"Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is basically a subset of Environmental Illness, which is caused by living in a toxic world. The chemicals that were synthesized after World War II (including, pesticides, synthetic fragrances, cleaning products, detergents, etc.) are mostly petro- chemicals (petroleum based) and are quite toxic to humans.
There have been virtually no studies done on the majority of these chemicals to see how they affect humans - the industry just placed the chemicals in the environment with the assumption that they are safe, till proven toxic , instead of the other way around. One of the biggest offenders is PERFUME and other scented products. Did you know that many of the ingredients in your perfume are the exact same ingredients found in GASOLINE??!! I didn't either! The scary thing is that the perfume industry is NOT REGULATED at all - they can put any number of chemicals in fragrance without revealing what those chemicals are - or how they affect humans. We humans are all participating in a giant "lab experiment" against our knowledge and against our will, and it's making some of us VERY sick."
This is the beginning of an article by Jacki Barineau giving an excellent introduction to a problem that was affecting an estimated 15% of Americans by 1989... and that percentage is still rising steadily.
Jacki has compiled a series of articles on this subject, all accessable from her website above.
Hulda Clark, in her book, " The Cure For All Diseases", relates Environmental Illness & MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) to underlying bodily toxicity /exposure / pollution problems which also result in a person being much more susceptible to parasite infestation in many organs, even the brain!
Dr.Philpott's "Brain Allergies" work is also interesting in this regard, as is Dr. Robert O. Becker's "The Body Electric" and "Cross Currents". Dr. Gary Null's "No More Allergies" is another on my "essential reading" list for MCS. (I'll do reviews on the other three on my website when time allows; I suggest you get them.)
For an April 2000 letter I wrote to the Rife-List on the possible adverse effects of RF / EMF on persons with Chemical Sensitivity, please go to the Electro-Sensitivity Discussions page; use your "BACK" button to return here. I'll try to add more to this page when time allows.
My personal approach, which has helped in dealing with MCS, is not coherently written out yet; I'll share all I can, given time. For myself , briefly, some of what I've found helpful are these:
* "Prudent Avoidance" is the first step. Understanding that your taste buds are not a good judge of what's good for you can be a breakthrough. Understanding next that your nose won't warn you about pollutants in your local environment which are adversely affecting you can be the next breakthrough.
* Eliminate / Avoid known / possible "Sensitizers" from your environment & diet. Keeping a logbook / diary on 'FFFF'- Foods, Feelings, Faculties, Findings... Note environmental exposures also, as these are all interrelated.
* Have only unscented shampoos, detergents, soaps, cleaning products, personal care items in the house. Read Hulda Clark's book to understand this subject more fully. Be aware that Propyl Alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) is a poison to the body, even at minute exposure levels, according to Clark. She recommends using only GRAIN ALCOHOL for disinfection purposes.
* Improve your personal living / working environment. Remove all products containing solvents & scents to an outside storage area where the wind won't carry trace fumes back towards your house, or give away / dispose of those products you don't intend to ever use again.
* Obtain & use HEPA Air Purifier / negative ion generators to improve indoor air quality.
* Minimize exposure to auto & especially diesel exhaust; - 'brain allergy' effects & "brain fog" , along with further sensitizing, are common experiences for many. I've built & installed a negative ion generator in my car; when I have to travel in heavy traffic, I close off the outside air flow, recirculating the inside air with the ion generator running whenever the car is turned on. It seems to help. Gasoline fumes are also bad news; avoid them. Avoid contact with the skin with any & all petroleum based products, as absorption of even slight amounts through the skin will cause reactions or further sensitizing.
* Avoid chlorine / bromine, etc. completely . Again, Hulda Clark's book is a good reference on this topic. Add water filters to your household water if you live in an area with chlorinated water, and make sure you have a chlorine filter on your shower heads.
* Understand the part that mold & fungus exposure plays in keeping people sensitized. Minimize these in your environment & diet. Also Dust & Mites can be very significant in keeping you sensitized.
* Nutritional supplements, additional herbs/minerals/enzymes/etc. : Hulda Clark mentions Alpha Lipoic Acid (referred to in her book as thioctic acid) as helpful in removing pollutants from your system, along with all of the antioxidants and other nutritional supplements. Another source has recommended using digestive enzymes BETWEEN MEALS on an empty stomach; Cellulase is tied with cellulose metabolism, in removing toxins from the system. (No time now to elaborate further.)
* I personally built a blend of 21 herbs, specificly to support my individual body; I take 2 each 00 caps/day.
* Zap any & all possible parasites! Daily for the first ~21 days, then every 3 days after that as "Maintenance". Understand the pollutants > parasites> Environmental Illness relationship, as explained by Hulda Clark, and realize that it's almost a certainty that each and every one of us are hosting an amazing array of parasites...
* Look into the subject of Colloidal Silver as a very capable antibiotic. Know how easy it is to make your own, and how to use it effectively.
* SAUNAS can help in cleansing, to remove solvents & toxins from the body. We built a modest sized sauna into the core of the lower level of our house when we started designing & building it several years ago.
* We have no carpet in our entire house; just tile, wood, concrete, with throw rugs.
* 'Vented workbench' used to work with any even slightly toxic substances; solder flux fumes, alcohol, cleaning products, adhesives, etc. In doing the electronics work involved in producing the Zappers and other devices, I must be continually very careful to not breathe fumes from solder flux or CyA glues (super glues) or any other adhesives. I use an organic vapors rated respirator and rubber gloves when working with certain necessary products and processes...
* Electro-Pollution: Learn how to minimize it. Understand that chemical sensitivity, food sensitivity, and electrical sensitivity are closely interrelated in many. A friend with radically failing health had to move out of the house he had been living in, very close to a high voltage power line, and get rid of the TV and computer completely. Light Dimmers radiate a much stronger 120Hz AC field- you may want to replace any & all in your house with regular switches. Robert O. Becker's book, "Cross Currents" is the best info on this subject I've come across thus far.
Looking for books on these or related subjects? Use the search box below to check Amazon.com's current prices, or to order the books you want, as well as an ever expanding array of items!
Another 1993 article worth reading is titled, "Environmental Illness: The Disease that has no name" by Claire W. gilbert, Ph.D
At the Green Zone : Vanguard website, there is further related information, including these two articles: "Understanding Chemically Sensitive People", and "Solving Indoor Air Polution Problems"
From the Environmental Health Group, there's an article by J. Krop M.D., titled "Environmental Medicine"
Heather Burke wrote an article in June of 1995, titled "A Canary For our Times: Living With Multiple Chemical Sensitivities"
The Colorado Health Net has the Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Center which offers further information.
Another related topic is covered in this Blazing Tattles article titled "Are Teeth the Root of Most Disease?"
These resources provide many links to further information; I hope you find them useful!
Here are two books on the closely related subject of "Allergies" I've found previously:
'NO MORE ALLERGIES' By Gary Null , from Villard Books, NY ; ISBN 0-679-74310-3
'BRIAN ALLERGIES - The Psycho- nutrient Connection' by William H. Philpott, M.D. and Dwight K. Kalita, Ph.D.: from Keats Publishing, Inc., ISBN 0-87983-426-9
Here's an unsorted group of links to many sites relating to this subject,including the sources above and many others...
MULTIPLE CHEMICAL & EMF SENSITIVITIES
- Archives of MCS-IMMUNE-NEURO@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Resources for the Chemically Sensitive
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Environmental Illness
- Environmental Health Center-Dallas
- Environmental Health Resources On The Web
- EnviroLink Library
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Environmental Illness
- The Healthy House Institute Home Page
- Immune Mailing List Homepage
- Immune-Related Resources
- Aspartame / NutraSweet
- Amalgam-Related Illness FAQ, homepage.
- Electrosensitivity
- The Life Extension Foundation
- Allergy Discussion Group Mailing List, Prevention, Self-Care, Mutual Help
- Holistic Healing Web Page
- Yahoo! - Health:Alternative Medicine
- Natural Medicine, Complementary Health Care and Alternative Therapies
- IBIS: the Interactive BodyMind Information System
- Environmental Health Group
- Colorado HealthNet: Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
- National Institute For Environmental Health Studies- NTP Home Page
- Less Toxic Living
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