Research | Undiagnosed Agent Orange Poisoning Suspected

In my GMO research I've been privy to a bunch of information from Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance and I'm considering the possibility that one or both of our grandfathers that were in the Korean War could've been poisoned by Agent Orange and passed it onto my sister and I even generations later. There are many patient accounts that are suggesting that this is correct.

I disappointed my daughter today. She wanted to dye her tips turquoise and I hemmed and hawed all week. This morning I said that I would go and look at the hair dye. So, we looked at YouTube videos today to see which technique she wanted to use. I was once in the beauty industry and I know how to do all kinds of things like that.

I remembered that I still had purple hair dye up in the cabinet, so we took it down and did a test strip on a cut piece of her hair. The dye didn't come out the shade she wanted so we had agreed to go to the store to buy some more. After I was dressed I walked into the bathroom and I shut the door. I stood at the sink and stared at the little tub of purple hair dye.

A multitude of thoughts crossed my mind, all of which were some article or another warning me of chemical dangers. Dye was a predominant chemical in the beauty industry. Almost all permanent hair dye in the United States is a banned substance in Europe. Manic Panic is semi-permanent and does not include a banned ingredient, BUT it does contain methylparaben and monoethanolamine.

Suffice it to say, I know that these ingredients are not good for anyone and I would bet my very last dollar that's a toxic chemical that is better left in the bottle. I didn't know until that very minute why I had taken my sweet time taking my daughter to Sally's this week, but I was certain that I was not going to take her after all.

When I told her that we weren't going because of the toxic chemicals in the hair dye she was very upset with me. I felt bad for disappointing her, but I stood my ground and I tried to explain it as best as I could.

"Lexi, you know that Grandpa said he was in the Vietnam War. He said that he spent a good six months recovering from a bullet wound in his back. He fought in the jungles over there. We don't know what he was exposed to, but Agent Orange was sprayed in those jungles. He died at the age of 54. We don't know what really happened to his health or if it was affected because of his time over there. You also know that 2, 4-D herbicides were sprayed all over the area where I was born in North Dakota. You know how sick I am, right?" I paused to try to pull the cover off of her head, but she held on tightly.

"Lexi, I don't wish on you what I have. I know you think that what Grandpa had or what I had don't apply to you, but there has been some research that has come out that explains that these herbicides get into our genes. If grandpa was exposed to Agent Orange then that means that I was exposed, and then I was exposed again when I was a baby. It's in my genes, sweetie. Which means it's in yours.

I don't want you to suffer. It's my job as your mother to make these choices for you right now. You know that eating fast food is bad for you. I can't stop you from doing that when you're at your father's, but I can stop you from doing it here when you're with me. If I let you put that toxic dye onto your hair, then I would be contributing to any future illness you may have. I want you to eat organic and consume as little toxins as possible because I love you and I want to keep you safe. I'm your mother and that's my job."

The cover stayed over her head and I walked into my room and shut the door. I sat down on my bed, my heart heavy, and I took a deep breath. I knew she was mad at me, but I still knew I had made the right decision.