to educate yourself about MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY (MCS) and the harm you may be doing to your health by using chemicals and fragranced products.

If you or a loved one has symptoms of or suffers from Asthma, Allergies, Autism, chronic headaches, reproductive problems, Migraines, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus or Fibromyalgia, you need to read further and learn about the signs and symptoms of MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Most doctors will not inform you about this because patients as a whole like to walk out of a doctors office with a prescription for some magical medicine and they do not want to be told that their expensive new perfume or newly installed carpet may be the culprit. so, the doctor will give you medications and many of these meds either do not work or cause other health problems.

Chemicals and fragranced products are often the root of many disorders and illnesses when it comes to your health. many of the below mentioned items are common triggers to sinus, asthma, itching, headaches, Migraines and allergy problems amongst other health issues. Get rid of them and your immune and respiratory system will thank you and you will breathe easier.

And, it is not only personal body or cleaning products causing havoc on your health….many people become ill after wearing brand new clothing, dry-cleaned clothes, installing new carpet, painting, buying a new mattress or after home renovations because of the Flame Retardants, Antimony, Benzenes, Formaldehydes, etc. used in these products. so the answer is NO, you are not imagining that 2 weeks after your home, office or classroom got renovated you started to become ill, get dizzy or have headaches. this is happening more and more these days and adults as well as children are becoming sicker and sicker.

Unfortunately, too many doctors compound the problem by prescribing chemical medications to try to alleviate the symptoms of an already chemical overloaded body and they rarely tell the patient to eliminate the chemical offenders. how many times have I seen people in the grocery store with Bounce, Glade Plug-Ins and Febreeze in their shopping cart along with a bottle of Benadryl , Migraine Excedrin and a box of Allergy Tablets ? Why don't they make the connection?

Keep in mind that your skin is the largest organ of your body and what you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body. then … well… then it has to be filtered by your organs which are already working real hard.

BIG NO-NO's —- I would SERIOUSLY recommend removing all of the below from your living / working area.

No Bounce or dryer sheets – these are VERY toxic
No Febreeze – your pets will even thank you for this
No Glade Plug-ins – VERY toxic
No Scented candles
No Scented Dish Detergents
No Fragranced Products on Body, Hair or Clothing
No Smoke
No Newspapers and Magazines – the ink is a huge irritant.
No Dander
No Sprays
No Sharpies (marker pens)
New Cartpeting, mattresses, paint, contain toxins that can trigger severe respiratory disorders as well as headaches and Asthma flare-ups.
And remember, it is NOT the smell it is the Chemicals that make up the smell. so, even if something is "Fragrance Free" these products often mask the smell with another chemical ! There are plenty of safe healthy products out there that work well and do not have added chemical fragrances.

More and more workplaces & schools are implementing Fragrance Free policies and creating "Fragrance Free Zones"… why do you think this is? make the connection, your lungs , immune system and your general health will thank you.

She was a kindergarten teacher at Clyde Erwin Elementary School. He was a speech pathologist who would occasionally pull children from her class for therapy sessions.

With her background as a medical technician in the Air Force Reserves, Sarah Ellen found it hard not to notice Roger Grimsley’s hobbled walk and bent hands, symptoms of a nearly two-decade battle with lupus. She also noted the way, at age 39, he had to fit three weekly dialysis sessions into a busy schedule to combat end-stage renal disease.

But what made Grimsley remarkable to her was not his disease, but his spirit.

“People in general, we just take life for granted. we get so angry or upset and so worried about these little things that don’t matter,” she said. “He worked all day long and went to dialysis three days a week. Being a nurse, I know what that does to you.”

And in spite of the limitations imposed by Grimsley’s disease and the opportunities it had cost him, Ellen said she never saw him complain or indulge in self-pity.

“He makes you want to be a better person,” Ellen said. “He’s that guy.”

Last spring, she decided to offer him a gift that could save his life: one of her kidneys.

“God blessed us with two (kidneys) and we only need one to survive. And I just knew that God would take care of me,” she said.

Grimsley had been diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in 2002, indicating that 90 percent or more of his kidney function had shut down. while he survived on dialysis, which artificially undertakes the kidney’s job of removing waste from the blood, he knew he might be living on borrowed time. The average life expectancy on dialysis is four years.

Though Grimsley had been disappointed before when potential donors, including his own brother, proved not to be a match for his rare blood type, he said he was amazed and happy when Ellen approached him and offered to be a donor.

“I was just happy that she wanted to give me something to save my life,” he said.

The two embarked on a rigorous series of blood tests to determine the viability of the transfer. they were a perfect match.

On Nov. 29, they traveled to Duke Medical Center for the five-hour surgery.

With them was school principal Laurie Howard, who stayed in the waiting room throughout the operation and sent updates back to the teaching staff at Clyde Erwin every few hours.

“The news was always good,” Howard said. “Everything was just meant to be.”

Ellen and Grimsley’s colleagues surrounded the two with support and prayer, Howard said.

“it has certainly been something that we as a school family have prayed about and we have rallied around Roger and Sarah during this time. it was one teacher who said, ‘She is nothing short of being an angel,’” Howard said. “One of the things at Clyde Erwin is we focus a lot on service learning, service to others. those are two living, breathing examples right there.”

Though recovery from a kidney transplant can be painful for the donor and even more difficult for the recipient, both were out of the hospital within days and recovering at home, free of complications.

To make the healing process easier, teachers donated their own vacation days to Ellen and assisted with her lesson plans so that she could stay home until the end of the year.

Ellen said the process became a teachable moment with her 11-year-old son.

“at first he didn’t understand it,” she said. “He knew what a kidney was, but he didn’t know the dynamics of it all. And of course, he’s really kind and gentle and compassionate now, (saying,) ‘are you okay? Is Mr. Roger okay?’”

And even though Grimsley recently moved to Raleigh and took a job at Wake Medical Center, he and Ellen stay in touch daily.

“Oh yeah, I talk to her every day,” he said. “I told her she’s with me for life.”

Now, he makes a point of encouraging other people to do what Ellen did for him.

“What I want to do honestly more than anything is get the word out, that if you have anyone in need of some type of transplant, I think you should do it,” he said.

Though many, including her colleagues, would call Ellen a hero, she said what she did was simple math: we are born with two kidneys. we only need one healthy one to survive.

And, she said, she felt uniquely blessed to be able to give part of herself to someone so special.

“He always made it seem like I’m doing him a favor, and I just felt like, absolutely not,” she said. “I feel so lucky to be the person to be able to help him. A piece of me is what is keeping him alive.”

Who can donate a kidney?

Donors can be between the ages of 18 and 70.

Donors can include parents, children, siblings, other relatives and friends.

Ideal donors should have a genuine interest in donating and a compatible blood type with the recipient.

Donor must be in general good health.

Normally, those with high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, liver disease, sickle cell disease, HIV or hepatitis are not qualified to donate.

To learn more, contact the Living Donor Kidney Foundation at 800-622-9010 or visit livingdonor.org.

Source: University of Maryland Medical Center

Did you know?

While nine of out 10 Americans say they support donation, only about one out of three knows the steps needed to become a donor.

While less common than kidney donation, living donors can also give part of their lung or liver to someone in need of a transplant.

Every month, more than 2,000 new names are added to the national waiting list for organ transplants, and about 18 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S.

Source:  National Kidney Foundation, University of Maryland Medical Center, Cedar-Sinai.edu