Since Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is an invisible illness, it must be all in my head… shouldn’t it?
By guest blogger Franny Armstrong.
Sept. 7– I had to rewrite this post this morning after the emotional anger had passed from severe reactions during a family/friends visit yesterday. This morning, my brain fog is clearer, though my head and face are still pounding like drums during a war dance.
We had family and friends come for a visit on Sunday. I cleaned my home with my chemical free cleaners, vinegar, unscented, color-free… almost everything free soap, baking soda, and a large dose of elbow-grease (petroleum-free).
With that done, hubby and I sat out on the deck and shucked corn together and talked. My hubby called to caution everyone not to wear fragrances because I was “severely allergic” to them, bless his heart. Hey, it’s what people understand, the word ALLERGY.
One family member told me to strive for some “normalcy” and not talk about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity! Though I seldom see them, and listened to them talk about health issues such as cancer, I was stunned. It’s been my mission for the past year to let people know what MCS is all about so they will understand what they can’t see.
I don’t wear a body cast, nor do I use a walker or leg braces, or even a bandage around my entire head, face, and lungs. Since it’s an invisible illness, it must be all in my head… shouldn’t it? In a sense, it is. It’s in my sinuses, headache, sore throat, plugged ears, aching chest and muscles and so on…
The friends were interested in finding out about MCS; what makes me ill and what doesn’t, so I carefully explained, though stuttering over my words due to the “hit” of fragrances I got the minute they arrived (not perfume or cologne, they all assured me). I was glad that the woman was finishing my sentences for me because my brain had stopped functioning properly. I had thrown on my mask right away but the damage was already done. The “hit” got me outside in the so-called fresh air!
The final straw that sent me off to hide in my room with a migraine was when someone lit the birthday cake with SPARKLERS! Gee, who’d-a-thunk they were made from CHEMICALS! Since I was now too ill to even sing Happy Birthday, let alone eat cake, I didn’t have a chance to protest before they were lit.
Going for a short walk down the driveway to clear my head didn’t work, so off to bed I went. I didn’t even say goodbye, goodnight, or kiss my… um… cheek (it was hidden behind the mask after all).
Dealing with family can be even more painful than dealing with strangers who at least are interested enough to ask me WHY I wear the mask. I believe having to sit beside me wearing a mask was an embarrassment to some of my family members, though not all.
Someone asked, “Why not leave the mask off? We are all sitting outside, after all.” I rest my case…
Come visit me at ParaNovelGirls
Self-portrait photo by Franny Armstrong.
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