A Theory On A Cause of SIDS
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I received this in the same newsletter that I got the Wall Street Journal Article. I contacted the author and in her response to me she said she wanted as many people to know as possible.
THE AMMONIA/SIDS CONNECTION
by Joyce S. Duke, RN (retired)
10/7/2008: Joyce S. Duke from Joelton, TN writes, "After wondering about the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome for many years and paying attention to all articles that I could find on it, I began analyzing and adding up the different things to see where they led. The following is my theory and how I came to that conclusion.
The parents of these SIDS babies stated that they showed no signs of illness prior to their death.
Most of these babies were sleeping on their stomachs at the time of death.
The first thing that started me toward my theory was when I read about a doctor being awakened one night and going to check on his baby to find it not breathing and was aware of an ammonia odor in the baby's room. He hastily picked up the baby and held him in an open window to revive him. Mention was not made of whether or not he used chest compressions or other measures beyond the fresh air. While reading this I remembered many times that I was aware of a heavy ammonia odor when changing the early morning diapers on my own babies. They never had it while awake and their diapers were being changed often.
At this point I remembered reading about a wife found dead in her bathroom who apparently died while cleaning it. After an autopsy failed to find the cause of her death, the theory emerged that she was using both bleach and ammonia in cleaning the bathroom; when combined these two chemicals form a deadly gas that caused her death, leading to the warning to never mix bleach and ammonia together.
One question has never been answered for me, but the latest information on SIDS deaths being reduced further by the use of a fan makes me wonder even more, if my simple theory is correct.
Were the parents of these children ever asked, or did any of the autopsy reports ever address what these SIDS babies were wearing when they died? My theory hinges on the kind of diaper these children were wearing. If they were wearing a cloth diaper, which has again become very popular and would have been laundered (by the mother or diaper service), was bleach used in the laundering of them? Another question that I have never seen published is: Were they wearing a plastic panty over the diaper at their death?
Stale urine often does develop a strong ammonia odor. A baby wearing a cloth diaper laundered with bleach, under plastic panties, sleeping on its stomach would be in a position that would tunnel any gas formed (from ammonia in the urine & bleach in the diapers) and escaping at the waist right into its nose. I don't think it would take as much gas to overwhelm a baby as it did the woman cleaning her bathroom. A fan would keep the air moving and dilute the gas thereby preventing the death. An open window would increase air circulation and dilute the gas also.
At least one reader I am sure remembers exactly what her infant was wearing at the time of the child's SIDS death. If you are reading this and can answer my questions above, please write to me. I would welcome any and all replies from mothers and fathers of SIDS babies. Only you can answer my questions and prevent future SIDS deaths.
Please start warning new mothers of the danger while waiting for the answer if the above conditions were present when your little one died."
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/SIDS.html#SIDSTHEORIES
Joyce S. Duke, RN
contact email: jsduke33@gmail.com
Here's a link to the original information:
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