What If This Happened To You

[frostt]

 Absolutely Scarey!
Thanks to Nancy McHugh for this article

What if this happened to you??

CLR and Javex (Amoniac x clorine)
For anyone who doesn't know what mixing these two cleaning agents can do:
A Terra Cotta woman who recently had a near-fatal accident with household
cleaning agents wants to share her story with the public in order to
hopefully prevent a similar incident from happening to someone else.
Laura Fiander, 50, was cleaning the upstairs bathroom of her rural residence
near the Terra Cotta Conservation Area around 2 p.m. on July 8, while
husband Mike Witt was outside painting. A quiet day of doing chores around
the house soon turned into a nightmare that nearly resulted in Fiander's
death and sent her to hospital for several days.
"I had a shower and then I decided to clean the tub afterward and I noticed
some hard water deposits on the shower mat that looked like mildew, and I
dumped some Javex in the tub and let the water run," said Fiander, her voice
still breaking from damage to her larynx. "Then I noticed some deposits on
the shower curtain, so I got a spray bottle with CLR and sprayed it. All of
a sudden there was a hissing sound and the fumes overwhelmed me. It felt
like a blow torch was instantly going down my throat."
Fiander was able to make it to the front of the house before collapsing to
alert Witt to the situation, but by this time she was foaming at the mouth
and gasping for air as her esophagus was swelling shut. The only word she
was able to blurt out was "chemicals." After several minutes of trying to
resuscitate her, Witt called 911 when her eyes and skin turned a ghostly
blue colour.
"I kept hoping that with some fresh air she might catch her breath, but she
went into convulsions, gagging intensely, and twice I was able to revive
her, but there was nothing I could do. It was horrifying," he said. "It's
amazing she's still with us. We're fortunate that an ambulance was just 10
minutes away in Caledon, and the two female paramedics did a fantastic job."
After being stabilized at Georgetown Hospital, Fiander would remain there
for another five days as doctors flushed the toxins out of her body. Her
lungs were literally burned, and it may take several years for them to
return to normal, and she has been basically confined to her home because of
the susceptibility of contracting an illness or developing an infection.
Fiander uses a puffer six times a day to help her collapsed lungs
expand to their former size and faces a lengthy recovery period with
several more trips to see specialists.
"I'm not sure of the exact contents of the CLR, but I'm guessing it contains
ammonia, and when that is mixed together with bleach it gives off a noxious
gas, a form of chlorine gas," said Emmanuel Adianas, a spokesperson for
Colgate-Palmolive Products Ltd. "We strongly recommend not to mix Javex
with any products, period. As far as I am aware, this is not a common
occurrence, but it certainly can happen."
Witt, who operates a freight-forwarding business out of the couple's home,
would like to see changes in the labeling of such potentially deadly
household cleaners that would more effectively alert consumers of their
danger.
"I've spoken to literally hundreds of people since this happened, and yes
they do know of the danger from these chemicals, but most don't know it's
fatal, and that should be played up more in the packaging," he added.
"These things should be locked up in cupboards like prescription drugs, or
at least have a better labeling system. There needs to be better public
awareness, especially in households with children."
Fiander is also circulating a letter, which tells her frightening story and
warns of the deadly dangers of household cleaners. "I was told that this
chlorine gas is similar to mustard gas that was used in the First World
War," Fiander said. "My throat literally closed up. What a horrid way to
die. Who would ever think that just a quick whiff like that could kill
you?"