Over the last two years I have been making small changes to my eating to help me be healthy and perform better as an athlete. Those small changes add up over time and now I am starting the same process to eliminate harmful chemicals from my personal and cleaning products.
My first candidate was insect repellent. The effective agent in most insect products is DEET. It is effective but potentially harmful.
Since the mosquito's get pretty bad here in Wisconsin, I still needed something when I am outside. So I did an Internet search and came up with two versions.
Ingredients
Essential Oils choose from: citronella, clove, lemongrass, rosemary, tea tree, cajeput, eucalyptus, cedar, catnip, lavender, mint, cinnamon, rose geranium, juniper, rosewood, thyme, grapefruit, oregano, basil, oregano, orange, pine, peppermint
Natural Witch Hazel
Distilled water
Vegetable glycerin (optional)
Fill an 8 ounce spray bottle half full of distilled water.
Add witch hazel almost to the top.
Add 1/2 tsp glycerin
Add 30 to 50 drops of any combination of essential oils. The more oils used, the stronger the spray.
Vodka can be used in place of the witch hazel.
If the spray will be used during the day do not use any citrus such as lemongrass. Citrus essential oils make your skin sun sensitive and you can get a sunburn.
Be sure to shake the bottle before each use. I used a mixture when I was in Dallas last week and the only time I got any bites was when I forgot to wear it. I did a day time blend with no citrus and a night time blend that had several citrus oils.
Both mixtures had tea tree, lavender, citronella, peppermint and eucalyptus. For the night time mixture I added orange and lemon oil. The citronella was a bit strong for me so next time I may try less/
The mixture can be tailored for different types of insects:
Mosquitoes-citronella, lemon eucalyptus, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, catnip, basil, clove, thyme, lemon grass, geranium, lavender
Ticks- rose geranium, juniper, rosewood, thyme, grapefruit, oregano
Fleas- cedar wood, citronella, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, lemongrass, lavender, orange, pine.
***************************
Chris
Wodke
Founder
& Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com
Chris is
a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the
Boston Marathon. In 2012 she finished 2nd
at Boston in
the Mobility Impaired Division. She was on the course in 2013 when the bombs
exploded.
She has
appeared three times at the Paratriathlon National Triathlon Sprint
Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Paratriathlon Open
Division Champion.
In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship. She represented TeamUSA at the
Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in
2015 and will represent the US
at the World championship in Cozumel in 2016.
In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship. She represented Team
In 2014 she represented the U.S.
as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas , Texas
She
travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.
She is
the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a
CMT affected athlete.
Team CMT
is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure
for CMT. We have 196 members in 37 states. We also have members in Australia , England ,Scotland , Canada ,
Vietnam , Turkey , Finland ,
Scotland , France , Poland
and Iran .
If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com
or www.hnf-cure.org
CMT or
Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It
affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS). It is a disease of the
nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of
normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.
Symptoms
include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor
balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual
dexterity.
Structural
foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.
Poor
tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold
hands and feet.
Additional
symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing
loss.
Additional Link
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CMT. Hereditary Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.
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Marathon Bombing
fq
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