Fertility timebomb found in drinking water

The Daily Mail in a recent article reported on the pollution of our drinking water by oestrogen, which is causing grave environmental damage to fish stocks and could also be placing male fertility at risk.

According to the article the fertility of a generation of men is being put at risk because a hormone found in the Pill is getting into drinking water, scientists fear.

Pollution due to the chemical, a powerful form of oestrogen, is causing up to half the male fish in our lowland rivers to change sex, research shows.

Experts believe the hormone could be getting into drinking water and affecting men's sperm counts. They say sewage treatment does not remove the chemical entirely from drinking supplies, although the water industry insists there is no evidence of a risk to health.

A study to be published by the Environment Agency later this month says entire fish stocks in some stretches of water are irreversibly affected. Scientists believe the synthetic oestrogen can feminise-fish at levels as low as one part per billion.

Professor Charles Tyler, one of the leaders of the research, told BBC1's Countryfile: 'Some of the concentrations where we are seeing effects on fish are below the detection limit in place for testing our drinking water. So we cannot be sure that some of these compounds aren't getting into our drinking water.'

The study on roach stocks from ten rivers found nearly half of male fish had eggs in their testes or female reproductive ducts. A tenth were sterile and another quarter had damaged sperm.

Dr Susan Jobling, from the research team, said: 'There are very real reasons to be worried about whether male reproductive health could also be affected.'

The discovery that half the male fish in Britain's rivers are changing sex - and that the hormone responsible may be getting into drinking water - is just the latest example of how nature can give us nasty surprises.

For, despite our frequent boast that we have conquered the natural world, it has a habit of striking back in ways we least expect.

This 2014 article has been updated on January 12th 2022 to include a link to a comprehensive article in Fitness Volt, titled  "Water Intake Calculator"  https://fitnessvolt.com/water-intake-calculator/

 

 

Contraceptive pill poses risk of blood clots

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The Guardian reports Feb 2^nd on the risk of fatal blood clots associated with the contraceptive pill but then down play the story and minimize the risks. The question that arises immediately is are the risks being minimized for ideological reasons? Is access to the contraceptive pill considered to be more important than a woman’s life or health?

The article references a report that France’s drug safety agency has found a link between sometimes-deadly blood clots and third- and fourth-generation contraceptive pills. The National Agency for Drug and Health Product Safety (ANSM) in France estimates about 20 women die each year in France of blood clots connected to contraceptive use.

The Guardian article reads

Women in England using some of the most popular brands of contraceptive pill are to be warned that they carry a risk of fatal blood clots.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told GPs the risks posed by combined hormonal contraceptives [CHC], which contain two different female hormones, an oestrogen and a progestogen, were small and the benefits outweighed them but that women should understand those risks.

The advice for GPs states: "The decision to use any CHC should be taken only after a discussion with the women to ensure she understands: the effect of any intrinsic risk factors on her risk of thrombosis [eg deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attack and stroke]; the risk of thromboembolism with her CHC; that she must be alert for signs and symptoms of a thrombosis."

An alert was issued by the MHRA to GPs on 22 January after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in November that the product information for CHCs containing certain synthetic progestogen should be updated.

The EMA launched a review after France's drug safety agency estimated that about 20 women die each year in France of blood clots connected to contraceptive use.

The EMA concluded: "The benefits of CHCs in preventing unwanted pregnancies continue to outweigh their risks, and that the well-known risk of VTE [venous thromboembolism] with all CHCs is small."

The agency found that the risk of blood clots in the veins varies between CHCs, ranging from five to 12 cases per 10,000 women who use them for a year, compared with two cases each year per 10,000 women who are not using CHCs.

A checklist for prescribers provided by the MHRA says a CHC should not be prescribed to certain women, including those with a history of a thromboembolic event or with very high blood pressure, those who have had major surgery, or have a period of prolonged immobilisation coming up.

It says the suitability of a CHC should be discussed with a woman if they have certain risk factors including age, obesity and smoking and that if exposed to more than one of those risk factors it "may mean a CHC should not be used". The MHRA advises that CHCs containing ethinylestradiol, a synthetic form of oestrogen, in combination with certain kinds of synthetic progestogen – namely levonorgestrel, norgestimate, or norethisterone – are considered to have the lowest risk of VTE.

A user card and patient information sheet are also provided, detailing the risk. The former says: "The overall risk of a blood clot is small but clots can be serious and may in very rare cases even be fatal." Women are warned to seek immediate medical attention if they experience symptoms including severe pain or swelling in either leg, sudden unexplained breathlessness, weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg.

Dr Sarah Branch, deputy director of the MHRA's vigilance and risk management of medicines division, said: "Women should continue to take their contraceptive pill. These are very safe, highly effective medicines for preventing unintended pregnancy and the benefits associated with their use far outweigh the risk of blood clots in veins or arteries."

Dangers of the oral contraceptive pill

Following our article last Wednesday about the danger of blood clotting associated with oral contraception, the contraceptive pill we now report on a very sad case of a young girl who died from a pulmonary embolism caused by a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) the most likely cause of which was the contraceptive pill.

The mum of a teenager who died from deep vein thrombosis has said that the contraceptive pill she was taking to treat her acne may have contributed to her death, and has warned other parents to be aware of the risks. see report by parentdish

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Porter had been taking the contraceptive pill Dianette to treat her spots. The drug - like other combined contraceptive pills - increases a patients' risk of developing blood clots.

Charlotte's mum Beverley took her to hospital in Maidstone, Kent in March 2010, when she complained her leg was swelling up and turning purple. The teenager died just hours later from a pulmonary embolism caused by DVT.

An inquest into her death was told she had been prescribed the contraceptive Dianette to treat her acne. The Coroner ruled that Charlotte had died from natural causes, but that she had probably had undiagnosed DVT when she visited her doctor two weeks before her death, complaining of a lumpy left leg.

Her GP told the court Charlotte had not displayed symptoms of DVT at the time, but independent expert, Dr Nigel Langford, said that it was likely a clot was present.

Charlotte's mum implored other parents to be aware of the risks of taking the combined pill. Mrs Porter, 47, told reporters: 'The doctors said to us it was very, very rare to happen to someone so young.

'If she was 71 years old, not 17, then you would expect that sort of thing. She was full of life and always on the go.'

' It goes without saying that Charlotte's death has devastated my family and me.

' We would urge all parents of young girls prescribed with Dianette to be aware of the risks associated with it, mainly the risk of DVT.'

Blood Clotting danger from all contraceptive pills but some are riskier

A Telegraph report relating to new studies on the contraceptive pill points to increased danger of blood clotting from all oral contraceptives but some actually triple that risk.
  see Telegraph article
 Women taking so-called "third generation" contraceptive pills, those developed in the 1980s, are up to three times more likely to suffer a blood clot than those who use older varieties, according to new research based on British and American records.

With no real other advantages of the newer drug, scientists said it would be "prudent" to make the older pills the "first line choice".

Scientists say doctors should prescribe pills that contain the hormone levonorgestrel, rather than drospirenone.

Dr Susan Jicks, of Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues carried out two studies into the two types of birth control drugs and found the difference in threat was dramatic.

They said their findings "provide further evidence that levonorgestrel oral contraceptives appear to be a safer choice".

Around three million women in Britain are thought to take the pill to prevent pregnancy, and 100 million worldwide.

While all types of the oral contraceptive increase the risk of a clot, some are worse than others.

The debate first started in October 1995 when scientists warned women taking the third generation pill such as Yasmin which has around 750,000 prescriptions issued a year – were at greater risk of developing blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or the pelvis.
Called venous thromboembolism (VTE), the clots can be fatal if they move inside the circulatory system and lodge in the lungs.
In the first study, based on US medical claims data, the researchers found a twofold increased risk of a non-fatal blood clot in women using pills containing the hormone drospirenone compared with women using the older ones which have levonorgestrel.
This risk remained even after taking account of other possible causes.
The actual incidence rates were 30.8 for every 100,000 women years using the drospirenone pill and 12.5 per 100,000 women years using the levonorgestrel pill.
The second study, using data from the UK General Practice Research Database, found a threefold increased risk of a first non-fatal blood clot in women using drospirenone pills oral compared with those on the levonorgestrel ones.
The actual rates for blood clots in this study were 23 per 100,000 women years using the drospirenone pill and 9.1 per 100,000 women years using the levonorgestrel pill.

Abortionists: Out Heroding Herod

The HLI (Human Life International) newsletter for 8 December carried a reflection on the role of St. Joseph in his protection of the Holy Family and, by extension, all families.   The following is a short extract from the piece, which is written by Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro:

‘As you no doubt recall, when the Magi told Herod the Great that a king had been born, the paranoid Herod determined to destroy the infant before he could rob him of all the riches and luxuries he’d spent a lifetime amassing for himself.

‘Of course, Herod didn’t dare expose his hidden plan to the three kings standing before him.  Instead, he convinced them to come back once they’d found the Child King so that he too could go and worship Him.

‘But as the days turned into weeks. Herod realized the kings weren’t coming back.  Flying into a rage, he ordered his soldiers to hunt down and slaughter every male child up to the age of two who was living in and around Bethlehem.  No exceptions.  And no mercy.

‘As it was then, so it is today.  Thousands of Herods are pursing innocent babies and killing them just as mercilessly as the first Herod.  Like their mentor, today’s Herods speak sweet-sounding words in an effort to hide their intentions.  These liberal elitists talk of “reproductive health” and “quality of life” and “ending discrimination” and the like.  But their hidden agenda is to kill the babies! …

‘The only differences between the Herod of old and the Herods of today are in the weapons used and the number of victims.  Herod used swords and spears to kill the Holy Innocents.  Today’s Herods use abortion, “The Pill” and other chemical weapons.  And whereas Herod killed a relatively small number of babies, today’s Herods have butchered literally hundreds of millions … with no end in sight! …’

But St. Joseph, as Monsignor Barreiro points out, by taking immediate action as directed by the angel, brought Our Lady and the Christ Child to safety in Egypt.

In Irish folklore there is a lovely account of an incident that supposedly happened during the flight into Egypt, when the Holy Family took refuge along the way in a cave.   A spider, to protect them, spun its web across the entrance to the cave as Herod’s soldiers were pursuing them.   As the soldiers passed the cave and saw the huge web they decided that their prey was not there as no spider, they concluded, could possibly have spun such a web in so short a time.  So they passed on and continued their search.  And that’s why in Irish folklore it is considered to be unlucky to kill a spider, as it was supposedly due to a spider that the Holy Family was saved.