Yes way…sighs…

Most of us wear underwear all the time. We don’t think much about it.

I remember when I used to be able to find decent 100% cottom undies with enclosed elastic waistbands at the dollar stores! I could throw them in the wash once, and they were good to go. Those were the days!

More recently, I’ve been disabled from a serious fibro flare caused by trace (?) levels of chemical residues from wearing organic undies that cost me $20 a pair. Even after soaking and washing them at least a dozen times, and then boiling them several times after.

Disabled?
Yes, disabled!

My alternate title for this post was Disabled by Underwear… Here’s what happened:

The first time this occurred was after putting on a new pair of undies (washed as described above) after a shower and before going to bed one night. In the morning I had trouble with the stairs, as the undies had triggered a big fibro flare. They had to be thrown back to the detox pile.

After several more washes and boilings, I tried them on again and was able to wear them longer. No fibro flare in the morning. “YAY” I thought to myself. “They are safe now”. Every gal needs herself some safe undies.

But I had rejoiced too soon, and things proceeded to go downhill. As my cognitive abilities declined during the course of the day, I tried to distract myself and told myself there was no way it could be the underwear causing my problems. Really, I had already gone to more than enough trouble detoxing these things (remember, they were organic too), and I didn’t have much energy to keep at it (doing it by hand, not by machine). I was refusing to accept that my abilities could be adversely impacted to such an extent  by a darn pair of underwear, organic no less, and would not take them off (which would have been the smart thing to do) but went to bed that night still wearing them.

During the course of the second day, my decline was so intense, that I couldn’t think my way out of a paper bag. I could barely move, let alone get up and down the stairs, and I finally had to admit that I’d been completely done in by a friggin pair of panties.

By that point, it took an enormous amount of effort to pick myself up and get myself into the shower and put on a clean set of my old safe clothes. I woke up the next day without pain, and my abilities had returned to (my then) normal.

Who would have thought it was possible to end up disabled, in pain, with brain fog and cognitive trouble, balance and coordination issues… from a little pair of well washed and boiled organic underwear? Not I!!!

What the heck are they doing to clothing these days?
(rhetorical question, see the links at the end to find out)

How many people are suffering severe and disabling fibromyalgia symptoms from the chemicals in clothing and furniture?

I had to give away most of my old “nice” clothing and furniture that wasn’t detoxable, as wearing it or sitting on it (and sometimes merely having it in the same room) made me feel as if I was wearing a lead suit that got heavier with each passing minute. I just wasn’t expecting it from a small pair of underwear that had already been washed so many times.

Do any doctors out there ever consider this as a possible reason why so many people are suffering cognitive issues and “unexplained” severe and chronic pain?

I know I’m not the only one. Many other people have told me they suffer similar CNS (central nervous system) and other symptoms from chemical residues in clothing and furniture.

I described an experience here with trace (?) levels of chemicals in organic (?) clothing, but there are far more chemicals in conventional clothes. Some of us have to go to such great lengths to try to detox any clothing so we can have something to wear.

It’s not right that things we are so intimate with contain residues of chemicals so toxic that they can disable people and poison the environment we depend on for life.

I know that my Fibromyalgia flares with chemical exposures and from contact with synthetic materials. When I can avoid the exposures, I have few fibro flares and little to no chronic pain.

Oh how I long for clothing that doesn’t look years old by the time it’s safe to wear. And to have a comfy chair or couch that I could curl up in when I need or want to relax would be divine!  Truly safe organic clothing and furniture is very expensive, as it isn’t subsidized at all, while the toxic materials in conventional stuff are heavily subsidized.

Sadly, MCS/ES and Fibromyalgia aren’t the only chronic health problems caused by our 24/7 exposures to toxic chemicals. People are developing cancer and many other health problems from these pollutants. If we truly care about ourselves, each other, and about the well-being of future generations, we have to make the effort to eliminate these poisons from everyday life, and choose safe, non-toxic alternatives.

There’s a huge demand for chemical-free clothing (and for furniture too, although not everyone can afford it afford it, despite it being medically required for some of us). It has to be 3rd party certified. There’s a lot of green-wash out there too – how else could supposedly organic undies be so harmful?

If you want some of the nasty details, here are a few resources, as well as some things to do to put an end to this nonsense:

Laundry Decontamination Methods

Some people find regular clothing and bedding cannot be made safe, and that includes some organic stuff as well.

Here’s why:

How to get rid of chemicals in fabrics. (Hint: trick question.)

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Toxic dyes, lethal logos, cotton drenched in formaldehyde… How your clothes could poison you
January 2012
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2088623/Toxic-dyes-Lethal-logos-Cotton-drenched-formaldehyde–How-clothes-poison-you.html

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Great work from Greenpeace

Detox My Fashion

Check out the reports in the right sidebar

About The Detox campaign

Dirty Laundry

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The Swedish Chemicals Agency has identified hazardous chemicals that may be found in clothing and textiles in our indoor environment.

http://www.kemi.se/en/Content/News/We-have-listed-hazardous-substances-that-may-be-found-in-textiles/

PDF:
http://www.kemi.se/Documents/Publikationer/Trycksaker/Rapporter/Report6-14-Chemicals-in-textiles.pdf?epslanguage=en

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The Toxins Return: How Industrial Poisons Travel the Globe (44:00)
In an era of high-speed international commerce, safety standards and import inspection procedures are riddled with loopholes. The result? Quantities of dangerous substances found in goods manufactured overseas have risen dramatically. This program investigates the alarming global mobility of synthetic toxins, tracing egregious—yet often repeated—hazardous material violations from supplier to storefront. Textile producers in India, a popular retail outlet in Germany, and ports and ground-shipment depots in between all reveal their roles in transporting industrial residues and waste. Activists, government authorities, and workers all-too-familiar with toxic exposure speak out on the dangers. (44 minutes)
http://digital.films.com/play/9V4MVJ

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And if you want some safer clothing and furnishings, here’s a list:

Chemical-free (we wish)