By making the world a safer place for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, everybody benefits.
Post by Linda.
This paper is a work in progress. Comments and suggestions for additions are welcomed.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities/Environmental Sensitivities are symptoms of bodily systems gone haywire when exposed to certain chemicals or other triggering agents. The biological mechanisms are still being explored, and it is likely there are several of them.
Those with MCS/ES feel immediate effects from exposures to chemicals or Electromagnetic Fields/Electromagnetic Radiation (EMF/EMR), ranging from headaches and breathing difficulties, to seizures and paralysis. Symptoms are immediate from barely perceptible exposures to things that otherwise take years of research to definitively connect to other diseases.
Everybody is at risk. Cancers, birth defects, autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, diabetes, heart disease and asthma are a few diseases now linked to chemical exposures. The health care costs from these are enormous, and preventable.
By making the world a safer place for people with MCS/ES, everybody benefits.
Here’s what people with MCS/ES need:
We need to officially recognize Multiple Chemical Sensitivities / Environmental Sensitivities.
We need safe housing, where we can have a little bit of respite from the world that is now so unsafe and unhealthy for us. Safe housing is our primary health-care determinant.
We need uncontaminated basic necessities: air, food, water and clothing.
We need places to buy our necessities that are not chemically contaminated.
We often need organic or unpolluted clothing, beds and bedding.
We need extra funding and supports with which to do this.
We need our own private laundry facilities, since we get ill from most products.
We need good quality air and water filtration equipment to filter out impurities.
We need knowledgeable medical practitioners and dentists, with offices safe to be in.
We need emergency shelters, that are chemical free, in case our landlords or someone in our neighborhood sprays pesticides or repairs a roof or a road, paints, or does something else that we need to escape from for a few days, or even months to recover from such exposures safely.
We need safe hospital wards. Currently hospitals are so toxic we cannot enter them.
We need safe, clean air and oxygen. Safe, clean water. Safe, clean food.
We need help when we are sick and unable to do for ourselves. Many people with MCS experience varying levels of intermittent brain and Central Nervous System damage and often require assistance with daily activities, yet no safe help exists.
We need specialized home care supports that accommodate individual needs safely and respectfully.
We need centers for treatment, education, diagnosis and testing for toxins in the human body.
We need funding for knowledgeable advocates and resources, and funding for illness related expenses, which are currently costlier than those of other conditions.
We need regulations to ensure indoor air does not become more toxic, but less so.
We need regulations so the products in grocery stores do not contaminate everything else with chemicals known or suspected to cause human health problems. Either regulate the products themselves or make sure the packaging does not allow product or VOC migration.
We need scented products labeled with ALL the ingredients.
We need ALL consumer products labeled with ALL the ingredients (even supposedly inert ones, even the secret formulas, even those in tiny amounts).
We need foods clearly labeled with ALL the ingredients, even minute quantities, including any processing like irradiation or GMO.
We need public buildings posted with warnings if they use chemical air fresheners or signature scents. Better yet, ban them like smoking. Janitors are cheaper than health care costs.
As disabled people, we need safe access to basic services and necessities, like safe air, housing, food, dental and medical care.
We need regulations preventing the smoke and chemicals of neighbors from entering our homes.
We need cell towers regulated with health effects as a number one priority.
For those with MCS/ES who are disabled and broke, we need safe VOC- and EMF/EMR- free housing.
We need safe housing as our primary medical need in order to avoid the substances that trigger our illness and disability. Because safe housing is usually not affordable or attainable, too many are forced into homelessness or commit suicide.
We need real help. Our health can improve, if we receive the real supports that we need.
Perhaps these can be funded instead of the pharmaceutical chemicals that we cannot use. These needs are medically necessary; they are basic health care costs, not frivolities. Most will benefit all of society.
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