Sick From Your Environment

Does your environment make you sick? 

One thing that I've had for as long as I can remember, is what I thought was allergies or sensitivities to laundry soap. I can only use hypoallergenic, no perfumes or scents of any kind. I can't even go down the laundry soap aisle at the supermarket as it makes my nose burn. I actually hold my breath if I need to get something from that aisle, going as quick as I can down and out.

The more I research my illnesses, the more I learn about how things I lived with, thought were just 'normal' for me, have turned out to be related to my chronic illnesses.

As I referenced above, I've always had issues with scents. Last week I was at school, in the concourse, using one of the many tables with plugs for laptops and a girl asked if she could sit on the opposite side. I nodded and continued on my homework. Within two minutes, my nose started to burn. My eyes became itchy. Why? The girl across from me had bathed in so much perfume that even from 5 feet away, I was slowly dying in the stench. I thought schools were supposed to be scent free zones? Te;; that to all the girls in my school who insist on wearing so much perfume that everyone in the class can smell her.

Why am I writing about this?

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Fibromyalgia. 

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity? Basically, it means that a person has an unusually severe sensitivity or allergy-like reaction to many kinds of chemicals (pollutants, solvents) and perfumes, gas, smoke, chemicals in general and often encompass problems with regard to regular allergens such as pollen, house dust mites, pet fur and dander. Unlike true allergies, where the underlying cause is relatively well understood and widely accepted, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities have no known mechanism of causation and the processes are not fully understood. 

The problem with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is that each person is different from each other which means there is no prescribed treatment that works for all. Sound familiar? Yup, sounds just like fibromyalgia, no wonder they go hand and hand with each other. The only treatment that seems to work is just the complete avoidance of all of the pollutants. 

The results of having Multiple Chemical Sensitivity may mean that the pollutants may cause the following symptoms: burning, stinging eyes; wheezing, breathlessness; extreme fatigue; headaches or a migraine; a runny nose, cough, sore throat; sinuses; skin rashes or itchy skin; sensitivities to light and noise; sleeping problems, insomnia; digestive upset; muscle or joint pain; being irritable, snappish or agitated. 

Have you noticed Multiple Chemical Sensitivities? Comment below!