Well, this time I'll strike while the iron is hot.
It's a sunny, warm Saturday eve, a holiday weekend, July 2nd, 5:26 p.m. I've just returned home, having unintentionally put the damper on a lovely, inviting party within 10 minutes after arriving. I now feel rather like a child who's been assigned to "the dunce chair" -- except that no human being assigned me here. My family is still at the party. I'm . . . . here.
So what, exactly, conspired to send me to "the dunce chair?"
Well, it was a toss-up between the chlorine emanating from the truly gorgeous pool, the scented laundry products used, and the scented candles on the deck. All combined, I see now that I didn't stand a chance.
Within those brief 10 minutes, my sinuses puffed up and my eye movements grew labored, with an unsettling, quickened pulse jiggling somewhat electrically behind my brow. The overall feeling is something like the forehead and eye sockets thickening, and the rest of the feeling is very "neurologically afflicted" -- jittery head, spacey, dazed, wiped out, down for the count. No "negotiated choice" remained today, there would be no ability to "ration" my time in different corners of the yard. Today, there was simply nowhere to go and the reaction was fast and furious.
Driving home was difficult -- with "cement eyes" trying to maneuver against the glare of the sun. Then the arrhythmias began.
All too much.
So here I sit in my easy chair, nursing a banana for the potassium but not very enamored of eating. Maybe I'll try some stale coffee for the anti-inflammatory action of the caffeine. Then, most likely, the trusty old ibuprofen to deal with the fulminating migraine lurking behind the "cement eyes."
Ah . . . just heated up the coffee. Stale though it is, it does pick up the spirits.
Here's to taking comfort in the little things --.
Cheers! :-)
~ Carolyn
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
A Favorite Film
There is a film that seldom fails to put a lump in my throat, causing my voice to shake and my eyes to go misty.
Not Doctor Zhivago . . .
No -- the film that really gets me is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Short Introduction*, featured on the website of The Chemical Sensitivity Foundation (features the chemically injured, including World Trade Center first-responders and war survivors):
No sooner do I see the face of HUD's Bennie Howard and hear the concrete words of support he is speaking than the syndrome starts all over again -- I just want to cry.
Why?
Because Howard's face and voice tell me that there are people out there who actually acknowledge the grueling reality of MCS. So many people persist in withholding full belief in the MCS sufferer's credibility. This withholding of belief enables them to hang back from the issue, to be content with knowing the bare minimum about it, to tell themselves that it's only "so-and-so" who has this strange MCS problem. By remaining detached in this way, they easily miss the reality of the rapidly growing population of MCS sufferers. Moreover, they miss learning about the smoldering dangers to the health of all humans, humans who are exposed to the very same toxins that MCS sufferers just happen to react to earlier.
What is behind this detachment?
When people develop allergies to ordinarily harmless, natural substances, no one is incredulous about this. Never, for example, have I heard anyone insinuate that a pollen-allergy sufferer has brought on his own allergic reaction by a wrong, fixed idea in his head, by a morbid "fear" of nature, or by a neurotic belief that he is simply doomed to get sick often and from everything.
When, however, a person's body consistently reacts to toxic substances, actual poisonous elements, in common products, he is often treated with incredulity or frank disbelief. He is frequently subjected to comments which suggest, time and again, that he must make yet a better case for his symptoms and "prove" his malady. He is then treated, predictably, as the type of person who readily takes on hypochondriacal ideas and who thereby encourages himself to fall ill.
This type of treatment takes a careless swipe not only at the grim reality of MCS, but also at the overall credibility of the person who suffers from it. It is common, therefore, for the MCS sufferer to find himself gasping out, as quickly as possible and over many successive visits, essential MCS information to unconvinced medical practitioners whose persons and/or offices continue to exude many non-medical synthetic scents that will incapacitate him for the next couple of days. This is akin to someone with goldenrod in hand asking a person whose eyes are streaming with pollen-caused tears (or who is wheezing with an asthmatic reaction to pollen) to prove that goldenrod caused the allergic reaction, to prove that he didn't somehow bring on the reaction by latent hysteria . . . essentially making him beg for thorough accommodation of his medical problem.
Yes, many people like, for example, the synthetic fragrances of scented paraffin candles in medical offices. If many people liked abundant grasses and pollen-bearing plants, would the medical practitioners include these, as well, in their offices -- even though they caused other people to wheeze and sneeze? Probably not.
But perhaps a given practitioner has only one (known) MCS sufferer as a patient. So why take away the synthetically scented candles? Well, for the same reason that a medical office has accommodations for even one single person in a wheelchair: Because MCS is a true disability. Ask Bennie Howard.
And also because the synthetically scented candles are not only "the MCS sufferer's problem." The synthetically scented candles can become anybody's health crisis of tomorrow. Perhaps the next person won't develop MCS. Perhaps he or she won't have that chance. Perhaps it will be a sudden neurological affliction. Perhaps it will be cancer. The staff would be at risk, first, being more frequently exposed to whatever toxic scents are present in the office.
The incredulity and disbelief surrounding MCS leads to inconsistent, illogical, prejudicial, and unjust treatment of the MCS sufferer, who happens to be dealing with a true medical problem. Is it not, after all, more scientifically and medically unusual when a person reacts adversely to a natural and ordinarily harmless substance than when he reacts adversely to a known chemical toxin?
Why, then, such unwillingness to accept the reality that actual toxins can cause many people's bodies to recoil in severe and prolonged distress, setting the stage for early onset of permanent degenerative disorders or cancer? Why this bias that makes cheerful allowance for allergic reactions to natural substances but perpetually tests, doubts, and frequently disregards as neurotic those who suffer systemic reactions to always-harmful toxins? Finally, why is there not much, much more medical concern over the dangers posed to all by the neurotoxic and carcinogenic elements present in synthetically scented products?
I do not know.
"Cheers!" in defiance of this gloomy and irrational state of affairs, and in the hopes that more people will begin to care deeply about the growing reality of chemically caused damage to humans.
~ Carolyn
Not Doctor Zhivago . . .
No -- the film that really gets me is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Short Introduction*, featured on the website of The Chemical Sensitivity Foundation (features the chemically injured, including World Trade Center first-responders and war survivors):
No sooner do I see the face of HUD's Bennie Howard and hear the concrete words of support he is speaking than the syndrome starts all over again -- I just want to cry.
Why?
Because Howard's face and voice tell me that there are people out there who actually acknowledge the grueling reality of MCS. So many people persist in withholding full belief in the MCS sufferer's credibility. This withholding of belief enables them to hang back from the issue, to be content with knowing the bare minimum about it, to tell themselves that it's only "so-and-so" who has this strange MCS problem. By remaining detached in this way, they easily miss the reality of the rapidly growing population of MCS sufferers. Moreover, they miss learning about the smoldering dangers to the health of all humans, humans who are exposed to the very same toxins that MCS sufferers just happen to react to earlier.
What is behind this detachment?
When people develop allergies to ordinarily harmless, natural substances, no one is incredulous about this. Never, for example, have I heard anyone insinuate that a pollen-allergy sufferer has brought on his own allergic reaction by a wrong, fixed idea in his head, by a morbid "fear" of nature, or by a neurotic belief that he is simply doomed to get sick often and from everything.
When, however, a person's body consistently reacts to toxic substances, actual poisonous elements, in common products, he is often treated with incredulity or frank disbelief. He is frequently subjected to comments which suggest, time and again, that he must make yet a better case for his symptoms and "prove" his malady. He is then treated, predictably, as the type of person who readily takes on hypochondriacal ideas and who thereby encourages himself to fall ill.
This type of treatment takes a careless swipe not only at the grim reality of MCS, but also at the overall credibility of the person who suffers from it. It is common, therefore, for the MCS sufferer to find himself gasping out, as quickly as possible and over many successive visits, essential MCS information to unconvinced medical practitioners whose persons and/or offices continue to exude many non-medical synthetic scents that will incapacitate him for the next couple of days. This is akin to someone with goldenrod in hand asking a person whose eyes are streaming with pollen-caused tears (or who is wheezing with an asthmatic reaction to pollen) to prove that goldenrod caused the allergic reaction, to prove that he didn't somehow bring on the reaction by latent hysteria . . . essentially making him beg for thorough accommodation of his medical problem.
Yes, many people like, for example, the synthetic fragrances of scented paraffin candles in medical offices. If many people liked abundant grasses and pollen-bearing plants, would the medical practitioners include these, as well, in their offices -- even though they caused other people to wheeze and sneeze? Probably not.
But perhaps a given practitioner has only one (known) MCS sufferer as a patient. So why take away the synthetically scented candles? Well, for the same reason that a medical office has accommodations for even one single person in a wheelchair: Because MCS is a true disability. Ask Bennie Howard.
And also because the synthetically scented candles are not only "the MCS sufferer's problem." The synthetically scented candles can become anybody's health crisis of tomorrow. Perhaps the next person won't develop MCS. Perhaps he or she won't have that chance. Perhaps it will be a sudden neurological affliction. Perhaps it will be cancer. The staff would be at risk, first, being more frequently exposed to whatever toxic scents are present in the office.
The incredulity and disbelief surrounding MCS leads to inconsistent, illogical, prejudicial, and unjust treatment of the MCS sufferer, who happens to be dealing with a true medical problem. Is it not, after all, more scientifically and medically unusual when a person reacts adversely to a natural and ordinarily harmless substance than when he reacts adversely to a known chemical toxin?
Why, then, such unwillingness to accept the reality that actual toxins can cause many people's bodies to recoil in severe and prolonged distress, setting the stage for early onset of permanent degenerative disorders or cancer? Why this bias that makes cheerful allowance for allergic reactions to natural substances but perpetually tests, doubts, and frequently disregards as neurotic those who suffer systemic reactions to always-harmful toxins? Finally, why is there not much, much more medical concern over the dangers posed to all by the neurotoxic and carcinogenic elements present in synthetically scented products?
I do not know.
"Cheers!" in defiance of this gloomy and irrational state of affairs, and in the hopes that more people will begin to care deeply about the growing reality of chemically caused damage to humans.
~ Carolyn
Friday, June 24, 2011
Pure Elegance
Candles.
Romantic, soothing, prayerful, inspiring, poetic, sublime, glowing, elegant . . . . .
Who doesn't love burning a beautiful candle?
Even the chemically sensitive need beauty and loveliness! However, paraffin and/or synthetically scented candles are a health hazard for all, in varying degrees and at varying rates. For the chemically sensitive, the harm done by paraffin and/or synthetically scented candles is quickly detected in sudden sinus/facial heat and inflammation, rapid-onset migraine, balance difficulties, restricted eye movement, shaking arms/hands, intense brain fog, a drugged and spacey feeling, impaired coordination in general, cognitive slowdown, breathing difficulties, blood pressure fluctuations, arrhythmias . . . . . The list goes on and on, and the suffering can last for days at a time following exposure.
What is the reason for this damage when paraffin and/or synthetically scented candles are burned? Paraffin, a petroleum product, and many scents which are totally synthetic or synthetically based combine to exude airborne mixtures of irritants, carcinogens, and neurological toxins. Soot, also a by-product of this combustion, is then deposited throughout the area. These airborne toxins and soot, in turn, are absorbed by nearby fabrics, carpets, and plastics. The soot lingers on the walls and in the environment. Cleaners, also often chemically based, cannot remove these contaminants.
So, readers, please do not miss the results of Dr. Anne Steinemann's scientific study on the hazards of common cleaning and air-freshening products, below. This priceless report happens to include, also, the hidden risks of some corrupted "essential oils" and other supposedly "natural" or "organic" fragrances which are added to many household products and candles:
Dr. Anne Steinemann, Ph.D. - Letter to Missouri Green Cleaning for Schools . . .
For the chemically sensitive, moreover, not only does the burning of paraffin and synthetically scented candles potentially bring on degrees of systemic meltdown, but even unburned synthetically scented candles can fill a room with layers of toxicity, literally thickening the air with unseen but physically felt debris.
Is there any lovely, pleasing, and safe alternative to such contamination?
Yes!
100% pure beeswax candles. These naturally honey-scented gems of any size or shape illuminate, sweeten, and cleanse the atmosphere, giving off a sleek, chic glow that burns most cleanly. For more facts about beeswax -- plus life-lengthening and vital home-preservation information -- be sure to read the following links:
"Beeswax Benefits - Beat Nagging Allergies and Sinus Problems" by Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.
"Are Scented Candles Making You Sick?" by Melissa Breyer
"Are Scented Candles Damaging Your Home?" by Insure.com
EPA Report: Candles & Incense
Wishing you the rarefied pleasure of purified air,
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Romantic, soothing, prayerful, inspiring, poetic, sublime, glowing, elegant . . . . .
Who doesn't love burning a beautiful candle?
Even the chemically sensitive need beauty and loveliness! However, paraffin and/or synthetically scented candles are a health hazard for all, in varying degrees and at varying rates. For the chemically sensitive, the harm done by paraffin and/or synthetically scented candles is quickly detected in sudden sinus/facial heat and inflammation, rapid-onset migraine, balance difficulties, restricted eye movement, shaking arms/hands, intense brain fog, a drugged and spacey feeling, impaired coordination in general, cognitive slowdown, breathing difficulties, blood pressure fluctuations, arrhythmias . . . . . The list goes on and on, and the suffering can last for days at a time following exposure.
What is the reason for this damage when paraffin and/or synthetically scented candles are burned? Paraffin, a petroleum product, and many scents which are totally synthetic or synthetically based combine to exude airborne mixtures of irritants, carcinogens, and neurological toxins. Soot, also a by-product of this combustion, is then deposited throughout the area. These airborne toxins and soot, in turn, are absorbed by nearby fabrics, carpets, and plastics. The soot lingers on the walls and in the environment. Cleaners, also often chemically based, cannot remove these contaminants.
So, readers, please do not miss the results of Dr. Anne Steinemann's scientific study on the hazards of common cleaning and air-freshening products, below. This priceless report happens to include, also, the hidden risks of some corrupted "essential oils" and other supposedly "natural" or "organic" fragrances which are added to many household products and candles:
Dr. Anne Steinemann, Ph.D. - Letter to Missouri Green Cleaning for Schools . . .
For the chemically sensitive, moreover, not only does the burning of paraffin and synthetically scented candles potentially bring on degrees of systemic meltdown, but even unburned synthetically scented candles can fill a room with layers of toxicity, literally thickening the air with unseen but physically felt debris.
Is there any lovely, pleasing, and safe alternative to such contamination?
Yes!
100% pure beeswax candles. These naturally honey-scented gems of any size or shape illuminate, sweeten, and cleanse the atmosphere, giving off a sleek, chic glow that burns most cleanly. For more facts about beeswax -- plus life-lengthening and vital home-preservation information -- be sure to read the following links:
"Beeswax Benefits - Beat Nagging Allergies and Sinus Problems" by Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.
"Are Scented Candles Making You Sick?" by Melissa Breyer
"Are Scented Candles Damaging Your Home?" by Insure.com
EPA Report: Candles & Incense
Wishing you the rarefied pleasure of purified air,
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Monday, May 30, 2011
B Vitamins and Happiness
Happy Memorial Day to all in the U.S.!
Today, I'd like to focus on the word "happy."
Although "happy" is first thought of as an emotional state, our immediate "happiness" -- or lack thereof -- can sometimes be physically based.
This I learned yesterday -- again -- in case I had any doubts. My mood was unusually low, the worst "low" I'd felt in decades. My energy was nonexistent. I recalled, dimly, through the crippling gloom, that I'd been out of my B-complex supplement for about two months.
Big problem.
So I took a simple remedial measure. I bought a good B50-complex, took two yesterday and one this morning; and the results have already been astounding. My body, today, has "automatically" rushed to complete chores -- without my even thinking about it -- chores that had been taking extreme willpower, concentration, and physical strength to approach for many days prior. Chores that I could not complete. I'd have to keep sitting down. And then I couldn't get up!
We hear all the time about how much we need our B-complex supplements, in general. The B-complex vitamins are known to affect nerve transmission, stamina, and mood. Deficiency states of some of the B vitamins can be as severe as psychosis, edema, and heart failure.
It's easy to forget that, in addition to the usual reasons for mild to severe B-vitamin deficiency (e.g., stress, fatigue, high sugar consumption), the chemically sensitive population also has "laborious chemical detoxing" to add to those reasons. Our detoxing capacities are already tremendously compromised. This results in many extra B-vitamin-sapping stresses on the body. We could be losing our daily stores of B vitamins at a very, very rapid rate.
Which means that we must pay extra attention to replenishing those stores.
I always know I've hit upon something truly beneficial when "the chores start getting done of their own accord."
Friends, what a huge difference a B-complex makes!
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Today, I'd like to focus on the word "happy."
Although "happy" is first thought of as an emotional state, our immediate "happiness" -- or lack thereof -- can sometimes be physically based.
This I learned yesterday -- again -- in case I had any doubts. My mood was unusually low, the worst "low" I'd felt in decades. My energy was nonexistent. I recalled, dimly, through the crippling gloom, that I'd been out of my B-complex supplement for about two months.
Big problem.
So I took a simple remedial measure. I bought a good B50-complex, took two yesterday and one this morning; and the results have already been astounding. My body, today, has "automatically" rushed to complete chores -- without my even thinking about it -- chores that had been taking extreme willpower, concentration, and physical strength to approach for many days prior. Chores that I could not complete. I'd have to keep sitting down. And then I couldn't get up!
We hear all the time about how much we need our B-complex supplements, in general. The B-complex vitamins are known to affect nerve transmission, stamina, and mood. Deficiency states of some of the B vitamins can be as severe as psychosis, edema, and heart failure.
It's easy to forget that, in addition to the usual reasons for mild to severe B-vitamin deficiency (e.g., stress, fatigue, high sugar consumption), the chemically sensitive population also has "laborious chemical detoxing" to add to those reasons. Our detoxing capacities are already tremendously compromised. This results in many extra B-vitamin-sapping stresses on the body. We could be losing our daily stores of B vitamins at a very, very rapid rate.
Which means that we must pay extra attention to replenishing those stores.
I always know I've hit upon something truly beneficial when "the chores start getting done of their own accord."
Friends, what a huge difference a B-complex makes!
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Ideas, Precautions, and Hopes
So far, I've put forth a rough, anecdotal picture of typical daily living with MCS. I do this in the hopes of affirming, as much as a non-medical layperson can, the similar experiences of others along this peculiar path. I also do this (for those new to MCS and "green" issues) in order to raise questions about things that we don't normally think to question, such as, "Can 'typical' cleaning, deodorizing, and synthetically fragranced products be making us sick (or 'sicker,' as the case may be) even in the medical offices we visit in order to 'feel better'?"
The same question, of course, applies to all chemical, synthetically fragranced products used on the person and in the home.
There are some pleasant alternatives to such chemicals and synthetic fragrances. Granted, in a medical facility, there might always be a baseline of chemical, antiviral, antibacterial agents that must be used under specific conditions in order to prevent infection and contagion. Still, might we not hope to keep such applications to a minimum? Might we, at least, hope not to continue mixing those "baseline chemicals" with other completely unnecessary airborne chemical toxins, to our own cellular destruction?
Going yet further, perhaps scientific minds could come up with natural alternatives to the baseline disinfectants necessary in medical settings?
I don't know exactly how far, for example, tea tree oil can go against major strains of resistant bacteria. But I do know that, for the average person cleaning his own household, tea tree oil can be an effective defense against many potentially harmful germs. I ask for reader feedback on the many applications and uses of tea tree oil.
Distilled white vinegar, as another example, can literally absorb odors from the air. Mixed with baking soda, it forms a pleasing cleaning solution around the house where hard water deposits do not make this difficult. I ask for reader ideas on natural alternatives to softening hard-water deposits in sinks and bathrooms.
Completely natural beeswax candles ("100% natural") can, likewise, help to purify the air and absorb odors. These should have cotton wicks and non-lead bases.
One wants to be extra careful, however, about supposedly "natural" or even "organic" products that are scented with essential oils or other supposedly "natural" fragrances. Some of these essential oils and "natural" fragrances are not completely natural and, in some cases, are quite harmful. For more specific scientific findings on this noteworthy topic, please see the following link:
http://missourikidshealthcoalition.wikifoundry.com/page/Dr.+Anne+Steinemann,+PhD
I look forward to hearing from you regarding your own experiences, ideas, and solutions!
Cheers -- and, on a much more somber note, prayers for those in the U.S. hit by the massive onslaught of tornadoes. May your new homes be strong and safe.
~ Carolyn
The same question, of course, applies to all chemical, synthetically fragranced products used on the person and in the home.
There are some pleasant alternatives to such chemicals and synthetic fragrances. Granted, in a medical facility, there might always be a baseline of chemical, antiviral, antibacterial agents that must be used under specific conditions in order to prevent infection and contagion. Still, might we not hope to keep such applications to a minimum? Might we, at least, hope not to continue mixing those "baseline chemicals" with other completely unnecessary airborne chemical toxins, to our own cellular destruction?
Going yet further, perhaps scientific minds could come up with natural alternatives to the baseline disinfectants necessary in medical settings?
I don't know exactly how far, for example, tea tree oil can go against major strains of resistant bacteria. But I do know that, for the average person cleaning his own household, tea tree oil can be an effective defense against many potentially harmful germs. I ask for reader feedback on the many applications and uses of tea tree oil.
Distilled white vinegar, as another example, can literally absorb odors from the air. Mixed with baking soda, it forms a pleasing cleaning solution around the house where hard water deposits do not make this difficult. I ask for reader ideas on natural alternatives to softening hard-water deposits in sinks and bathrooms.
Completely natural beeswax candles ("100% natural") can, likewise, help to purify the air and absorb odors. These should have cotton wicks and non-lead bases.
One wants to be extra careful, however, about supposedly "natural" or even "organic" products that are scented with essential oils or other supposedly "natural" fragrances. Some of these essential oils and "natural" fragrances are not completely natural and, in some cases, are quite harmful. For more specific scientific findings on this noteworthy topic, please see the following link:
http://missourikidshealthcoalition.wikifoundry.com/page/Dr.+Anne+Steinemann,+PhD
I look forward to hearing from you regarding your own experiences, ideas, and solutions!
Cheers -- and, on a much more somber note, prayers for those in the U.S. hit by the massive onslaught of tornadoes. May your new homes be strong and safe.
~ Carolyn
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Cardiac Arrhythmias in the MCS Picture
Happy Hazy, Sunny Day!
Well, I'm back in the saddle again after much more chemical reactivity than I'd bargained for.
The rain has ended and the sun is shining -- literally!
Now, cardiac arrhythmias -- how do they fit into the picture of chemical reactivity? I'm not sure precisely how, except to speculate that the neurotoxins in the aggravating chemicals might stimulate the nerves electrically, which would include the heart nerve. I just know that, for me, they are now part of the MCS picture.
I had been diagnosed with benign arrhythmias as a child -- what they now call "supraventricular tachycardia" (SVT). I was treated, at that time, with tiny doses of daily phenobarbital and digitalis. After a few years, the arrhythmias went dormant. For decades. Until the MCS came into bloom.
Let it be stated firmly that I am not a medical professional and can proffer neither diagnoses nor the science behind the symptoms. I leave that to more capable minds. What I can provide here, however, is anecdotal background into which a better mind can one day "splice in" the exact reasons for these physical symptoms.
Sometimes right away during an exposure to aggravating chemicals, or sometimes a day or two later, I will experience a multitude of "premature ventricular contractions" (PVC's). These feel like little drum rolls of the heart or, at other times, an abrupt and hard "thud" as though the heart "fell" downward, or jumped upward! These "thuds" cause me to gasp involuntarily. At their worst, the PVC's keep coming and turn into an extended bout of SVT. This is a racing of the heart so fast and so hard that you can see the person's shirt bobbing up and down over the heart. Mine has reached over 200 beats per minute for extended periods of time, as in three hours. My chest and back, at these times, experience a sickening ache, and I feel lightheaded. A person cannot go on like this indefinitely. My last bout caused the need for a visit to the emergency room for 2 shots of adenosine, a heart-stopping drug which resets the rhythm.
At other times, the heart will just launch into radical, fast SVT within a split second, as though someone simply flipped a switch inside of me. If I cannot cough hard enough or bear down effectively enough (two techniques for stopping an arrhythmia in its tracks), then "we're off to the races" and I'm in a bad place, praying for the heart to stop "galloping" on its own.
The PVC's occur most, and a multiplicity of times for one or two days at a time, during or following such things as heavy scented-laundry exposure, visits to mainstream medical offices (dental offices being the worst for me), and typical office buildings.
Also worth mentioning here, for the sake of completeness and accuracy, is the tendency for gluten to do the same thing to my heart. Because there is a known "toxic fraction" of the gluten molecule which acts as an inflammatory agent for those sensitive to gluten, the gluten molecule becomes, for me, one more "chemical agent" in the reactivity picture. My first symptoms of gluten sensitivity were, in fact, neurological. I'd get wobbly, somewhat dizzy, following the ingestion of wheat bread. I'd eat the bread and then find myself leaning against the wall for balance. There was the frightening day when I was eating wheat bread in the car, while driving. The PVC's began, making me gasp every other second. I also felt that dizzy, lightheaded sensation. A person cannot drive this way. I had to stop the car and sit, just hoping for it all to pass. I wondered about the wheat bread.
I took a baseline blood test for gluten sensitivity, which showed, at that time, a "moderate" level of antibodies to gluten in my blood. I was advised to stay away from gluten at that point, or at least to limit it as best I could. (I do understand that known celiacs must stay away from every single molecule of gluten. I understand, also, that I might actually be a full-blown celiac which might be more obvious at this point if I pursued further testing. Then again, there may be some people who are neurologically sensitive to gluten without having celiac disease. The neurological angle of gluten sensitivity is now beginning to be explored.)
So gluten, for some of us, can act as "one more chemical" -- an actual toxin -- precipitating our symptoms.
Now back to neurotoxins, in general, as they often precede or coincide with my own PVC's:
My greatest concern, therefore, comes for those cardiac patients, elderly patients, and all neurologically compromised patients who most visit mainstream medical offices. As I've noted in a previous post, mainstream offices and most public buildings contain innumerable neurotoxins in the form of chemical disinfectants, air-freshening products, the synthetic scents that exude from each person, plus upholstery and carpeting which absorb and "breathe back" all of the above . . . etc.
For me, it is highly likely that if I had to visit a cardiologist or any medical professional regularly, I would be living with nearly continual episodes of PVC's!
So what is the case, I wonder, for frail elderly patients whose hearts are worn down, to begin with . . . whose brains and nervous systems are more susceptible to damage by everything they eat and breathe? Do many cardiac patients actually get worse upon more frequent visits to the cardiologists' offices?
It surely makes me wonder.
Stay as well as you can, and cheers!
~ Carolyn
Well, I'm back in the saddle again after much more chemical reactivity than I'd bargained for.
The rain has ended and the sun is shining -- literally!
Now, cardiac arrhythmias -- how do they fit into the picture of chemical reactivity? I'm not sure precisely how, except to speculate that the neurotoxins in the aggravating chemicals might stimulate the nerves electrically, which would include the heart nerve. I just know that, for me, they are now part of the MCS picture.
I had been diagnosed with benign arrhythmias as a child -- what they now call "supraventricular tachycardia" (SVT). I was treated, at that time, with tiny doses of daily phenobarbital and digitalis. After a few years, the arrhythmias went dormant. For decades. Until the MCS came into bloom.
Let it be stated firmly that I am not a medical professional and can proffer neither diagnoses nor the science behind the symptoms. I leave that to more capable minds. What I can provide here, however, is anecdotal background into which a better mind can one day "splice in" the exact reasons for these physical symptoms.
Sometimes right away during an exposure to aggravating chemicals, or sometimes a day or two later, I will experience a multitude of "premature ventricular contractions" (PVC's). These feel like little drum rolls of the heart or, at other times, an abrupt and hard "thud" as though the heart "fell" downward, or jumped upward! These "thuds" cause me to gasp involuntarily. At their worst, the PVC's keep coming and turn into an extended bout of SVT. This is a racing of the heart so fast and so hard that you can see the person's shirt bobbing up and down over the heart. Mine has reached over 200 beats per minute for extended periods of time, as in three hours. My chest and back, at these times, experience a sickening ache, and I feel lightheaded. A person cannot go on like this indefinitely. My last bout caused the need for a visit to the emergency room for 2 shots of adenosine, a heart-stopping drug which resets the rhythm.
At other times, the heart will just launch into radical, fast SVT within a split second, as though someone simply flipped a switch inside of me. If I cannot cough hard enough or bear down effectively enough (two techniques for stopping an arrhythmia in its tracks), then "we're off to the races" and I'm in a bad place, praying for the heart to stop "galloping" on its own.
The PVC's occur most, and a multiplicity of times for one or two days at a time, during or following such things as heavy scented-laundry exposure, visits to mainstream medical offices (dental offices being the worst for me), and typical office buildings.
Also worth mentioning here, for the sake of completeness and accuracy, is the tendency for gluten to do the same thing to my heart. Because there is a known "toxic fraction" of the gluten molecule which acts as an inflammatory agent for those sensitive to gluten, the gluten molecule becomes, for me, one more "chemical agent" in the reactivity picture. My first symptoms of gluten sensitivity were, in fact, neurological. I'd get wobbly, somewhat dizzy, following the ingestion of wheat bread. I'd eat the bread and then find myself leaning against the wall for balance. There was the frightening day when I was eating wheat bread in the car, while driving. The PVC's began, making me gasp every other second. I also felt that dizzy, lightheaded sensation. A person cannot drive this way. I had to stop the car and sit, just hoping for it all to pass. I wondered about the wheat bread.
I took a baseline blood test for gluten sensitivity, which showed, at that time, a "moderate" level of antibodies to gluten in my blood. I was advised to stay away from gluten at that point, or at least to limit it as best I could. (I do understand that known celiacs must stay away from every single molecule of gluten. I understand, also, that I might actually be a full-blown celiac which might be more obvious at this point if I pursued further testing. Then again, there may be some people who are neurologically sensitive to gluten without having celiac disease. The neurological angle of gluten sensitivity is now beginning to be explored.)
So gluten, for some of us, can act as "one more chemical" -- an actual toxin -- precipitating our symptoms.
Now back to neurotoxins, in general, as they often precede or coincide with my own PVC's:
My greatest concern, therefore, comes for those cardiac patients, elderly patients, and all neurologically compromised patients who most visit mainstream medical offices. As I've noted in a previous post, mainstream offices and most public buildings contain innumerable neurotoxins in the form of chemical disinfectants, air-freshening products, the synthetic scents that exude from each person, plus upholstery and carpeting which absorb and "breathe back" all of the above . . . etc.
For me, it is highly likely that if I had to visit a cardiologist or any medical professional regularly, I would be living with nearly continual episodes of PVC's!
So what is the case, I wonder, for frail elderly patients whose hearts are worn down, to begin with . . . whose brains and nervous systems are more susceptible to damage by everything they eat and breathe? Do many cardiac patients actually get worse upon more frequent visits to the cardiologists' offices?
It surely makes me wonder.
Stay as well as you can, and cheers!
~ Carolyn
Saturday, May 14, 2011
"With the Turf"
Saturday Greetings!
Google blog maintenance and my own migraine syndromes accounted for the temporary interruption.
Migraines, of course, go with the turf. In the meantime, please check out the highly informative links on the right panel.
Next post presently in progress . . . please stay tuned.
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Google blog maintenance and my own migraine syndromes accounted for the temporary interruption.
Migraines, of course, go with the turf. In the meantime, please check out the highly informative links on the right panel.
Next post presently in progress . . . please stay tuned.
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Getting Sick at the Doctor's
Good evening!
Busy day today, so I'm writing at the end instead of the beginning.
I'm often asked why I don't visit mainstream medical specialists (allergists being at the top of the list) to treat my MCS, and why I don't get a catheter ablation to remedy my supraventricular tachycardia. My answers to both questions are connected by a common thread.
Firstly, I don't visit mainstream allergists to treat my MCS because MCS is not an allergy. An allergy is an overreaction of the body to a natural substance. MCS is a systemic reaction to an actual toxin, a poisonous chemical element.
Secondly, I try very hard to avoid mainstream medical offices. Many toxic chemical elements are rampant in the typical mainstream medical office.
A few sniffles? Nothing, to me. Sinus congestion, all by itself? A joy compared to a migraine. Watery eyes? This passes. Uncomfortable, like a fly on the nose. But nothing catastrophic.
The real trouble comes when, to take one example, acerbic, peppery, sharp, burning laundry fragrance on someone's clothes wafts to this angle and that angle, radiating outward, filling rooms, catching breezes . . . . .
I focus on "getting through." I sit through the gathering haze of mind and body, that intangible "fuzz" that thickens around attempts at motion and cognition, telling myself it will only be one or two more days like this, trying to stay alert while feeling more and more drugged, face and nose burning red hot . . . plus another fairly frequent and perilous-feeling reaction involving multiple disturbances of my heart rhythm.
However, when one is so busy coping with simple consciousness, with the "how to's" of staying alert and alive, there is simply no room for the kind of reflection that could usher in phobias and existential terror. Better said, there is just no spare energy for it. All of my energy, frankly, goes into not being snuffed out.
Now imagine the absurdity of going into an ear/nose/throat specialist's office, sitting in the waiting room, and feeling a distinct "puff" of strong irritant fragrance with thickness and texture rise literally into your nose. This once happened to me. I was there to get some ear wax removed. A very inane and finite job. Neat and clean. In and out. I felt fine and balanced when I arrived. Then, the fragrance puffed . . . from somewhere. Somewhere close. I looked around like a spy, e.g, trying to look as though I were not looking. Because I could see no surreptitious mini-aerosols poking out of clenched hands or purses, I sat there debating with myself instead of doing what I should have done: Move immediately. Every few minutes of intense exposure to a formidable trigger toxin can rack up an entire new day of suffering.
After a few minutes of cluelessness, I finally moved my seat. As I glanced around absentmindedly, my eyes happened to settle upon the culprit. A pink plug-in air freshener just below my old seat! The pain had well begun above my nose by then, the deep, thick fog and swollen feeling had already "moved in," my face was heating up. I felt as though I'd been both hit in the head and treated with a narcotic. I felt . . . injured.
I told the ear doctor about it when he took me into his office, stating simply that plug-ins can give his patients migraines and sinus trouble, as I now had from his plug-in. He said something to the effect of a quick "Oh." To his credit (or someone else's), there was no plug-in apparent by sight or by scent the next time I visited that office.
However, on the day that I was thus afflicted by the puff of the plug-in, it was very hard to drive home. The nerves behind my eyes were vibrating with the familiar pulse of a chemical reaction, and my vision was literally shaking. I saw the "whole picture" before my windshield, but various pieces of the picture were wobbling by the millisecond at different levels, each piece somewhat "out of line." I felt sideways, crooked in my seat, as though I were tilting. So I tilted my head to compensate. I drove home with my head tilted in order to straighten out my eyes. My face, nose, and jawline were cloaked in red by the time I arrived home, migraine headache well underway. I'd been cooked. My husband, seeing the damage, was incensed on my behalf.
This from visiting the office of an ear/nose/throat specialist, of all things! (So, why don't I go to mainstream medical specialists unless I absolutely have to???)
When patients are incidentally subjected to plug-ins and equivalent deodorizing/cleaning toxins in doctors' offices, when the medical establishment fails to disseminate essential information about the severe damage these items can do when implanted near human beings, uninformed patients will return "ad infinitum" to chemically contaminated offices for more and more medication and one surgical intervention on top of another.
Those patients who are directly affected by these chemicals might actually believe it's a mighty handy thing to be experiencing their primary inflammation, coincidentally, at the exact time they have to explain their symptoms to the doctor. If patients only knew the types of neurotoxic chemicals that were either assisting or frankly causing their misery -- both in the medical offices and in their own homes and workplaces!
If more doctors only knew . . . . If more doctors only cared to know . . . . . . If institutions of higher learning would actually dispense the necessary information about neurotoxic and carcinogenic chemicals to medical students . . . . . . If medical offices would only be constructed with truly "green" materials . . . . .
Then, medical offices -- as well as hospitals and operating rooms -- wouldn't also have such potential to bring on heartbeat irregularities in susceptible individuals.
More on that topic . . . tomorrow.
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Busy day today, so I'm writing at the end instead of the beginning.
I'm often asked why I don't visit mainstream medical specialists (allergists being at the top of the list) to treat my MCS, and why I don't get a catheter ablation to remedy my supraventricular tachycardia. My answers to both questions are connected by a common thread.
Firstly, I don't visit mainstream allergists to treat my MCS because MCS is not an allergy. An allergy is an overreaction of the body to a natural substance. MCS is a systemic reaction to an actual toxin, a poisonous chemical element.
Secondly, I try very hard to avoid mainstream medical offices. Many toxic chemical elements are rampant in the typical mainstream medical office.
A few sniffles? Nothing, to me. Sinus congestion, all by itself? A joy compared to a migraine. Watery eyes? This passes. Uncomfortable, like a fly on the nose. But nothing catastrophic.
The real trouble comes when, to take one example, acerbic, peppery, sharp, burning laundry fragrance on someone's clothes wafts to this angle and that angle, radiating outward, filling rooms, catching breezes . . . . .
I focus on "getting through." I sit through the gathering haze of mind and body, that intangible "fuzz" that thickens around attempts at motion and cognition, telling myself it will only be one or two more days like this, trying to stay alert while feeling more and more drugged, face and nose burning red hot . . . plus another fairly frequent and perilous-feeling reaction involving multiple disturbances of my heart rhythm.
However, when one is so busy coping with simple consciousness, with the "how to's" of staying alert and alive, there is simply no room for the kind of reflection that could usher in phobias and existential terror. Better said, there is just no spare energy for it. All of my energy, frankly, goes into not being snuffed out.
Now imagine the absurdity of going into an ear/nose/throat specialist's office, sitting in the waiting room, and feeling a distinct "puff" of strong irritant fragrance with thickness and texture rise literally into your nose. This once happened to me. I was there to get some ear wax removed. A very inane and finite job. Neat and clean. In and out. I felt fine and balanced when I arrived. Then, the fragrance puffed . . . from somewhere. Somewhere close. I looked around like a spy, e.g, trying to look as though I were not looking. Because I could see no surreptitious mini-aerosols poking out of clenched hands or purses, I sat there debating with myself instead of doing what I should have done: Move immediately. Every few minutes of intense exposure to a formidable trigger toxin can rack up an entire new day of suffering.
After a few minutes of cluelessness, I finally moved my seat. As I glanced around absentmindedly, my eyes happened to settle upon the culprit. A pink plug-in air freshener just below my old seat! The pain had well begun above my nose by then, the deep, thick fog and swollen feeling had already "moved in," my face was heating up. I felt as though I'd been both hit in the head and treated with a narcotic. I felt . . . injured.
I told the ear doctor about it when he took me into his office, stating simply that plug-ins can give his patients migraines and sinus trouble, as I now had from his plug-in. He said something to the effect of a quick "Oh." To his credit (or someone else's), there was no plug-in apparent by sight or by scent the next time I visited that office.
However, on the day that I was thus afflicted by the puff of the plug-in, it was very hard to drive home. The nerves behind my eyes were vibrating with the familiar pulse of a chemical reaction, and my vision was literally shaking. I saw the "whole picture" before my windshield, but various pieces of the picture were wobbling by the millisecond at different levels, each piece somewhat "out of line." I felt sideways, crooked in my seat, as though I were tilting. So I tilted my head to compensate. I drove home with my head tilted in order to straighten out my eyes. My face, nose, and jawline were cloaked in red by the time I arrived home, migraine headache well underway. I'd been cooked. My husband, seeing the damage, was incensed on my behalf.
This from visiting the office of an ear/nose/throat specialist, of all things! (So, why don't I go to mainstream medical specialists unless I absolutely have to???)
When patients are incidentally subjected to plug-ins and equivalent deodorizing/cleaning toxins in doctors' offices, when the medical establishment fails to disseminate essential information about the severe damage these items can do when implanted near human beings, uninformed patients will return "ad infinitum" to chemically contaminated offices for more and more medication and one surgical intervention on top of another.
Those patients who are directly affected by these chemicals might actually believe it's a mighty handy thing to be experiencing their primary inflammation, coincidentally, at the exact time they have to explain their symptoms to the doctor. If patients only knew the types of neurotoxic chemicals that were either assisting or frankly causing their misery -- both in the medical offices and in their own homes and workplaces!
If more doctors only knew . . . . If more doctors only cared to know . . . . . . If institutions of higher learning would actually dispense the necessary information about neurotoxic and carcinogenic chemicals to medical students . . . . . . If medical offices would only be constructed with truly "green" materials . . . . .
Then, medical offices -- as well as hospitals and operating rooms -- wouldn't also have such potential to bring on heartbeat irregularities in susceptible individuals.
More on that topic . . . tomorrow.
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Monday, May 9, 2011
The Silver Lining
Hello, Friends,
Before I go a step further, I wish to highlight the fact that there is, indeed, a "silver lining" to the problem of MCS:
We "canaries in the coal mine" have the benefit of an "early warning system."
Many, many do not.
MCS sufferers are known for having an outrageous sense of smell. But many people have lost the ability to smell. The loss of the sense of smell can be a major "red flag" of systemic disaster.
MCS sufferers experience episodes of physical distress and incapacity. Other unfortunate people (those who have never felt the need to greatly limit their synthetic-chemical exposures) feel no distressing physical symptoms along the way but learn, suddenly, that their bodies have been quietly destructing due to cancer, organ failure, or some neurologically ravaging disorder, that they may have only a few weeks or months to live.
Those of us MCS'ers who have not succumbed to outright organ failure, cancer, or a major central nervous system disorder, therefore, still have the priceless benefit of responding to our "early warning system" before it is too late.
Our sensory receptors are alive and kicking (and that's an understatement!). But the sensory receptors of many are so exhausted, so depleted, they have finally just "turned off." These tragically depleted individuals are like people walking into a raging fire (e.g., numerous chemical contaminants that may still surround them in their illness) simply because they cannot smell the smoke, feel the heat, or see the flames.
MCS sufferers have had the chance, at least, to note the patterns, the uncanny consistency of their own reactions to various chemical exposures in personal hygiene products, home cleaners, detergents, fabric softeners, scented candles, foods they've ingested (such as pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables), etc.
By contrast, there are probably many more people who are actually chemically sensitive and do not know it. Due to a scarcity of mainstream-medical awareness and acceptance of this problem, these individuals have not so much as considered the possibility that there may be an actual pattern to their symptoms. These people, consequently, will fail to see each episode of their own MCS reactivity as the predictable event that it really is. They will, instead, consider each episode of physical distress to be a randomly occurring problem or illness. They may end up, for example, seeing five different doctors for five "different" problems.
These "randomly afflicted" individuals will vaguely attribute their symptoms to a "bad day," "stress," "hormones," etc. The pattern of their reactivity could be a strong and clear one, but they will not see it because no one has encouraged them to "step back" and take note.
People easily "consider" "reactions" to pollen and various foods. They do not easily, however, consider "reactions" to chemicals rampant in common synthetic fragrances, cleaning, and hygiene products. The very idea is uncomfortably massive and almost unthinkable. Instead, they consider things that one can get "allergy shots and medications" for. They try to liken the problem of chemical sensitivity to the typical "allergy" to a natural substance. They cannot easily comprehend that one cannot get an "allergy shot" for a reaction to a toxic chemical.
If only we could! We cannot . . . but we retain the undeniable benefit of having been warned on a physical level about that which can truly harm us.
The basis for my optimism, therefore -- which I will return to again and again -- is that we MCS sufferers are actually "gifted" with a special systemic "radar" for the presence of many toxic chemicals around us.
Let us attempt to use this "radar" not only to protect ourselves, but to raise awareness which will also help to protect others, in the long run. Let's hold onto hope. There are some professionals out there who may have found some solutions, at least for some people afflicted with MCS. Perhaps these solutions require a great deal of money, time, extra resources, etc. in order to be implemented. Perhaps many of us cannot access these special treatments. Still, it is reassuring to know that at least some professionals out there are, in fact, putting their minds to this very unusual problem.
Always, always, there is hope. Let us work, for now, with the information we have.
{As a good introduction to the topic of MCS, see the following link: http://thechemicaledge.com/section-2-the-song-of-the-canary-mcs/}
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Before I go a step further, I wish to highlight the fact that there is, indeed, a "silver lining" to the problem of MCS:
We "canaries in the coal mine" have the benefit of an "early warning system."
Many, many do not.
MCS sufferers are known for having an outrageous sense of smell. But many people have lost the ability to smell. The loss of the sense of smell can be a major "red flag" of systemic disaster.
MCS sufferers experience episodes of physical distress and incapacity. Other unfortunate people (those who have never felt the need to greatly limit their synthetic-chemical exposures) feel no distressing physical symptoms along the way but learn, suddenly, that their bodies have been quietly destructing due to cancer, organ failure, or some neurologically ravaging disorder, that they may have only a few weeks or months to live.
Those of us MCS'ers who have not succumbed to outright organ failure, cancer, or a major central nervous system disorder, therefore, still have the priceless benefit of responding to our "early warning system" before it is too late.
Our sensory receptors are alive and kicking (and that's an understatement!). But the sensory receptors of many are so exhausted, so depleted, they have finally just "turned off." These tragically depleted individuals are like people walking into a raging fire (e.g., numerous chemical contaminants that may still surround them in their illness) simply because they cannot smell the smoke, feel the heat, or see the flames.
MCS sufferers have had the chance, at least, to note the patterns, the uncanny consistency of their own reactions to various chemical exposures in personal hygiene products, home cleaners, detergents, fabric softeners, scented candles, foods they've ingested (such as pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables), etc.
By contrast, there are probably many more people who are actually chemically sensitive and do not know it. Due to a scarcity of mainstream-medical awareness and acceptance of this problem, these individuals have not so much as considered the possibility that there may be an actual pattern to their symptoms. These people, consequently, will fail to see each episode of their own MCS reactivity as the predictable event that it really is. They will, instead, consider each episode of physical distress to be a randomly occurring problem or illness. They may end up, for example, seeing five different doctors for five "different" problems.
These "randomly afflicted" individuals will vaguely attribute their symptoms to a "bad day," "stress," "hormones," etc. The pattern of their reactivity could be a strong and clear one, but they will not see it because no one has encouraged them to "step back" and take note.
People easily "consider" "reactions" to pollen and various foods. They do not easily, however, consider "reactions" to chemicals rampant in common synthetic fragrances, cleaning, and hygiene products. The very idea is uncomfortably massive and almost unthinkable. Instead, they consider things that one can get "allergy shots and medications" for. They try to liken the problem of chemical sensitivity to the typical "allergy" to a natural substance. They cannot easily comprehend that one cannot get an "allergy shot" for a reaction to a toxic chemical.
If only we could! We cannot . . . but we retain the undeniable benefit of having been warned on a physical level about that which can truly harm us.
The basis for my optimism, therefore -- which I will return to again and again -- is that we MCS sufferers are actually "gifted" with a special systemic "radar" for the presence of many toxic chemicals around us.
Let us attempt to use this "radar" not only to protect ourselves, but to raise awareness which will also help to protect others, in the long run. Let's hold onto hope. There are some professionals out there who may have found some solutions, at least for some people afflicted with MCS. Perhaps these solutions require a great deal of money, time, extra resources, etc. in order to be implemented. Perhaps many of us cannot access these special treatments. Still, it is reassuring to know that at least some professionals out there are, in fact, putting their minds to this very unusual problem.
Always, always, there is hope. Let us work, for now, with the information we have.
{As a good introduction to the topic of MCS, see the following link: http://thechemicaledge.com/section-2-the-song-of-the-canary-mcs/}
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Sunday, May 8, 2011
MCS -- What It's Like
A good Sunday morning to you!
For those of you who are just learning about chemical sensitivity, I'll share the experience with you "from the inside." For those of you who know only too well the gist of what I'm about to share, I'll share it to affirm my kinship with you. Not everyone's reactions will be identical, of course, but there is a certain "flavor" to the overall picture of MCS reactivity that will invariably be similar -- I would expect this similarity to occur most noticeably along the lines of "central nervous system" effects. In my own experience, these seem to predominate.
Sure does make you wonder about all of those neurological disorders that crop up as people "age." Especially the wild-card ones such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) that can devastate seemingly out of the blue. I once read in some studies (I'll try to look these up again) that MS is made worse by exposure to natural gas appliances.
Sundays and holidays are particularly difficult days, from a synthetic-chemical point of view. Churches are redolent with airborne, molecular bouquets of scented personal products, from hair gels to shampoo, aftershave to men's cologne, women's fragrances to scented lotions, body washes, laundry-scented clothing and the residue of mothball treatments and cigarette smoke -- you name it. These details, which are small or barely noticeable to many other people, loom very large when you have a nose like a bloodhound.
Many churches, also, are both upholstered and carpeted, and the windows are not always designed to be opened. In the winter, forced-air heating systems spread around the conglomeration of contaminants while drying out the mucous membranes.
On holidays, there are usually more people present in church than usual; and some of those people inevitably smoke cigarettes uncomfortably close to entrances and exits. If the weather is warm and the doors and windows of church halls are left open, the smoke wafts in.
Then, moving on to "visiting." Apartment complexes and close suburban neighborhoods exude synthetic laundry fragrance through the dryer vents, which often pours out into the streets and blankets entire blocks.
Inside homes there are air fresheners, synthetically scented paraffin candles, potpourri, scented soaps and lotions, chemical cleaners, carpets, carpet-shampoo treatments, items laundered with synthetically scented products, and upholstered furniture and curtains which have absorbed all of these scents combined. Add to that the natural gas stoves and other natural-gas appliances present in many dwellings, and you have "chemical soup" permeating the air with neurotoxins (nerve toxins) galore.
For a day or two (sometimes three) after back-to-back, multiple exposures to these neurotoxic chemicals, my center of balance is off and I feel as though I'm walking on an undulating ship; my muscular movements require deliberation as opposed to effortless execution; and I feel as though I'm moving through quicksand from head to toe. My thoughts are slowed, my mood becomes somber; thinking sequences through, step-by-step, becomes a huge labor; the glands around my throat swell, my sinuses swell, my chin gets red, my nose burns and turns red, and I get some hives along the jawline. Two or three days later, this impending migraine -- truly a central nervous system event -- really heats up: The pain begins to pulse noticeably through my head as the tissue and glands around it swell up, both tightening my jaw and making it difficult to swallow. The migraine syndrome is now going full-force. If I haven't taken ibuprofen yet, it's absolutely necessary now.
At the same time, I try to hurry along my recovery with dandelion root tea, green tea, rooibos tea, apple-cider vinegar, Buffered C Powder, magnesium malate -- and other foods and supplements that offer liver cleansing, digestive assistance (this deteriorates during chemical reactions/migraines, worsening the toxic load), antioxidant help, and calming of the nerves.
I've also made a mental note to try and "put off" addressing any potentially sensitive interactions with people until the mood-dampening effect of the chemical reaction passes.
Things look and feel so tremendously different once my body has reasonably (not perfectly, but reasonably) detoxed from a walloping chemical exposure!
This return feeling of well-being is what I wish for all of you, as often as possible -- and especially on weekends and holidays!
Please write in your own experiences and solutions you've come up with to cope with acute exposures to aggravating chemicals. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
For those of you who are just learning about chemical sensitivity, I'll share the experience with you "from the inside." For those of you who know only too well the gist of what I'm about to share, I'll share it to affirm my kinship with you. Not everyone's reactions will be identical, of course, but there is a certain "flavor" to the overall picture of MCS reactivity that will invariably be similar -- I would expect this similarity to occur most noticeably along the lines of "central nervous system" effects. In my own experience, these seem to predominate.
Sure does make you wonder about all of those neurological disorders that crop up as people "age." Especially the wild-card ones such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) that can devastate seemingly out of the blue. I once read in some studies (I'll try to look these up again) that MS is made worse by exposure to natural gas appliances.
Sundays and holidays are particularly difficult days, from a synthetic-chemical point of view. Churches are redolent with airborne, molecular bouquets of scented personal products, from hair gels to shampoo, aftershave to men's cologne, women's fragrances to scented lotions, body washes, laundry-scented clothing and the residue of mothball treatments and cigarette smoke -- you name it. These details, which are small or barely noticeable to many other people, loom very large when you have a nose like a bloodhound.
Many churches, also, are both upholstered and carpeted, and the windows are not always designed to be opened. In the winter, forced-air heating systems spread around the conglomeration of contaminants while drying out the mucous membranes.
On holidays, there are usually more people present in church than usual; and some of those people inevitably smoke cigarettes uncomfortably close to entrances and exits. If the weather is warm and the doors and windows of church halls are left open, the smoke wafts in.
Then, moving on to "visiting." Apartment complexes and close suburban neighborhoods exude synthetic laundry fragrance through the dryer vents, which often pours out into the streets and blankets entire blocks.
Inside homes there are air fresheners, synthetically scented paraffin candles, potpourri, scented soaps and lotions, chemical cleaners, carpets, carpet-shampoo treatments, items laundered with synthetically scented products, and upholstered furniture and curtains which have absorbed all of these scents combined. Add to that the natural gas stoves and other natural-gas appliances present in many dwellings, and you have "chemical soup" permeating the air with neurotoxins (nerve toxins) galore.
For a day or two (sometimes three) after back-to-back, multiple exposures to these neurotoxic chemicals, my center of balance is off and I feel as though I'm walking on an undulating ship; my muscular movements require deliberation as opposed to effortless execution; and I feel as though I'm moving through quicksand from head to toe. My thoughts are slowed, my mood becomes somber; thinking sequences through, step-by-step, becomes a huge labor; the glands around my throat swell, my sinuses swell, my chin gets red, my nose burns and turns red, and I get some hives along the jawline. Two or three days later, this impending migraine -- truly a central nervous system event -- really heats up: The pain begins to pulse noticeably through my head as the tissue and glands around it swell up, both tightening my jaw and making it difficult to swallow. The migraine syndrome is now going full-force. If I haven't taken ibuprofen yet, it's absolutely necessary now.
At the same time, I try to hurry along my recovery with dandelion root tea, green tea, rooibos tea, apple-cider vinegar, Buffered C Powder, magnesium malate -- and other foods and supplements that offer liver cleansing, digestive assistance (this deteriorates during chemical reactions/migraines, worsening the toxic load), antioxidant help, and calming of the nerves.
I've also made a mental note to try and "put off" addressing any potentially sensitive interactions with people until the mood-dampening effect of the chemical reaction passes.
Things look and feel so tremendously different once my body has reasonably (not perfectly, but reasonably) detoxed from a walloping chemical exposure!
This return feeling of well-being is what I wish for all of you, as often as possible -- and especially on weekends and holidays!
Please write in your own experiences and solutions you've come up with to cope with acute exposures to aggravating chemicals. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Cheers!
~ Carolyn
Friday, May 6, 2011
Welcome!
Thanks for stopping by! This blog is for chemically sensitive people, those interested in learning about chemical sensitivity, and "green" enthusiasts everywhere.
Although Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a serious reality, I will keep this blog upbeat and ever-brimming with hopeful ideas and solutions along the way.
My strange and aversive journey into MCS began 20-something years ago with frequent exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. It gradually mushroomed over the years to embrace many other synthetic fragrances and substances -- synthetically scented and paraffin candles, natural gas, scented detergents, fabric softeners, air fresheners, mainstream household cleaners . . . . .
Just reciting the list gets me tired! Not a very exciting pursuit. There's so much more to think about and live for, don't you think?
But still, we MCS'ers must survive. The problem is staring us in the face. There is no escaping synthetic scents or cleaners in any public place.
This blog, in the most optimistic way possible, will be dedicated to SURVIVAL in a chemical-laden world.
Cheers, for now!
~ Carolyn
Although Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a serious reality, I will keep this blog upbeat and ever-brimming with hopeful ideas and solutions along the way.
My strange and aversive journey into MCS began 20-something years ago with frequent exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. It gradually mushroomed over the years to embrace many other synthetic fragrances and substances -- synthetically scented and paraffin candles, natural gas, scented detergents, fabric softeners, air fresheners, mainstream household cleaners . . . . .
Just reciting the list gets me tired! Not a very exciting pursuit. There's so much more to think about and live for, don't you think?
But still, we MCS'ers must survive. The problem is staring us in the face. There is no escaping synthetic scents or cleaners in any public place.
This blog, in the most optimistic way possible, will be dedicated to SURVIVAL in a chemical-laden world.
Cheers, for now!
~ Carolyn