If fragrances and the products they are added to didn’t contain so many seriously harmful ingredients which pollute the air we all breathe, the clothing we wear, the water we drink, and the soil we grow the foods we eat in, there wouldn’t be a need to go fragrance-free. Strangely, the fragrance industry has seen fit to include a vast array of toxic, petrochemical pollutants and highly allergenic substances in their products.
Here are some resources to use in making schools, workplaces and homes safer places to be. Some are new, some I’ve already linked to in other places on this site.
Hope you find them helpful.
from The CDC and MCS
The CDC Indoor Environmental Quality Policy from 2009 explicitly states:
“Fragrance is not appropriate for a professional work environment, and the use of some products with fragrance may be detrimental to the health of workers with chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, and chronic headaches/migraines.” …
Potential hazards include chemicals, biological agents, fragrant products, and physical conditions that may cause irritation, illness, or exacerbate existing health conditions” …
Guidelines to Accommodate Students and Staff with Environmental Sensitivities: A Guide for Schools
Also see: Fragrance-Free and Healthy Schools (updated) for more resources
∴
“The safety of the chemicals in fragrances is not assessed by any publicly accountable agency or by cosmetics industry self-policing review panels.”
Download a PDF of the Fragrance Fact Sheet by Physicians for Social Responsibility at the link below
http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/fragrances-fact-sheet.pdf
∴
Download a PDF of the Fragrance Fact Sheet by the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health & Environment from the link below:
Fragrance Fact Sheet by the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health & Environment
∴
Some chemicals used in fragrances may also contribute to long-term health effects. For example, phthalates, a type of chemical used to make a scent last longer, may interfere with the body’s hormone system. Phthalate exposures during pregnancy have been linked to birth defects in male reproductive organs and other adverse effects.
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Avoid wearing perfume, cologne or scented body care products, particularly when pregnant, around children, at work or in public places. And don’t use fragranced personal care products on your baby or child.
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Download a PDF of this poster from CCOHS at the link below:
http://www.ccohs.ca/products/posters/pdfs/scentfreezone.pdf
See info from CCOHS on creating a Scent-Free Policy for the Workplace HERE
Fragrance Decision Undermines EPA’s DfE Program
…“it is standard environmental health practice to discourage the use of air fresheners, scented products, and fragrances in homes and other indoor spaces.
We were surprised and deeply disappointed to learn that the Agency’s Design for the Environment program (DfE) created a “fragrance” category of chemicals for commercial and consumer cleaning products. The vast majority of chemicals listed — 93 of the 119 total — have “hazard profile issues” because they are identified in one of
these three categories:
“Known sensitizer”;
“Lacks sufficient sensitization data”; or a
“Repeat-dose toxicant.”
(from pediatricians and respiratory experts, including the American Lung Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics)
∴
See Toxic Chemicals in Fragranced Laundry Products and Health Effects
https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/toxic-chemicals-in-fragranced-laundry-products-and-health-effects/
See the article
Air Quality and Accessibility in Health Care; Why Aren’t All Health Care Providers Fragrance-Free?
STOP
This is a chemical-free area
Download customizable document: STOPSIGN
for medical reasons
DO NOT APPROACH
Download customizable document: sign FORMEDICALREASONSdonotapproach
There are many more links and resources in the sidebar here as well as in an assortment of blog posts (type “fragrance” into the search box and see what comes up)…
A crude edit from an original bylaw regarding smoking, to show an example of what should be done until bans are in effect. Note: bans or fragrance-free policies would not be necessary if fragrances did not contain so many allergens and toxic chemicals.
SO MUCH INFO is available now on how harmful fragrance ingredients can be!
What is everyone waiting for?
When we purchase fragranced products, we are supporting an industry that cares about their profits, regardless of the consequences. Currently, the consequences are borne by us and will have a greater adverse impact on future generations.
Being fragrance free is good for you, good for me, good for our air, good for our water, and most importantly perhaps, it’s good for future generations too.
♥
Fragrance Free Implementation Kit
http://greenhealthcare.ca/fragrance-free-implementation-kit/
Fragrance Ingredients & Disclosure
Reports: Fragrance Chemicals
http://www.womensvoices.org/reports-fragrance-chemicals/
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 
I’m really disappointed to find out that essential oils can also be a problem. I recently switched to homemade deodorant and one of the ingredients is Ylang Ylang EO. Is there no way to find out what is in these products?
I used to have a good link or few about essential oils but I’ve lost the bookmarks… I have seen lists of known sensitizers somewhere, and which oils to be cautious with for other reasons. When I do research, if it’s on a subject I don’t know much about, I’ll read as much as I can from a variety of sources (I used to take out numerous books from the library back in the days when I could… now I google), so you could try to find some info like that.
Then, it seems that most essential oils are actually unnecessary or non-therapeutic and highly over-used. Clean doesn’t smell…
Finally, if there was a therapeutic/health reason to use them, I would trust certified organic EOs over other types, unless you can find someone who makes them and you can question them on the supply chain (pesticides, solvents, etc).
I personally discovered great differences in lavender oils and their effects on my MCS many years ago. I had encountered someone (in passing) who was wearing some that I was fine with (I asked because I was surprised to encounter a fragrance that didn’t make me keel over), and so I decided to get myself some for occasional use mostly as a moth deterrent in my cupboards (not knowing anything about the differences). It took me about 10 different brands over weeks to find one that didn’t make me sick or affect my CNS in some way. It turned out the only one I was ok with was a certified organic one.
Fresh air is free of VOCs and other pollutants… It’s only recently that we’ve had fragrances shoved down our throats as being necessary. Most people use a dozen differently fragranced products every day and live in a chemical stew. It’s just not healthy!
Sorry to be pedantic but trees naturally produce VOCs, so fresh air is actually not free of VOCs. Having said that, I agree that we live in a polluted environment with unnaturally high levels of VOCs, etc. That’s why I’m trying to make the switch to fragrance-free/homemade products.
Thanks for your advice. I will look for organic EOs and if I can’t afford them I will just leave them out. I guess I’ve just got used to having perfumed armpits! I liked the Ylang Ylang smell. :(
You are right about the trees producing VOCs! I live near a number of pines and a couple of times a year there has been an intense odour of turpentine!
And there are many people who suffer adverse effects from naturally occurring terpenes and limonene… However, the majority of VOC problems are from the synthetic substances.
Maybe you can find an organic oil but just add it on special occasions (so the bottle lasts a really long time, and you will be safe to be around most of the time)
Okay. :)
:-) <3
When I had my aromatherapy and herbal store, I sold a line of EOs from Oshadhi. They offer EOs that are Organic and/or Wildcrafted (which simply means the plants were collected in the wild, not cultivated). Manufactured in Germany, where regulations are tight, these are the best EOs available. To Sarah, Ylang-Ylang EO is extracted through maceration and does not involve the use of petrochemicals. Be sure to get the Organic version, though.
Thanks Gyan!
I read somewhere that there is a vast difference in the quality of EOs. Since I don’t use them I don’t know more than that. Sarah’s comment on perfumed armpits made me smile. I just watched a TED talk about pheromones and there was quote from Napoleon to his lover that he was coming home in a few days and please don’t wash so that he could enjoy her natural scent. Oh how times have changed. Thanks Linda for all the great resources. :D
I really like to smell things as they are, not covered up by chemicals…
Food tastes so much better when it isn’t smothered by synthetic chemicals – now they have to add all kinds of very questionable substances to so called food so people can taste it…
Most wine tasting events ask people to go fragrance free… these chemicals affect our ability to smell and taste the real world…
They get into the water we wash ourselves, our dishes and clothes with (while leaving residues on everything that can take days, weeks or be impossible to remove), affecting all life downstream from us, and return in our drinking water because municipal systems are designed to remove pathogens, not perfume and pesticide and pharmaceutical chemicals…
Did I mention all the immediate and long term health problems they cause? Is it obvious I have no love for the pollutants?
Sigh… I’m looking for my old notes on scent marketing… in the meantime, check out Dr John Molot’s views on the subject – they are similar to what I shared on the Canary Report many years ago:
Common Scents Marketing by John Molot
http://johnmolot.com/common-scents-marketing/
Hi there, well I should first state that I am an ITEC qualified Aromatherapist. Since I have severe MCS I have become sensitized to most “100% pure and organic” EO’s (these are the only truely “therapeautic” EO’s, anything else is just as or probably more harmfull than other “fragrances”). The use of Aromatherapy should always be supervised by an Aromatherapist and agreed to by your doctor, there are many CONTRA-INDICATIONS to treatment and specific oils. EO’s have physical, psycological and pharmaceutical effects and doseage is extremely important. Like any drug they can also be extremely harmfull if used without sufficient knowledge or supervision, hence the advice to not use any “scents” including essential oils for CSS’s and/or MCS etc. Even with a list of “sensitizing” oils you would still need to know what specific oils may be CONTRA-INDICATED for you and your individual conditions and even the most gentle or seemingly harmless oils can cause adverse reactions in a MCS sufferer. You should always do a “reactivity test” with a drop on your wrist or fore arm 48 hours before use to asses reactions on skin (absorbtion) and/or a drop on a piece of cloth in an air-tight jar which you open and smell once in a while to asses air-bourne reactions (inhalation), even so you must be attent to immediate and long term reactions as if you were trying a new medicine or supplement. EO’s are very highly concentrated and should be used very sparsely (even if you “like” how they smell) it is very easy to overdose!
Like other “organic” produce and especially with EO’s, as they are concentrated chemical compounds, where they are grown, how they are farmed, harvested and produced etc., even at what altitude the plants are grown at or different types of the same plant can affect their ‘chemical make-up’ and therefore therapeautic properties. EO’s should never be used “just to scent”, they cause chemical reactions and this should never be ignored! They can be used as aromas in the proper doseage, “under supervision” (or proper knowledge) and always taking into account the “therapeautic effect” (by chemical reactions) that they will have on you!
Let’s talk about 100% pure and organic Lavender EO’s as this oil seems to be “recommended” (by ?) for SSC sufferers ( FM, CFS, MCS etc.). Because it is not “listed” as a sensitizing oil does not mean it is a “safe oil” for anyone, it only means it does not “sensitize” Most Healthy Individuals, even then there are exceptions, and MCS sufferers are not “healthy individuals”.
Ylang Ylang is a sensitizing oil, you may like it’s aroma and seemingly tolerate it for months or more before you sensitize to it and then not recognize that what is causing your symptoms is actually the Ylang Ylang EO. For example Ylang Ylang at a low doseage is relaxing to the CNS but at a slightly higher dose can cause hiperactivity of the CNS, hence the importance of “supervision” by a qualified Aromatherapist and consent from your GP or Environmental doctor.
If you are using a Lavender EO (100% pure and organic) as an aroma and you find you like or tolerate it then that’s great, stick to it but please consider the following info.
There are two types of Lavender EO’s (100% pure and organic always);
(note the difference in the therapeautical effects)
True Lavender – Lavandula Angustifolia (look for botanical name on bottle)
Nature’s Healer by excellence (this is why it is generally recommended)
Contraindications;
It is HYPOTENSIVE so caution should be used on those suffering from LOW BLOOD PRESSURE or HYPOGLYCEMIA! (could suddenly faint for example!)
Therapeautic properties;
-Analgesic – antidepressant – antimicrobial – antirheumatic -antiseptic – antispasmodic – antitoxic – anticonvulsive – carminative – cholagogue – choleretic – cicatrizant -cytophylactic – deoderant – diuretic – insecticide – nervine – parasiticide – sedative -tonic – vermifuge – vulnerary
This is a Reviving yet Soothing oil invaluable for treatment of insomnia, high blood pressure, depression, headaches, nervous tension and stress related conditions, PMS, sciatica, shock, vertigo, all types of skin problems, burns, bites, cuts, muscular aches and pains, bronchitis, throat infections, catarrh, flu and viruses, as fungicide and more so you can see why we call it the Universal Healer!
Spike Lavender – Lavandula Latifolia
Contraindicated in individuals with high blood pressure, epilepsy, palpitations, anxiety, etc. It has a “fierce and piercing quality” and must be used with extreme caution.
This oil has much more TOXIC chemical make-up (cineol and camphor), it has a stimulating effect on the CNS as opposed to the sedating effect of Pure Lavender and can be used on Hypotensive or hypoglycemic individuales as long as it’s tolerated. It shares and may accenuate analgesic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal properties and is used widely as “fragrance component” in cosmetics.
Doseage should never exceed 2% and for ill or Chemically Sensitive individuals not more than 1% or 1drop to 5ml carrier oil is recommended for application in massage or for adding to creams, deoderants or shampoos etc. If you use it in a burner (4/5 drops) or with water as a spray (10to20 drops to 50ml). Do not exceed 5 drops in any one treatment or 8 drops/day.
Be cautious, use trial and error but make note of any reactions adverse or healing to record.
Pure Lavender is quite safe and very effective taking in the considerations given :)
I hope you understand why you found only one Lavender EO that you tolerate, I’m glad cause this is a great healer for you if used properly! I use it for “protection” against contagious viruses, bacteria , fungi etc. and a drop in your hands inhaled can kill flu viruses! You can perfume your laundry with a few drops also (in a little milk as softener) or use a drop or two directly on skin as deoderant………..
Sorry getting all fogged up :( I’ll try to continue another day :) if you have any questions I haven’t answered.
I luv Lavender and fresh air! :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this Therese!
It is very important information.
I haven’t used the lavender in years actually, I may have lost the bottle in my move… I used to “toss” a few drops into my cupboards a few times a year and that was enough!
My son liked a bit of scent in his laundry and together we found an organic cinnamon oil that he liked and I was ok with (as long as he used only a couple of drops in his loads, which provided just the hint of a scent, not a residue and scent trail). There are cinnamon scented things that make most of us keel right over or have severe asthma attacks in stores during Halloween and Thanksgiving… The fake cinnamons are nasty!!!
There is one essential oil blend I can use (also very rarely) to help heal wounds that don’t heal quickly on their own. It’s made by UNDA and I first heard about it from a vet when my dog at the time had ear infections (from eating things with yeast, it turned out). I later discovered the blend has a preservative, which is why I wasn’t 100% ok with it, but for the rare (very rare, a couple of times a year maybe) times I need something now, it has been the best option available to me. Simple cleaning usually works well enough for me.
Therese, if you are interested and able, would you like to write a guest post on EO’s here?
Fabulous post! One of my favorites. I am tweeting and putting on Pinterest. :-)I have been off the Internet for a few days, but I am working on a post about allergic contact dermatitis and I was going to write about some common skin allergens. So I was looking at my old patch tests from my dermatologist, and speaking of essential oils, guess what–ylang ylang oil, jasmine, lavender–all on there along with geraniol, limonene, etc. I wonder if they’re on the list because they’re often contaminated with other chemicals or just for having their own allergenic properties, as Therese said? Probably both! Peppermint oil was on it also. I didn’t test allergic to that one, but I can’t stand it, so I think I am definitely sensitive to it. Perhaps the test result was a false negative. For lavender, it just listed “lavender absolute” — I am not sure if this refers to both of the compounds Therese mentioned or just the first one.
Also, question for you, Linda–I have this book that refers to something called the Canadian Hotlist? Is it a list of substances banned in Canada?
Of course we would never have anything like that in the US — it would interfere with corporate profits too much! Wouldn’t want to do that! :-/
I think solvent and other chemical contamination can be a big part of some testing techniques!
And species (?) can make a difference. I used to be ok with Moroccan Mint, but not other mints… There are other examples that slip my mind now… Oh, eggs are another one, it turned out that organic eggs that have date stamps or have absorbed ambient fragrance chemicals make me sick, but those that have not had contact with ink or fragranced air or cartons are ok for me… I now get some delivered directly by a farmer who keeps my carton separate from the rest (and wrapped in foil) and I can tell when he’s slipped an egg in from someone else’s carton to mine because it reeks of fragrance!
The EU is trying to ban and limit a number of fragrance allergens / ingredients (not much about the neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, etc yet…)
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-108_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/dgs_consultations/ca/consultation_cosmetic-products_fragrance-allergens_201402_en.htm
As far as the Canadian Hotlist and similar lists are concerned, I have little faith since so many ingredients we have evidence for aren’t included while at times there are bans on ingredients that are helpful (I am thinking of some supplements and herbal remedies), but I also lack a complete understanding of the chemicals involved on the lists.
In large part the lists often seem more PR than serious substance (ie removing some phthalates and BPA from baby products but allowing them everywhere else the child exists – laundry products, mother’s cosmetics, soaps and cleaning products, food packaging and utensils, paper, cans, and on and on and on… and not having them labelled anywhere
Read the Secret Scents Report by Women’s Voices for the Earth… I think I linked to it in the 1st paragraph… There are so many issues…
I hate having to use a hammer here, but the fragrance issue has become so polluted that I think we have to stop completely, and once the air has cleared (along with everything that has had contact with the air and those chemicals that make fragrances last forever) we can start all over again with only safe substances used appropriately…
Ha … I would be totally happy in a fragrance-free world. Since I stopped using fragranced products (around when I got the rosacea), I really find being around them irritating, especially if there is not good ventilation. I don’t seem to have full-blown MCS reactions (well…yet), but I definitely have “get me away from this crap NOW reactions.” Once I get away from it I am OK. Is it MCS? Is it the Lyme? Whatever … I just hate fragrance. Sometimes I can handle lavender or light, lemony stuff, but that’s it.
We don’t have to have MCS to be “sensitive” to pollution… We just need to have a body that breathes…
I just finished writing another comment and I don’t know how but I lost it! :(
Too frustrated and tired to do it all again :(
An ‘absolute’ is an extract by distillation using alcohol which many MCS sufferers don’t tolerate and the Terpines (limonene,) are chemical molecules that make up part of the “chemical composition” of the oils, if you sensitize to these you will sensitize to all oils that contain them (most EO’s). So as an absolute you may just react to the alcohol used in the distilation process but if you react to limonene (a terpene) and geraniol (an alcohol) you don’t need to look any further for “contamination” causing sensitization (not allergic reaction which is a different mechanism and much more immediate and obvious).
Very important to remember that even if we “tolerate” certain EO’s and they are not Synthetic Chemicals they can cause reactions in others and as “perfumes” or deoderants should not be used where “fragrance free” policies
need be applied. Natural Chemicals, Aromas or Fragrances that may not have a negative effect on one MCS sufferer may have on another as with meds or supplements etc. :)
Thanks again Therese!
I can remember the absolute/alcohol extract connection with Absolut Vodka (which I think was the one I tolerate best for soaking new clothes in).
And a very good point about fragrance-free meaning free of all fragrances. Let’s have air that is safe for as many people as possible! There’s no need to add stuff to it… especially when there’s no way of keeping the stuff out of other people’s bodies…
ps :-( about the lost comment… it has happened to me too
To Gyan Devi, as far as I know YLANG YLANG is extracted by water or steam distillation from the freshly picked flowers, an absolute and concrete are also produced by solvent extraction. I have never heard of maceration as an extraction method for Ylang Ylang EO, only as a “home remedy” method of extraction. Can you tell me where you found this information? Very interesting but it would seem to be too expensive to produce the EO using this method. Thanks :)
To Sara:
Ylang Ylang – principal constituents;
Methyl benzoate, methyl salicylate, methyl paracretol, benzyl acetate, eugenol, geraniol, linalol and terpenes: pinene, cadinene, among others.
Hope that helps you to understand “whats in” Ylang Ylang EO :)
Thanks! And there are probably many other constituents in the plant that haven’t been teased out.
Plants (due to the substances within them) can be used medicinally but when the constituents are synthesized, the synergy gets lost. This is why no pharmaceutical will ever be able to totally mimic a natural substance (many which are being lost to extinction due to humans paving over everything). And using plants and extracts for recreational purposes can have unforeseen consequences.
I’m hearing about more people developing allergies and sensitivities to salicylates… :-(
And there are more allergies and sensitivities to so many things these days – and something is causing them!
From what I see, we have all these toxic petrochemical ingredients in so many everyday products and materials, and fragrances (and their synthetic ingredients) contribute a very big and pervasive layer that saturates everything they come into contact with. Many of these toxicants alter our biological functions in ways that are difficult to see or feel immediately (for most people) but each successive generation is experiencing epigenetic changes that contribute to more and more serious chronic health problems in future generations… Also, cancer takes a decade or 2 to develop in adults (and child cancers have increased in very alarming ways – I have a post in the works about that).
We Were Not Designed To Be Polluted!!!
Anyway, back to the EOs… They are substances to be used with respect and caution, not thrown on for temporary aromatic sensations…
How many people can still smell a bowl of fruit sitting in the next room?
For misdiagnosed,
Sorry looks like I missed part of a sentence there about an ‘absolute’ being the result of SOLVENT extraction, so where it says you can’t tolerate Lavender Absolute you may tolerate the natural method of extraction which is steam distillation of the fresh flowering tops. :) but it still has limonene as one of it’s components so you could react to the limonene anyway :( as I mentioned before there is much to be considered for each individual and extreme care should be used with supervision and consent from ones environmental doctor before “experimenting” on our own especially if you suffer from EI. :)
Therese, thanks for all your explanations <3
I keep derailing into other territory with my comments…
The point is that it’s not the “fragrance” or smells that we are Sensitive or allergic to but the chemical components in that “fragrance” that we react to, hence the term Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.
In my case I’ve developed Severe-Disabling (on exposures) MCS as a result of a huge exposure to Mercury and other Heavy Metals during a dental treatment where they “drilled down” an Amalgam or Silver filling (50% Mercury) with no protective measures as to not Intoxicate or Poison me.
This has caused TILT or Toxic Induced Loss of Tolerance (EI) where my “Body Burden” is full and overflowing and has affected my body’s ability to naturally detox multiple chemical substances (synthetics above all!).
That our Children are inheriting our “body burdens” of so many persistent chemical substances and heavy metals is weakening the body’s systems, above all the CNS and Immune systems causing Toxic Induced Loss of Tolerance (TILT) and many other diseases or Central Sensitization Syndromes that are not recognised or treated properly until they develop into cancer or organ failure :(
So “Fragrance Free” = Chemically Safe Environment for everyone :) and every living being on our Planet :)
P.D
Cinnamon Leaf EO is relatively non-toxic; possibly irritant because of the cinnamaldehyde. Eugenol is irritant to the mucous membranes, use in moderation.*- Cinnamon Bark EO is a dermal toxin, irritant and sensitizer, also irritant to mucous membranes. Use with extreme caution!*
*This is Safety Data for use on Healthy Individuales for Cinnamon EO!
True Lavender – Lavandula Angustifolia – Principal Constituants;
Over 100 constituants including linalyl acetate (up to 40%), linalol, lavandulol, lavandulyl acetate, terpineol, cineol, limonene, ocimine, carophyllene, among others. Constituents vary according to source: high altitudes generally produce more esters.
Spike Lavender- Lavandula Latifolia;
Mainly consists of cineol and camphor (40-60%) with linalol and linalyl acetate among others.
Hope this helps to understand why it’s necessary to use aromatherapy responsably :)
Sandalwood EO – Santalum Album (100%pure and organic) is a “safe” oil for use as a “perfume oil” or as a diffusor for many patients in Health Care Settings (normally Lavanda Angustifolia also)
* but always under supervision by a qualified Aromatherapist and doctors consent* !
CONSTITUENTS (chemical);
About 90% santalols, 6% sesquiterpine hydrocarbons; santene, teresantol, borneol, santalone, tri-ciclo-ekasantalal, among others.
You could try this for you son’s clothing or as a “perfume”, it has a nice soft woody scent and is generally not toxic used at the proper doseage. Safer to try than most other EO’s! :)
Good to know :-)
We used the cinnamon back in about 2004, or even earlier. I think I allowed him to put 2 or 3 drops into a full washing machine load of laundry (we didn’t have a dryer) so most of it actually washed out, except for a little hint of it…. He moved out of the home we’d been sharing in 2006. I have no idea what he uses now, he lives a few hundred miles away from me. I haven’t seen him since he helped me get my things into the car when I had to leave my father’s condo balcony about 3 years ago.
I hope it doesn’t come across that I’m “defending” Aromatherapy nor that I’m condemming it. I just hope to make you all aware of the dangers of considering all natural or organic chemicals (fragrances) to be “harmless”. I hope to have explained that properly and that Aromatherapy should always be supervised by a qualified Aromatherapist and doctors consent. If your doctor is aware of the EO’s components and doseage and can “supervise” treatment or useage then he can recommend what EO’s you could try out or test that is why most doctors will feel safer recommending you don’t use any fragrances not even 100%pure and organic EO’s (very concentrated chemical substances). I am an Aromatherapist disabled with severe MCS and I can’t recommend the use of Aromatherapy to any sufferer of CSS because it’s therapeautic effects are also calculated on Healthy Individuals and it acts directly on our Limbic System that in MCS is generally severely compromised already or at least “hiperactive” to any chemical stimulae, nor do I feel I have sufficient experience with MCS to be able to “generalize” . We are each one a different case and treatment needs to be “personalized” accordingly even for seemingly Healthy Individuals. So be aware :)
I am thankful to you for sharing your knowledge with us Therese.
I’m glad to still have something to share:)
Sorry to hear you’ve had to move so far away from your family :(
I hope you have some friends nearbye that can lend you a hand when you need it.? I feel for you, although it must be nice to live in such a beautifull and natural surroundings we are still “isolated” because of severe MCS and it can be very lonely at times.
Thanks for “being there” for so many of us! Don’t know what we would do without you :) Take good care Linda, as best poss :) and enjoy your beautifull surroundings. Big hug! :)
I try to do something useful with what remains of my life…
The beautiful surroundings (except for the now dusty because I don’t have a vacuum and it usually hurts too much to clean) art and paintings I have, mostly by my great aunt) are in my dreams, not in reality.
I live in a suburb where humans have recreational fireplaces and constantly use toxic laundry (and other) products (which get blown out of their dryer vents and cross property lines), so getting fresh air by opening the windows or sitting outside is is often not possible. Air purifiers don’t make fresh air, they filter out some of the impurities, but mine are old and not big enough for this place either. People in suburbs also prefer making everything as bland and controlled as possible (landscaping, cookie cutter housing, …), so to go for a walk to escape my little place, there’s no place nice/natural or without being blasted by completely unnecessary toxic laundry chemical fumes. I have a tall straggly cedar hedge in front that blocks the depressing view of the surroundings, but aside from the little things growing in my little garden (it’s just like watching grass grow), and the squirrels and birds and chipmunks and cats that come to kill them, my view changes very little.
I moved here not knowing anyone (except a couple of people online, who are up to an hour away so too far to have much contact with) and there is no way to go out and meet new people when housebound because people use toxic products… There is also no support system available for people who move here for health reasons. We are completely on our own…
And here comes what some might call dirty laundry… The rest of the housing community I live in here has an “us against them” attitude because they have never been properly educated about MCS/ES, they are told our “demands” suck up too many funds from the operating budget, and so they resent us for being here (even though they are not required to do anything differently for us). They have been led to believe that some of their needs are not being met because of something that has been done for us, even if (or perhaps especially because) what was done for us was done with assumptions and not done with proper consultation, which then caused as many or more problems than it was designed to solve. This has been the case with several things I am aware of, but not the only things I’ve heard others have complained about…
I’m too sick too meet with anyone to sit down and discuss the issues person to person, and have been told that if I don’t like it here, I can move anytime, that they won’t hold me to the 2 month notice requirement. They say this knowing there’s no place else for me to go. The power trips and attitudes really suck…
Yes, I am very grateful to have an affordable and safer building interior to live in, one with an indoor bathroom and hot running water, even if most of the time I can’t open the windows or breathe clean air, but it has become a prison with no way out.
I can’t access the supports I need to make any progress, and my health and dental needs that aren’t directly MCS related are deteriorating because I can’t get help for them because there’s no accommodation for the MCS/ES, or help to set up the steps that are needed to make anything else possible.
The Board of Directors here draw lines in the sand and tell us to move if we don’t like it here. They refuse to do relatively simple things that would greatly enhance the quality of our lives, just because they can.
I have received some little help here and there (it didn’t come easy, thanks go to one person who kept searching, for months, to find anyone who could shop for me even once a month for some of the things my weekly organic delivery service doesn’t carry), so just enough to keep me alive, but my quality of life is still going downhill, even though my brain is slowly recovering from the toxic injuries it sustained… At least it was recovering till this year, I’ve had some setbacks, maybe the dental infections and outdoor mold have made me less able to handle the things I was starting to do better with…
THIS is why people should avoid poisonous fragrances and other toxic chemicals as much as possible, because you will more likely than not be shit out of luck if you develop MCS/ES and need help, unless you are independently wealthy and can afford to hire fragranc-free, non-toxic people to take care of your basic needs when you are too disabled and blocked from being able to do them yourself…
I do my best to stay positive with this blog, to always offer solutions after the bad news… but sometimes people commit suicide because of what other people do and don’t do (the recent post about how to lose friends made it to my top ten posts in less than a week).
And now there’s more talk about Death With Dignity (legal assisted suicide), because some people think this is the solution, because it’s easier than encouraging basic kindness and cheaper than setting up support services, since as we all know, corporations and the 85 richest people in the world, (who are as wealthy as half of the world’s population according to oxfam), aren’t capable of sharing and aren’t rich enough yet…
And if they acknowledged MCS/ES, and that the products they are selling us are slowly killing everyone, well then, their profits would go down… And their profits are more important than life itself.
Yes, I am grumpy today…
Ugh! That sucks! It sounds awful. I am sorry you are there. :-(
Yes, those poor corporations! They don’t make enough money! They have to sustain their profits and so must keep churning out these toxic products … They also must keep treating workers and the people they have injured like shit.
It is a screwed up world we live in.
Maybe I have this all wrong and we’re actually supposed to be grateful to the corporations for making us sick and keeping us suffering with their life destroying policies… That must be it…
It must be my attitude that is making me sick, nothing to do with the neurotoxins, carcinogens, endocrine disruptors or other poisons they’ve unleashed on us… I should be happy to breathe poison just so someone else can wear it…
After all, the free choice to buy and use poison is more important than than anyone’s right to breathe clean air, even in their own homes…
So many people have no idea how vulnerable they are to becoming the next person to develop life-altering MCS/ES… and losing the ability to control their own minds and brain functions will be oh so much fun for them… or maybe they’ll get cancer instead (and suffer chemo brain, which is suprisingly similar to MCS)… or having children with developmental disorders…
Oh man am I ever cynical today (as someone outside is shooting off very loud fireworks at almost 3 am)
Death with Dignity? Don’t get me started.
It seems like there are two main types of people:
1) People who are very sick but really want to live–they just want to have a better quality of life. Those people might need expensive treatment and extra care. Those are the people to whom assisted suicide is often “suggested.” There was a cancer patient in Oregon who got a letter saying his insurance would not pay for a new, costly medicine but would pay for assisted suicide. Seriously. I also heard about a spina bifida patient in Maine whose doctor told her there was “nothing further he could do” or something along those lines. I think she later went on to become an activist.
2) People who are very sick and just want to end their suffering. These are people who are tired of fighting and legitimately want a safe way to die. Usually, those people are told that they are depressed, even if they are completely rational about the whole thing and have the support of their families. I watched one documentary in which there was a guy in this position. He had very aggressive, rapidly advancing ALS and his wife understood. I think he ended up going to some organization in Switzerland.
This is a very controversial topic and I hope I don’t start a comments war by even mentioning it. I think that a law allowing assisted suicide could easily be abused by insurance companies unless there were a lot of protections put into place,
Is it legal in Canada? Here I think it is legal in one state–Oregon.
If disability and suffering weren’t so stigmatized, and if supports were in place for people to LIVE with dignity and love instead of being made to feel like burdens and excrement, then even the men who are so used to controlling everything in their lives (including policies that make other people live in abominable circumstances) would not be wanting to die when it hurts or they need to depend on someone else for a few things…
If I was better able to discuss this, I’d do a whole blog post about it, because we have lost a significant number of people with severe MCS/ES to suicide because of a complete lack of access and ability to meet basic human needs (in large part because people feel they have a right to wear toxic fragranced products).
The value of life has been lost in the rush to profit, no matter what the costs… There’s so much gimmee gimmee now now…
In reference to Therese’s last comment about EOs–interesting, I tested allergic to cinnamic aldehyde, and sandalwood oil and ylang ylang oil were on my dermatologist’s patch tests. Skin allergies are different than other types of allergies – they’re not as immediate. The rash can take up to three days to show up. There’s no anaphylaxis. I’m not sure how the mechanism for a dermal chemical allergy versus an overall chemical sensitivity differs exactly, but the result is the same … you have to avoid the chemical.
Almost all of my symptoms are delayed now. I rarely get the early warnings I used to for many exposures, and therefore end up with more exposure and some nasty after-effects. Except the skin allergies to 2nd and 3rd hand fragrances on packaging etc., that contact will usually irritate and feel like burning on my hands within minutes. Our bodies are so complex, and have been injured in so many different ways by all these pollutants, that each person can have different ways of experiencing symptoms.
Also, allergies and “sensitivities” manifest differently. Both can be life threatening, but in different ways. I have a post from way back about the differences as they related to foods, but chemicals and other allergens are similar.
Allergy or Sensitivity?
http://lindasepp.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/allergy-or-sensitivity/
Sorry, I thought you had mentioned living in the countryside near a lake and I guess I had just imagined a “beautifull surrounding” . I understand all the “toxic tresspassing” and how dificult it is to live with, happens to me too. A specialist in MCS was asking me if I’m following my EC and reminds me that it has very “defined” rules! I told him that if I lived in a Natural Park (used to) and could grow my own food I’d be able to maintain a better EC but I can’t even afford treatment (organic and systematic support)or chelation therapy, nor air filters or water filters etc. and there is all the “toxic tresspassing” too so I don’t know how I’m expected to keep this strict EC anyway :( I live with my husband and 18 year old daughter and it’s sooo very hard to get them to understand that they need to maintain “strict” EC too :( I know about feeling worthless and a “burden” to everyone too :( God how I wish we could make a “toxic free” community somewhere and live fruitfull and enjoyable lives :)
Big, big hugs!!!
I did spend a year at a summer cabin (including an Ontario winter) with an outhouse and without water because there was no housing available that wasn’t fragrance chemical contaminated… and there was a lake nearby, although I wasn’t well enough to get to it very often as it was very hilly and my MS symptoms were flaring then. I really miss the turkeys and other wildlife who came to visit…
I wish you were able to receive the filters and foods and treatments you need… It’s not right that we are contaminated without consent, and then have to pay for that “privilege” too…
We definitely need toxic and wireless radiation free communities! Too many people don’t understand how many toxic substances they saturate themselves with, and then blame us for trying to infringe upon their right to poison themselves, even though they are poisoning everyone around them too…
Ain’t marketing and industry propaganda grand?
I want to apologize for getting so dark…
Fragrance chemicals have created a cascade of serious health effects and problems in my life.
In addition to being impacted by some outdoor molds this spring, I have a dental infection that is really affecting my abilities and “mood” (mold and infection = double depression whammy)… and I can’t get the infection addressed due to a series of obstacles starting with MCS/ES and compounded by bureaucratic and attitude plus power over barriers.
At this point, addressing the infection means having another extraction due to the severity and length of infection ( + big pockets around the tooth). It will be the 3rd one on that side, leaving me with no real way to chew because everything on the other side became loose after an extraction there in 2010.
The 1st step in making progress would be possible if it were available to me and not blocked by attitude and power over barriers that have resulted in an arbitrary decision to deny me the use of (if they are not moved to my unit, my health prevents access) of the exquisitely rare, safe for me (no harmful residues in them), old and partially broken washer and dryer from the un-inhabitabitable unit (due to “smart” meters) unit on the other side of the building, so that I can prepare some old clothing that would be safe for me to wear out to a dentist, because the few pieces of my currently safe for me clothing that I have at home cannot be sacrificed, as I’d have nothing safe left to wear at home.
It’s only the 2 bachelor units here that have laundry equipment provided. I have been unable to locate any other remotely safe enough machines to use in years. I have had to hand wash (while disabled) and line dry (indoors) my clothes and towels for over 5 years now. I cannot safely detox new clothing here by hand due to the layout, lack of laundry sink, and air impacts.
Safe enough for me machines actually exist (a miracle in and of itself), they are not being used by anyone else (another miracle), I was told the washer was going to be replaced because the handle is broken and it leaks in some but not all cycles… yet I can’t access these machines.
This potentially life saving and compassionate step is being denied to me by the Board of Directors here simply because they can… They informed me that if I don’t like the conditions they create or neglect, I am free to move without giving the normal 2 months notice, knowing full well that there is no place else for me to go.
If I had safe enough clothing (meaning I can walk in them without falling, and wear them for a couple of hours without other serious adverse effects), I could try to find the safest dentist in the Ottawa area who was willing to “accommodate” someone with severe MCS/ES.
This is another exercise in hope and frustration, because not only do I have to ask for them to do things differently, and gently grill them about their level of “awareness”, but I also have to ask if they will accept the ODSP dental plan (which pays far less than specialized dentists usually charge) and then hope I can get oxygen added with a payment plan (which leaves me less to spend on the organic food I need, which I am already having trouble with).
Then, having clothing and a dentist to go to, I would have to find a safe enough (fragrance free) ride from someone (there are no fragrance free taxi or volunteer services here, I called around last year) who can take me there and back, because I am not capable of driving myself.
After all that, I would need some serious recovery time where my ability to care for myself would be compromised, yet I have to do it all myself anyway, because there are no fragrance free home care services.
Then, a glass/stainless steel juicer/blender would be helpful because I can no longer chew things, and long boiled soups become really nutrient reduced…
One thing leads to another and to another…
If this infection really poisons my blood, there are no accessible ambulances or hospital; emergency rooms or wards.
Solutions are so close, yet so far away because I am dependent on others…
If you keep buying and using fragranced products and other toxic everyday materials, this could happen to you too.
I wasn’t always like this.
Here’s another good resource from the Invisible Disabilities Association
http://invisibledisabilities.org/educate/chemicalsensitivities/whygofragrancefree/
Ugh! An illness nightmare pileup! :-( It’s insane that they won’t let you use the washer that no one else is using. There is absolutely no reason for them to do that …. well, other than the fact that they are (expletive deleted because I don’t know if I should curse on your blog).
I should clarify that they would allow me to use the machines there, but it is not a safe or accessible offer because it would involve me having to lug (with a bad back caused largely from doing laundry in the bathtub here using the shower filter because they hadn’t installed sufficient water filtration for me to be able to use the kitchen sink water) my laundry back and forth around the building (walking close to the other buildings that are almost always spewing out conventional laundry chemicals from their dryer vents) and that the EMF/EMR in that unit is extreme from the bank of “smart” meters on the wall.
It’s similar to telling someone who needs a wheelchair and lives on the ground floor that the laundry room is on the 4th floor of the walk-up (there’s no elevator) and that half way there, you need to pass through a bed of nails, and while there (if you can even crawl that far) there’s a crew of hoodlums who will beat you black and blue whenever you enter the room and use the machines…
If I was capable of doing that, I’d be capable of working out other solutions…
I pray for an angel (or more) to come your way and bring you help and comfort! :) Truely :) I believe this will happen, please hang in there, people can be so inconsiderate and cruel without even realizing it :( Look at all the harm we have done and keep on doing to all life and our environment that sustains us!
I know how you feel , I can’t chew either since the dental appointment when they extracted all my superior teeth except a canine ( they wanted to take it out too but it was fine! but it would be easier to “fit” or produce a denture without it) then they drilled down my Amalgam filling (and other teeth) because their denture didn’t fit properly, poisoning me with the heavy metals that Silver-fillings are made of (50% mercury) and causing Severe/disabling MCS. I could never use the denture, I claimed a refund during years after only to be further intoxicated by more “dental treatments” , getting more and more illnesses and all this time I had no Idea of what was happening to me! I thought I must be dying of some kind of undetected cancer or something as nor doctors nor dentists ever mentioned that my symptoms or illness looked like a poisoning or severe intoxication ( even though I claimed. I was “sensitive to harsh chemicals and any strong meds, etc,) so I just continued intoxicating myself more and more with sinthetic medical treatments, ect….
Until investigating my undiagnosed endometriosis ( they had decided to call it Disfuncional Uterine Haemorraging and uterine cists) where I came across an article on xenoestrogenes as a cause for endometriosis, and on further studying found the link to MCS, CFS, FM etc… and every thing started to finally make sense and the oncome of symptoms and medical and dental records coincide to prove it. It all became evident to me about 5 years later! I can’t have any dental work done now ( I became too ill to keep trying to get a proper denture) and with this severe MCS I can’t even tolerate a normal denture (the plastics and Cadium in the pink coloring make it impossible) even if I could afford it! :( I still have 5 molars with amalgams that I need to get out to avoid further intoxication from the mercury that evaporates from them (VOC’s in your mouth?). Even to have them extracted, if I could afford it, I would need somewhere without anestesia, antibiotics etc a dentist who understands EI and these “special” conditions and that could work with a lab that could produce a denture that I could tolerate :( Sounds impossible doesn’t it? :( AND THIS COULD AND IS HAPPENING TO ANYONE UNAWARE !
:( THIS IS UNCONSENTED POISONING – AS IS TOXIC TRESSPASSING :(
Why don’t they realize that we are already poisoned and want to “prevent” this from happening to the rest of the ignorant people too? Why do they only see that we are asking them to make an effort on our behalf? Why do we have to beg for recognition and accesability to adecuate treatment, housing ect.? They did this to us, without Informed Consent!!! We did’nt “bring it on ourselves” !!! :(
If I get a bucal infection I can at least heal myself still with aromatherapy. I’m terrified of not being able to heal myself and being sent to a hospital, for obvious reasons! Thank God there are still a few vital EO’s that I know I tolerate. Makes me wonder how you cope! :( Maybe natural mouthwashes? with lemon or salt or?
Don’t let the infection get bad! If it gets in your blood and they send you to hospital that would be a nightmare! :(
Can you take “equinacea” by Vogel? This will help your immune system to fight off infection, or “grapefruitseed extract”?
I’m so sorry that you have been (and still are) in these hells Therese :'( What a nightmare…
I need to find some photos of beautiful old toothless women to inspire me…
We’ve all been subjected to too much poison and in combinations never before heard of, and people’s health is collapsing in so many different ways…
I’ve been given some herbs that help keep the infection down, and when it gets really bad I’ve been told I can use more (which I’ve done for a couple of days now and feel a bit better… + the outdoor mold is down and the winds have been primarily from the better direction – it all adds up)
I also rinse my mouth several times a day with salt water that has a drop or 2 of Oil of Oregano.
You don’t need apologize for anything! Why shouldn’t you the “generous” one be able to express how your feeling? It’s an exteremely hard journey, more so being so “isolated” it can be very lonely, you need to be able to express yourself to others who understand and care :) We do! :)
God bless you Linda :)
Thank you Therese…
The blog gives me a little way of not feeling entirely useless since I am otherwise so dependent on others…
When I feel better, I try to word things in ways that might inspire someone to care more instead of less…
When I’m suffering from exposures, no-one who hasn’t experienced them can really understand the power those substances have over our brain and body chemistry…
It’s so much more disheartening since I had been doing so much better earlier in the year…
My liver is also sluggish now and causing inertia… blah…
If there weren’t so many outdoor cats stalking here now, I could make friends with the chipmunks and receive a little contact from and have a bit of fun with them… While I care deeply and am very grateful for my online community, internet land is not the same as connecting with living beings…
Great discussion. Linda– no need to apologize for your attitude. I’ve been reading most of your blog for awhile now and feel this is the best I have gotten to know you so far. I can certainly identify with your cynicism, I am so much more so. I’m amazed at how positive you usually are. It is fine to display some righteous anger sometimes though.
As for lavender- I used a shampoo and crème rinse for many years when I was young that was scented with lavender. It was the closest to natural I could find at the time. Gradually I realized that I was really allergic to it and that it increased the severity and frequency of my asthma attacks. Wow, I just had to stop using it. Then, I had a boyfriend who used it. Hard to get him to understand and stop using it. Fortunately that’s not a problem anymore.
So, I had always wanted to grow lavender (when and if I had a chance to garden again), but wasn’t sure if I would actually be allergic to the plant itself.
The question was answered when I had the privilege to walk in an oceanside park that was beautifully landscaped with many different perennials being visited by an array of butterflies and hummingbirds. It was incredibly beautiful, but every time I walked past clumps of lavender I started sneezing violently. Guess I won’t ever be growing lavender in the garden.
Maybe if I hadn’t been exposing myself to it in body “care” products on a long-term basis I wouldn’t have become so allergic to it. Who knows.
As for cinnamon, I seem to be fine with it in food, but many people aren’t. It is a common allergen.
I worry that it could become a problem but so far so good. Cinnamon brooms are another matter. I spent too much time trying to find out more about them. I couldn’t find any evidence that they are not really “natural” cinnamon scent. No proof that that’s all they contain either though. Even the local food co-op puts them out seasonally at the entrance to the store. There’s incense as well, year round at the entrance of another co-op storefront.
I am also highly allergic to sandalwood. I housesat for someone who uses sandalwood soap. I could only stay there after putting the soap out in the garage, removing all their bedding, and bringing a small air filter to run in their bedroom and bathroom area. For me the smell just permeates the area, while they are not consciously aware of it at all. Even the lucky people who don’t suffer from allergies or MCS/ES might consider limiting their exposure to only occasional use of organic scents and oils. As we are all bathing in and breathing in a constant toxic chemical stew, anyone could become sensitized at any point in their lives. Of course, many people are already suffering a variety of effects without realizing the source.
Well, I’m at a car dealer trying to get recall repairs done. Finally stopped coughing after two hours, asthma meds and a cough drop. Hope I can get through this day without it taking three days to recover. (It did last time I was here).
Thanks Linda.
I hope you can get through the day ok with little to no recovery time required!
Sometimes it feels like a world full of chemical land mines, even in the so-called health food stores. I had to stop buying food from them because it tasted like incense.
I use a bit of cardamon or cinnamon powder every now and again, and recently discovered an older jar of a different brand of cinnamon, but it doesn’t agree with me!!! Both are organic. I remember reading that there were at least 2 different varieties of cinnamon, which may have different effects… And the synthetic variety is definitely an adverse effect trigger for many many people I know of.
I remember the 1st times I encountered sandalwood (way back when)! I didn’t like it! (Note that not liking something is very different than having an adverse health effect from it). I discovered there are synthetic sandalwood concoctions too, which makes things much worse, but pure sandalwood didn’t make me sick in any way at the time. I don’t know how I’d do around it now. It has been a long time.
It’s nice when we can find aromatics we can enjoy without having adverse health effects from them.
I can smell the fruit in a fruit bowl and enjoy that!
I enjoy the smell of some herbal teas, and my food!
I eat a lot of vegetables without sauces or big flavoring added, just a wee bit of herbs or spices, and I really enjoy the taste of the different vegetables! Most people can’t taste their food anymore without it having a ton of flavorings added!
Anyway, I hope your car gets fixed well and you recover very quickly.
Aagh, Linda and Therese, I wish I could send you both fragrance-free helpers and drivers and fragrance-free biological dentists close to your homes! Also, for you Linda, a safe washer/dryer and an entire low-impact dye, organic cotton, pre-detoxified wardrobe from a company that does not abuse its workers. Blech. I have a dental situation too, although I have no mercury–I became allergic to several of the components in my composite fillings as well as the metals underneath the porcelain in my crowns. I need a new crown, and they just patch tested me and I don’t know if they tested the right material. However, I shouldn’t complain because you guys have eight more layers of dental complexity.
Linda, please don’t apologize for being depressed! I am pretty much always depressed. It could be mold, chemicals and bacteria (Lyme, etc), but it is also that my life just sucks.
Thank you <3 <3 <3
It would be so wonderful if we could be there for and help each other in these practical ways (or if we had anyone else to support us in getting our needs met in appropriate, harmless ways)
I hope and pray your dental needs are met before you develop the additional layers of misery…
Back when I could have gone in for preventative care, it wasn't covered and I couldn't afford it. Then when I got some coverage, I was too sick and disabled to go in unless I had help to get me there and back for emergency extractions (and one dentist decided to do some untested and unasked for cosmetic alteration instead of just replacing the filling, using a material my body rejected, causing one of my front teeth to be pushed out slowly over the last few years)
So heartbreaking how big the life sucks clubs are getting when the knowledge about to prevent most of these miseries has been around for so long…
Political and corporate interests have created all kinds of policies that profit a very few while throwing the rest of us under the oil slicks (they've cut back on buses too)
STOP using toxic fragrances folks! STOP eating GMO food-like products! STOP applying toxic pesticides in your homes and gardens and everywhere else just to get a carpet like appearance! Blah… I'm preaching to the converted here…
Here's a cyber toast to everyone who "gets it" and wants a cyber hug ((( <3 )))
I feel just like that, with the toxic tresspssing, like being stuck in a fire and choking on the smoke, running out of places suddenly ( took my husband a long time to get used to that! In the beggining he didn’t want to go anywhere with me!)
When I had to put my household and family, my husband and 17 yearold daughter, under strict environmental control it was horrible! They actually thought I was going mad and that I would have to find a place to live alone; ( It’s taken a while and lots of “explainations” that they didn’t really want to hear but it’s paying off :) They’re not there 100% but they persevere and at least make the effort now but it was hell at first. This effects them so much in every way that I suffer that much more seeing how my disability is affectig their wellbeing :( But I thank God they’re here :) Even so it’s lonely, my husband works 6 nights a week and sleeps through the day, he’s completely “burntout”, and my daughter is either studying , watching TV or out with friends. I have a friend who is a “Jehova’s Witness” who visits me maybe once a month and wears no chemicals, not even in her clothing, since she knows I have MCS :) I wish you were’nt so alone there. At least we have your blog to let you know WE FEEL FOR YOU AND CARE :)
I had to renew my residence card, buses, trains, official offices, 8 hours with my breathing mask on all the time! Three weeks later and I’m still suffering the consequences, apart from the acute FM, Migranes, severe sinusitis, I also must have picked up some kind of flu virus, couldnt even breathe with the congestion and inflammed throat :( kept waking up choking to death! then it got in my chest and Ihad such violent coughing fits I thought my brain would surely blast out of my ears, it felt like I’d been run over by a truck my body hurt so much! Still coughing up mucos from the chest but not so much and it doesn’t hurt so much now :) can’t take meds :( so I can only through on all the “natural remedies” I can get and pray I can survive it witthout having to go to hospital and being medicated. I also believe that anyone who has not suffered this can really understand how DISABLING and DANGEROUS it can be for us to be exposed to toxic chemicals :( I get the dillema of journeying through the “toxic mines” just to get to where you could do your washing and whether it’s worth risking your compromised health. People just don’t get it! :( How could anyone think “we want to live like this”?!!!
Big Reiki hugs :)
Big hugs back to you :-)
It is hard for people to understand, and why would they even want to try to imagine a life like this is possible? Watching horror movies is something people do for short periods of time to get a thrill… This life is not thrilling, and the consequences are horrible and long lasting…
Advertising (manipulative marketing) sure is a powerful thing…
I hope a lot of people watch the video interview I posted about Toxin Toxout, or get the book. It isn’t scary making… Just really good, sane information and advice…
Thanks miss diagnosed, as Linda says at times we find the strength to be more positive, generally when we’re “feeling better”, but then reality gives us another slap in the face (or a full-blown beating) and the “anger and despair” returns for a while. It takes an enormous EFFORT to try and maintain a positive attitude but it only takes one degrading remark from an ignorant soul to kick down our sandcastle of positive attitude :(
Just your companionship, lovely wishes and prayers are a treasure :)
It’s a great video and when I can I’ll try to get the book, even if I have to leave it to air out and risk getting intoxicated from the ink by reading it, maybe bit by bit. Sounds definately worth reading! I’ve passed on the video to those I care about hope they can benefit from it too :)