Unexplained health problems; could it be toxic flooring?!

One of the reasons that we took such a massive break is because our family was having a plethora of unexplained health issues. Of the five us, my son's asthma was the worst it ever was and he had developed an unexplained rash, but my daughter was the one who truly suffered the most.

My daughter was having severe migraines and pain in her eyes and throat. She was constantly raspy, and would complain of pressure on her upper chest. She would vomit unexpectedly, and with no warning, rhyme or reason. A headache where she grabbed her head and rocked, crying in my arms usually followed, and several times I resorted to driving her to the Emergency Room. She went to the children's hospital, to the hospital where she was born, and to a brand new (at the time) hospital with state of the art technology. Several specialists and neurologists saw my daughter, but nobody had any answers for me. I followed up with one of the best neurologists in our area.

As a mom, I felt at a loss. I documented foods she ate, activities she did, how much water she drank, etc. Nothing ever seemed to connect. On top of that, nothing correlated to her brother's symptoms, either! I watched her sleep, afraid to leave her side because she hadn't had "an episode" in a long while, and I didn't want her to be afraid or alone if she had one that night.

My husband thought I had gone crazy. My "allergies" had gone crazy, my contacts and eyes were always itchy and uncomfortable. My mood suffered, my sleep suffered, my relationship suffered.

Tonight, I couldn't fall asleep. I watched a program on our dvr, and afterward, the Dr. Oz show was starting. If you're not familiar with the show, it starts off by telling you what's coming up.. and I damn near fell off of the couch.

"Toxic laminate flooring" was one of the main topics. I watched in awe, as all of my family's symptoms- from nosebleeds to the breathing issues- were discussed as affecting many families across the US from toxic formaldehyde leaching from the floor boards. The headaches weren't mentioned on the episode, but after doing more research on exposure to formaldehyde, I learned that it may be a symptom, along with rashes and skin irritations, too. If you'd like to learn more or see the episode yourself, click HERE.

We moved out of that house 2 years ago, and had our follow up about 8 months after our move. At the neurologists office I made the correlation that my daughter hadn't had an episode since we moved out of the old house. The doctor and I thought it was a different, unknown environmental allergy or sensitivity, but now, I'm willing to bet that that was the reason we were all so sick!