Reporter interviewing woman with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity throws in that some doctors consider the disorder to be psychological in cause, perhaps as a type of anxiety disorder similar to agoraphobia, the fear of going out in public or a panic attack. The interviewee discounts it.
The Morning Sentinel, Maine, reports on a woman living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. But the reporter ruins what might have a good story by adding a false “controversy” on the cause of MCS.
Chadbourne, 61, suffers from multiple-chemical sensitivity (MCS) syndrome, a condition that radically constricts her breathing if she is exposed to household chemicals, fragrances or fumes.
If she has an attack, she has a special injection device that gives her 30 minutes to get to a hospital emergency room.
“I’m one of the lucky ones, because I can still go out. I can still run my errands, even though I have to look like a goon bird when I go out,” Chadbourne said of her mask. “It’s better than getting sick every time I go out. The mask helps. Some people can’t leave their homes because of this chemical sensitivity.”
Merck & Co. Inc., a global pharmaceutical company, reports on its Web site that multiple-chemical sensitivity syndrome seems to be triggered by exposure to low levels of chemical substances commonly present in the environment.
Symptoms may include rapid heart rate, chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, choking, trembling, numbness, coughing and difficulty concentrating.
The disorder is more common among women than men, according to Merck Research, last revised in December 2008 by Dr. Margaret-Mary G. Wilson.
“Something like 15 percent of the population has it to one degree or another,” Chadbourne said of MCS. “It’s getting worse all the time because of all the emissions in the air and the chemicals.”
In addition, according to the Merck research, 40 percent of people with chronic-fatigue syndrome and 16 percent of people with fibromyalgia have multiple-chemical sensitivity syndrome as well.
[..]
Chadbourne acknowledged that some doctors also consider the disorder to be psychological in cause, perhaps as a type of anxiety disorder similar to agoraphobia, the fear of going out in public or a panic attack, but she discounts that theory.
Certainly Chadbourne’s story is interesting and newsworthy. My problem is with the reporter using Merck pharmaceuticals as the source of definition, which of course includes the possibility that MCS is a psychological disorder. I will say, though, that Merk does better than most by pointing out that even that cause has not been proven, including in their last paragraph, “Psychotherapy is sometimes helpful, not necessarily because the disorder is psychologic, but because it helps people cope with their suffering.”
But this clarification by Merk seems to have been lost on the reporter. I’m always disappointed with the constant echoing in the media of this false “contoversy” of a psychogenic cause for MCS. At the very end of the Morning Sentinel’s article, as cited above, the reporter adds, “Chadbourne acknowledged that some doctors also consider the disorder to be psychological in cause, perhaps as a type of anxiety disorder similar to agoraphobia, the fear of going out in public or a panic attack, but she discounts that theory.” Good for Chadbourne. This is a reporter who did not do her homework and brought up a completely false premise that her interviewee had to discount. A sharp reporter never would have brought it up nor included it in the article; now that would have been news worthy.
It’s amazing how reporters continue to parrot this myth about MCS being psychological. In fact, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the manual published by the American Psychiatric Association that covers all mental health disorders, does not recognize MCS as a mental disorder at all. If reporters would bother to do even a little research, they would learn this and cease perpetuating an absurd “controversy” surrounding chemical sensitivities.
There is a substantial body of peer reviewed literature documenting the validity of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as an illness caused by exposure to toxic chemicals. A sampling can be found at the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation, MCS America, and on researcher’s sites such as biochemist Martin Pall.
Link to full story at the Morning Sentinel.
If you enjoyed this post, you might like these related stories:
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity researcher launches website
- Germany strikes psychosomatic cause from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity guidelines
- Editor perpetuates myth about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
- Environmental medicine specialist gives insight into chemical sensitivities
- Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?
