Category: Allergies

Maize and the quest for gluten-free food

, ,

As you’d know, we have been in the Tasmanian wilderness. Here’s something I prepared earlier (and posted on Thursday night!). I’d no sooner starting thinking ‘Where do gluten-free products come from?’ when I found the answer right under my nose, a kilometre from home. The Warwick Mill, which incidentally has been trading for almost 150 years, processes maize into maize flour and other products which manufacturers use to meet market demand for gluten free breakfast…

Continue reading

Dangerous Australia Revisited

, ,

This week’s essay is brought to you by the letter S – snakes, sharks, spiders, scorpions, stingrays, stonefish and sand flies. Some might dispute the description of the saltwater sand fly or midge as deadly. But itchy bites can sure take the edge off a beach holiday. The odds of being bitten by a sand fly in their territory (saltwater marshes) are probably 2-1, with longer odds for those experiencing extreme reactions (me and She)….

Continue reading

Cigarette Butts Still Polluting Our Highways

, ,

While resting in our caravan at Winton on a sultry outback day, the stench of tobacco smoke came wafting through the open window. Going outside to investigate, I found neighbours on either side, sitting outside their vans, puffing away. I have found, over long periods suffering from respiratory problems, that I am incredibly allergic to cigarette smoke. For years now when anyone rummages in their bag and asks do I mind, I say, yes, I…

Continue reading

Asthma and Australian Dust Storms

, ,

As a kid growing up in the North Island of New Zealand, I don’t recall ever seeing dust storms of the type seen in the Australian outback. In recent weeks, we’ve seen clouds of ochre dust blowing in from South Australia. The worst dust storms converge on the eastern seaboard, shrouding cities in an eerie, fog-like miasma. You may recall the really bad one (September 2009) when motorists in Sydney and Brisbane drove with their…

Continue reading