Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?
November 5, 2008 by Susie Collins
Thomas Coffman at the Albert Lea Tribune writes about “You might discover your own migraine cure.” He says, “The majority of migraines involve food allergies, such as wheat and chemical sensitivities. [...] Find out if it’s a food allergy, a chemical sensitivity or whatever. Then start reducing them systematically. You may discover your own cure on your own.”
The Canary’s big red flag went up with this one. Owing Mills Times out of Maryland reports “Hospital testing scents in new lobby” :
The hospital will test several aromas in the lobby in the coming weeks, Wexler said.
“The concept is to eliminate the typical cleaning odor of hospitals to reduce the stress of those waiting,” he said.
Brian Sanderoff, pharmacist and CEO of Your Prescription for Health, a natural pharmacy on Dolfield Road in Owings Mills, praised the idea of using aromatherapy in a hospital lobby, citing lavender, sandalwood, bergamot and clary sage as aromas with calming properties.
“Because the nerves from the nose go directly into the brain, aromas are a direct way of affecting many aspects of brain function including emotion and mood,” said Sanderoff, adding that sensitivities to the chemical compounds of aromas and quality of essential oils used to produce aromas are two concerns with aromatherapy.
Bay of Plenty Times reports that residents in a New Zealand town say “We don’t want toxic city” :
Bay residents, including the mother of a teen left totally debilitated by toxic sprays, have urged Tauranga City Council to rethink the city’s increasing dependence on chemical weed control.
Councillors this week heard Avenues resident Robyn Board describe the impact that agri-chemicals had had on her 18-year-old son Michael.
She was one of seven speakers opposed to council’s draft agri-chemical policy, which said use of some toxic agri-chemicals was necessary to help control weeds.
Mrs Board’s son collapsed five years ago after the family’s rural neighbour sprayed a mixture of Roundup and the hormone-based Gardoprim in high winds.
The Board family left their home that day, never to return.
“He is still virtually housebound because he is too debilitated to go out and be a regular 18-year-old,” Mrs Board said.
Mrs Board, who herself had been diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity and ME (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome) precipitated by chemical poisoning, said the sprays had a profound effect on her son.
There were reports of a private hospital group in Spain, I think, that were going to start spraying their unsuspecting patients with fragrance chemicals in order to supposedly soothe them from the stresses. I wish I could find the link, but no luck. The scent marketing groups have been very busy selling propaganda.
Seems to me that with the amount of brain fog and headaches most fragrances cause, that they will just be ensuring they have more patients who don’t understand how thay are being manipulated.
Something I would like to know is how come it is legal for them to reduce my stress by administering chemicals without my permission???
WHoa, these are both really messed up. That poor boy who is only 18 and has to stay at home with his mom all day!!! I was very sick at that age too and I think nothing could be worse for a kid. To some degree, reading stories like his & how Lou Cheese (at the Living w/MCS blog) got Chemically sensitive from a specific chemical injury really makes me think this is how many of us get this way. I was exposed to so many renonvations and chemicals growing up, toxic art supplies and then also was raised next to “cancer alley” by the NORCO & Cyanide plant in Louisiana…. any of these could have been a trigger, and the combination could have easily chipped away at my health. My mom is an interior decorater who would re-do the house I grew up in ALL THE TIME, but when I was 13 she did a full major haul over and I suddenly became seriously ill for a month with what they thought was Mono. I could move out of a bed, and slept all the time with no appetite. As an adult, I know the toxic chemicals in the house were the cause of the drop in my immune system, plus for the next few years in her house I had continious migraines & nausia - triggering the double copy gene for Celiac disease. (It’s commonly triggered by illness or trauma).
I believe that chemicals weaken our immune system and set off genetic diseases which may have otherwise stayed dormant - and that this is why there is a huge spike in all types of chronic disease.
I don’t know, Linda. That’s the kajillion dollar question. How come people are allowed to get away with committing chemical assault?
Leslie, yours is an interesting theory, especially in regards to Celiac. I have often wondered if my MCS is in some way related to my breast cancer. Did a toxic exposure or series of exposures cause both?
Susie, I have talked with women who were chemically sensitized to fragrances AFTER they went through chemo for breast cancer. The pink ribbon campaign NEVER mentions things like that!!!! If they did, they would have to talk about prevention and avoidance of toxic chemicals, cosmetics, etc. What is wrong with this picture?????
Ruth, I was very grateful not to have to do chemo.
This is a hospital for heaven’s sake! They should realized you don’t cover odors with chemicals. It’s extremely hard to get “essential oils” for aromatherapy that aren’t synthetic.
What’s wrong with simply using true green products for cleaning?
I have chemical sensitivities. Inhaling these substances would cause me further health problems.