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medical, clay-related advice sought

updated fri 28 feb 97

 

Anne on fri 7 feb 97

Hi all! I need some help on this one, please. A customer of ours told
us recently that he was diagnosed with Neuropathy, and was curious if
any chemicals that he uses or might come into contact with through clay
might be the culprit. He low-fires with a ball clay, frit, and zircopax
glaze, then uses Mason stains, mixed with gerstley borate and Ferro frit
3124 to decorate over the white glaze. He also works in lots of other
mediums, so he is exploring all of the possibilites. Does anyone on the
list have any experience with this? We have sent him MSDS info to show
to his Neurologist, but any input would be greatly appreciated. You can
e-mail me personally at:
anne@midusa.net

TIA,
Anne M. Bracker
Bracker Ceramics

Bill Aycock on sun 9 feb 97


>At 07:07 AM 2/7/97 EST, you wrote:
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>Hi all! I need some help on this one, please. A customer of ours told
>>us recently that he was diagnosed with Neuropathy,
>>anne@midusa.net
>>
>>TIA,
>>Anne M. Bracker
>>Bracker Ceramics
>>
>Anne- I am now, and have been for over a year, a victim of Peripheral
Neuropathy. I have been supported and informed, to the best of MANY
clayarters abilities, and may be able to help. However, and this is a
critical note to all- the label "neuropathy" ONLY means that you have a
nerve problem, and has nothing to do with the source of the problem. An
additional label like "Peripheral", only locates it, and, again, doesnt help
in getting to the cause of the problem. There are SO many things that can be
the cause, that you will hear of lots of "sure cures" that did cure someone.
>
>Indeed, some of our chemicals can cause such problems, but it is hard to
pin anything down. The MSDS information is of limited help in finding out
anything, because, in order to protect their Butts, ALL sources tend to give
the worst case, or , out of misplaced penny-pinching, just copy someone
elses sheets. There is little quantitative information there. You should
use them to protect yourself against future problems, but, in the case of
PN, they offer almost no help.
>
>One help, though, is that most such problems are testable, if the Doctor
and lab knows to do it. I was surprised to find that "heavy metal tests" of
blood do not consider such things as Barium or Manganese, unless you press,
HARD.
>
>In My case, some of the tests found other problems. The relatively simple
tests, in the Doctors office, gave the best information, which was the
location of the limits of the nerve blockage. The more complex tests, such
as ultrasound, MRI, and the localized X-ray tracer tests, just located the
fact that I also had pretty bad Stenosis in three Lamina of my upper spine.
>
>I am now recovering (slowly) from surgery to catch the problems resulting
from the Stenosis, but--- The Neuropathy, and its Pain, is STILL there.
>
>I will send what I have (lots) by separate postings, directly to you,
rather than the list, if you would like for me to. Meanwhile, do a search,
using AltaVista, or some such, for 'Neuropathy"; there are several medical
FAQ and Q&A locations out there.
>
>Tell him Bill, on Persimmon Hill, told him to KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS.
>

Bill Aycock --- Persimmon Hill --- Woodville, Alabama, USA
--- (in the N.E. corner of the State)
also-- W4BSG -- Grid EM64vr

David Donica on mon 10 feb 97

If the person experiencing the neuropathy is doing a lot of throwing and
wedging, symptoms of peripheral neuropathy could conceivably be induced by
ulnar nerve compression, caused by continued, heavy pressure on the palm,
near the wrist where the ulnar nerve runs. This of course would not
explain any neuropathy in the lower extremities.
M. Shepard, R.N., full time nurse, and full time potter.
Maggie Shepard
FireWorks Pottery
Mt. Shasta, Calif.