Photos of Life Around Here

Here I am on my deck with Lexie who will not pose for a photo. Corie Pressley took some photos of me recently. My deck is so bare and I long to go to the plant nursery and buy flowers like I would normally do if it were a normal time. But I enjoyed Corie's visit anyway.

It was a beautiful day at my house, but it has turned cold again. Tipper says it is Blackberry Winter. Do you know what Blackberry Winter is?

This is mask I wear almost any time I go out in public. This is because I am  highly sensitive to perfume and chemicals in the air. Not so cute as Corie in her mask, but mine has a charcoal lining. In fact, I now have a pretty pink one that goes with many of my clothes. Like DJan, I might try to get more to match my outfits, but since I am home in the same old things almost every day, I guess it doesn't matter much what I look like.

Learn more about MCS at the link below.

https://www.abilitymaine.org/DisabilityResources/Multiple-Chemical-Sensitivity

Gay, my sister, in a hoodie with a mask to keep warm. She is not wearing it now, but it would be good for cold weather. Oh, I hope we won't need it by the time winter comes here.

Central Michigan University Student deals with MCS

Have you ever walked past a building and smelled the fumes from a clothes dryer? A college student, Samuel Connors, worked to stop the dryer in the dormitory laundry room from filling his room with fumes that made it difficult for him to breathe. The fumes were caused by scented detergent and dryer sheets. This young man worked with staff and others to eliminate the problem. 

Like me and one third of the population of our country, he suffers serious health issues from breathing air polluted with chemicals that are used to make scents used in many products on the market today. 

Central Michigan University must be a more advanced college because they have already banned perfumes and other products that bother students. I was overjoyed to hear that!

While some say only close proximity to these chemicals causes serious illness like cancer, those of us who suffer with multiple chemical sensitivity react with debilitating effects when exposed to small doses of fragrance. If I am in a restaurant and someone walks by wearing perfume, I know I must avoid that person or the area where that person is working. I have had to leave restaurants because scented candles were burned or because the waitresses wore scented products.

Although I hate to hear of anyone dealing with the effects of MCS, I am always happy to hear of someone who tries to make people aware of the problems. I hear from people all the time who say they have the same problems I have, but they never say anything about it. I recently left a restaurant because of the scented candles and I told the management why I left. I was told that if I called ahead a day before, they would not burn the candles while I am there. But they don’t understand. Those chemicals linger for a long time and also hang on to surfaces for days after the candle is no longer burning. The same is true with the oil diffusers so popular today.

Tonight I am taking medicine to deal with recent exposure to fragrance. The meds only help me deal with pain and symptoms and will not cure me. I had to cancel appointments for the rest of the week so I can rest, use oxygen, pain pills and other OTC medicine that help the congestion and breathing problems.

Read more here about CMU and the student who is making a difference. 

An expensive air purifier that helps make home a safe place to breathe.

Did you know you were consuming and breathing formaldehyde all the time?

"One such chemical is formaldehyde, which has very many uses & is present to some extent in virtually every modern day built setting ( home, office, hospital, school, etc) – and in the car / motor vehicle. This is because formaldehyde is cheap & has very many uses including – cavity wall insulation, MDF, (medium density fibreboard), plywood, fabric & carpet treatments, bodycare products ( shampoo, toothpaste, etc), glues, paints, plastic mouldings, electrical appliances & components etc."      from:  https://www.multiplechemicalsensitivity.org/

A Visit to Church Made Me Sick

While I have been recovering from back and leg problems, I developed a mean respiratory illness that has sapped my energy. Having multiple chemical sensitivity, I know I can't go to church or any place with tight crowds of people. But I thought I could and should go to a service the Friday before Memorial Day. 

The  fragrances worn by everyone in that church, mostly women, of course, but men also, hit me really hard and by Sunday I was sick. If you are at all familiar with MCS, you know there is no medicine that I can take that will stop the reactions I get from triggers such as perfume. I wore my charcoal lined mask most of the time I was in church, but it only takes a small amount of chemical toxin to set off problems for me and others who have these sensitivities. 

Now I am  taking antibiotics which may be helping a little, but I am not well yet. Over the counter drugs don't help me at all. In fact, the doctor said the nasal spray I used probably worsened my condition. 

I think I get it now. God is telling me to stay out of churches when people are there. 

In a discussion with my niece who is around fifty, we tried to figure who buys perfume and what kind do they use? People my age use the ones they wore when they were young. Young people wear the new fragrances promoted by celebrities, I'm told.  My niece said she nor her friends use perfume on a regular basis. I think my generation was brainwashed to believe they had to layer scents with bath powder, body lotion and  then spray themselves with the same smell so they leave a wave of chemicals in their wake. 

What is amazing to me is how many people I talk with hate the fact that every product we use these days is scented. Have you ever been in a nice restaurant where you are eating a great meal, then pick up your cloth napkin and the smell of laundry detergent or dryer sheets hits you right in the face? Scented Gain or Tide doesn't add to the taste of  your steak, does it? 

My niece said someone she works with insists that before parents come into the day care center where she works, the tables and everything must be wiped down with Clorox. Clorox is a terribly strong chemical that  is not good for anyone, especially children, to breath. The day care worker is not concerned about the germs, but about how the parents will feel about the center. "If they smell Clorox, they immediately think the place is very clean." 

See what the advertisers have done to us? They have brainwashed us into believing that certain smells mean clean. A young man detailed my car and I insisted he only use vinegar and water which will leave no smell in my car. But when he finished he asked, "Do you have anything we can spray in the car to make it smell clean?"

This result of research suggests that over ten million Americans are suffering from MCS. That's a number larger than the population of the state of Michigan in 2010.

We are killing ourselves and especially our children and those with fragile immune systems by dousing our homes and our bodies with petroleum based chemicals. Sadly, the American people think they have to accept it even if they don't like it. But if we quit using those products, we could make a statement. Go to the Environmental Workers Group, a research group that tests the products on the market, EWG.org, and see which products are safe and have the fewest dangerous  chemicals in them.

Save money by using a simple mix of vinegar and water along with plain old baking soda for household cleaning. It cleans as well as anything you purchase in a bottle or box. The odor of the  vinegar dissipates quickly and no harsh chemicals are left on your surfaces. Make  a  cheap but effective laundry detergent with unscented soap, Borax and Washing Soda. I use it  all the time and my clothes are clean with no synthetic odors. Contact me by email, Nightwriter0302@yahoo.com for recipes.

Your Thoughts on Clean Air?

As most of my readers know, I have chemical sensitivity, which is not an allergy, but an extreme sensitivity to most chemicals. Fragranced products are the worst for me. Air Fresheners, perfume, scented laundry products and dryer sheets are common triggers that will throw me into an asthma attack or severe bronchitis.

Many sufferers of chemical sensitivity have toxic homes and must move out. I believe that my home, although much safer than most places for me, is toxic as well. The plastic bags that come in with me when I shop are toxic for me. Cat litter is toxic for me and I have a cat. Odors from other people who enter my house linger after they are gone. Many items in my home and used in my home probably off-gas chemicals.

I use no scented products of any kind. My soap is unscented, my paper goods are unscented, all of my personal products must be unscented. When I checked into my room at the Hampton Inn in Albany, GA this week, I was annoyed at first because the chemically sweet scent of something hit me in the face. I had specifically asked for a room that had not been sprayed with an "air freshener" or anything with a fragrance. I also asked that they use an "ionizer" which is an air purifier most hotels have on hand to clean smoke from a room where someone has broken the no smoking rule.

The first thing I did at the Hampton Inn was to open the door and leave it open while I brought in my luggage. The next thing I did was to bring in my own Holmes air purifier and set it on 4, the highest setting. I noticed the scented air was stronger near the bath. I found the culprit lurking in the soap dishes, still tightly wrapped, but putting out powerful odors and chemicals that polluted the air throughout the room. 

I stayed in that room for three days and nights and slept better than I do at home. Once I rid the room of the soap and cleaned the air, the bed was delightfully comfortable, the sheets crisp and cool, unscented and clean.

Jennifer Parker's Foundation

I read an article from this site today.   Jennifer Parker is one of us, the millions of people who suffer from environmental illness. She has started a non-profit foundation that is helping people, like me, with MCS, find non toxic housing. I hope you will click on her page and see what she has to say about this illness that so many suffer from and many don't even know it.

My brother has been diagnosed with COPD and CHF, two terminal illnesses. He and I can't go down the detergent aisle of the grocery store and breathe. I wear a carbon mask when I enter the store. He just tries to run and get what he needs and get away from the cleaning products.

At home, his son thinks he is breathing in toxic fumes from a gas heater and I can tell his house needs a good air purifier going all the time. 

As we age, our immune system becomes overwhelmed with the toxins we ingest into our bodies, by eating, breathing, and rubbing on our skin. It is the elderly, ill and the youngest of us who suffer most with the chemicals in our every day use of synthetically manufactured products, many made from petroleum. We need to take a stand against putting toxic chemicals into products we buy at the grocery store, the pharmacy, and products we use daily. As Americans we believe that if it is on the shelf and sold to the public it must be safe, right? Wrong! 

Does the smell of an air freshener make a room clean?

We have been convinced by TV ads that air fresheners make a room smell clean. If the room needs air fresheners, it likely is not clean but has been sprayed to make the public think it is clean. 

I noticed the cleaners used by the housekeepers at the Hampton Inn and spied a horrible toxic spray - Fabreeze fabric freshener. Later I saw the manager going door to door and spraying this in each room after the rooms were cleaned. If I had gone into one of those rooms where she had just sprayed, my bronchial tubes would have swollen and shut down. I would have become very hoarse, and if I had stayed in that room, likely I'd end up with serious bronchitis that could incapacitate me. I might have ended up in the hospital.

I will support Jennifer Parker's foundation, and other organizations that are working to give us unpolluted indoor air. Visit www.EWG.org to learn what products are safe.
Thank you all, my friends and readers, for stopping by. Please leave a comment with your thoughts on clean air and safe houses.

Does a Baby Need to Wear Perfume?

As everyone who knows me will tell you, synthetic fragrance such as air fresheners, Glade, Febreze  and others that companies have brainwashed our culture into believing we must use to "freshen" the air in buildings like our homes, our workplaces, our churches and schools can make me seriously ill.

Television ads for sprays that cover scents show outdoor scenes with sunshine and breezes blowing. But the truth is the products made by these companies contain very harmful chemicals, some that cause cancer and many that bring on asthma, especially in children and older adults. Childhood asthma has been on the rise in this country in recent years. Could it be because of the household products used in homes and schools? Could it be the personal care products used by mothers and fathers?

Recently a company in Italy decided that babies don't smell sweet enough. They are manufacturing perfume for little children. Read more here.

I have learned through my research that babies are often born toxic from the chemicals ingested by their mothers during pregnancy. These women who use perfume, body wash, shampoo, makeup, and soap filled with chemicals have no idea what they are doing to their unborn children. 

Small children and older people do not have strong immune systems and that is why this demographic falls victim to the flu, pneumonia, and other diseases. They should be protected from the pollution of the air they breathe because their respiratory systems are most vulnerable. 

Marcia, a young mother, told me that she often rushed her son to the emergency room when he couldn't breathe due to asthma.  Then  she told me that when he rode in the car with her, he opened a window and hung his head out. He hated her perfume, he said.

She laughed and said he would have to get used to it. She made no connection.

This mother is the type who would likely dab a chemical fragrance on a young baby. She had no idea that she was poisoning her own son with her perfume. She also used dryer sheets on her laundry. For that reason I could not have her come to my house. The chemicals used in dryer sheets like Bounce can easily bring on an episode of asthmatic bronchitis for me and others like me who have that sensitivity. Some people break out in rashes when they use dryer sheets. Often no one makes the connection and they spend hundreds of dollars on a cure for their rash when all they had to do was stop using the dryer sheets. (I find the little bumpy blue balls work fine in my dryer)

The Environmental Workers Group acts as a watch dog for all of us. They do the research on products the manufacturers don't want us to see. Because the FDA has not required manufacturers to list the chemicals in the fragrances they use, we, the public, do not know what we are buying or how much we can safely ingest through the skin or in our lungs. 

Tests have shown that our indoor air is more polluted than the outside air, and people in the work force have no recourse if others in their offices use perfumes, colognes, or air fresheners. 

If the public only realized that none of us want to infringe on the rights of others to wear perfume, just don't infringe on our health by wearing it in public places. Don't put perfume on that new baby who can't defend himself. What is sweeter than a clean baby with a little baby powder, or just plain mild soap?

Remember that what goes on the skin, goes inside the body, into developing organs - brains and lungs. 

Other articles on chemical fragrances

The Environmental Workers Group

Safe Cosmetics

Hat's Off to Marriott's Grande Ocean for their Clean Indoor Air

I like to give credit where credit is due. In my travels over the past fifteen years, I've found that most motels and hotels pollute their indoor air with "air fresheners" and room deodorizers. So, to combat that trend, I call ahead. I speak to someone in housekeeping. Usually when I explain the result of my breathing the air in a room that has been "sprayed" or cleaned with products that include strong chemicals or fragrance, the housekeeper is sympathetic to my plight. If possible and if I have called early enough they make every effort to see that my room is safe for me. I reward them as best I can with a tip. That makes my request more lasting in their memory.

Thank the Folks Who do it Right.

I have named places in the past that are understanding of the needs of us who have serious consequences from polluted indoor air. I want to say that the housekeeping staff of the Marriott's Grande Ocean where we stayed in Hilton Head, SC was superb. Bryan promised me he would see that there were no toxic fragrance products used in our villa. And there were none. The soaps were not offensive, the sheets had not been dried with dryer sheets, and no fragrance had been sprayed in the rooms.

I don't know if that is the normal procedure for this resort or if my phone call made a difference, but I will continue to make that call when I travel.

Pulmonologists advise their patients to avoid triggers that cause asthma or respiratory illness. They say it as if it's a simple thing to do. But we encounter triggers everywhere we go. I have to move when a woman wearing perfume comes and sits at a table beside me, but sometimes it takes only a few whiffs to start my throat closing up.

Most of the patients in hospitals are bombarded with triggers that make them sick, from cleaning products to the personal body products used by the staff. Children suffer from the products used in their homes by well-meaning parents. They suffer at school from the cleaning products used to kill germs when there are other gentler products that will suffice.

I hope one day we can travel and stay at motels that automatically use green, fragrance-free products that don't make us sick. Until then I wish that all of my readers would take notice of businesses using safe non-toxic products and would compliment the staff or management. If we don't let them know, they can't learn the importance of safe indoor air. 

Click the links below to read what others say about this problem.

http://allergies.about.com/od/medicationallergies/a/mcssyndrome.htm

 

http://healing.about.com/cs/mcs/a/chemsensitive.htm

 

http://healing.about.com/b/2003/12/05/ill-effects-from-offensive-scents.htm

Clean Air for Poets at meetings of NC Poetry Society

The most heart-felt appreciation goes out to Terry Collins, and others in the North Carolina Poetry Society for their support of those of us who must deal with chemical fragrances in today’s society. In the most recent issue of Pine Whispers, the jam-packed informational newsletter of the poetry society, a small article titled  “Clearing the Air” requests those who attend meetings of NCPS refrain from using scented products.

Artificial scents in deodorant, aftershave, hair products, cologne, shampoo, laundry detergents or other personal care and cleaning products release chemicals into the air, causing breathing difficulty and other adverse reactions for some people. 

See www.ncpoetrysociety.org for more information on the poetry contests sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society. 

Sick Air Makes People Sick

Being a teacher I feel bound to educate anyone who will read or listen to the harmful effects of "room deodorizers" and spray cleaners. 

Not only do they bring on asthma attacks but they cause asthma attacks in those who never had them before.

The minute I walk into a store or office where room deodorizers have been used, my throat begins to close and my breathing becomes difficult. I have to leave as quickly as I can and even then the affects of those chemicals don't go away. Those of us who live with MCS, are often sickened to the point of being bedridden for several days. Sometimes these attacks go into bronchitis and last for weeks. Indoor air is more polluted than outdoor air, especially here in our mountains, where we have less automobile pollution. 

The following is an excerpt from an article by the Environmental Working Group. Read carefully. You might save your children, parents or others from respiratory problems that can't be cured.

Clorox, Fantastik, Febreze, Formula 409, Easy-Off, Lysol, Mr. Clean and Spic and Span. 

Many of the spray cleaners sold under these brand names are laced with quaternary ammonium compounds or ethanolamine, ingredients classified as asthmagens by the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics, a professional association of clinics and health experts. These chemicals can trigger asthma attacks and can cause new cases of the disease in people who are asthma-free. Ingredients classified as asthmagens don't belong in spray products. 

EWG Green Tip:

Skip spray products that contain ethanolamines (MEA, DEA and TEA) and "quats." Beware of ADBAC, benzalkonium chloride or ingredients with "-monium chloride" in the name from the label or the company's website.

 Do not use disinfecting sprays, since most of them contain asthmagens. 


EWG Green Tip:
If a room has an odor problem, track down the source and eliminate it instead of covering it up with fragrances. A bowl of baking soda in the bathroom can absorb odors. 

GCB tip: Mix white vinegar with water in a simple spray bottle and spray to clean the air.

Spiders are prolific this year. We put out some July 4th decorations on the deck. Today when I started to put them away, I was shocked to see hordes of granddaddy long legs scrambling from under the ribbon. In just a few days, the red, white and blue ribbons had become infested. Spider webs wrap my plants every night. I don't spray insecticides because they are more dangerous for me than the spiders, I believe. That is why I was glad to find this article in the Augusta Chronicle. http://chronicle.augusta.com/life/home/2012-07-13/ask-bugman-know-you-spray

Now I can safely deal with spiders without worry of getting sick.

What is MCS and what is all the fuss about it?

Recently I wrote about following your passion. I often write about multiple chemical sensitivity. I am passionate about educating the public about the dangers of chemicals we (our culture) use every day. Even those who don't think they are affected by the synthetic chemicals in all of our products and our food, should take note. Ask yourself why the manufacturers of household and personal care products don't list the chemicals used to make the fragrance in products. They are not required to list anything but "fragrance."Those chemicals in fragrances can send someone to the ER because that person can't breathe, or becomes dizzy, vomits, or becomes mentally confused.

This is an excerpt from a MCS Fact Sheet

Major Public Health Concern

• At least 45 million people in the US report sensitivity to various chemicals.
• About 3 million Americans are diagnosed with MCS.
• MCS affects people of all ages, economic status, race, and both genders.
• Chemicals that people with MCS react to are toxic and affect everyone to some extent.

Medical Findings
• Brain scans show reduced blood flow to the brain when people with MCS are under chemical exposure.
• Physical variances identified in MCS include brain inflammation, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, cardiac and airway disease, and auto-immune disorders.
• Mast cell activation and disorders of porphyrin metabolism have been linked to MCS.
• Genetic variations relating to detoxification processes have been linked to MCS.

The Cost of Environmental Illnesses
• Annual expenditures for health-care and lost productivity due to MCS are estimated at $71.8 billion dollars per year.

• Indoor and outdoor environmental exposures can trigger reactions: perfumes and fragrances,cleaning solutions, scented laundry products, pesticides, herbicides, paint and building materials,
gasoline and petroleum based products, artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives.

Recipes from Pat, poet and writer

Most of you know I have chemical sensitivity which means I can't use products with petro-chemicals or fragrances. Pat Daharsh , a regular reader and an award winning poet and writer, sent me a long list of non-chemical cleaning recipes and uses for simple safe items we have in our kitchens. I am sharing a few here today. Some of you might have tried these already. I plan to print this list and keep it handy. If you have tried one of these, let us know

Hair Dryer as Sticker Remover - A little hot air quickly loosens price labels—with zero fingernail-chipping frustration.

Mustard Powder as Jar Deodorizer - Deodorize smelly glass jars by washing them with a mixture of one teaspoon powdered mustard and one quart warm water.

Onion as Basement Deodorizer - Clear the air in a dank basement. Cut an onion in half, place it on a plate, and leave it out overnight. Once the initial salad-bar aroma dissipates, you'll have a fresh (non-oniony) atmosphere.

Rubber Glove as Pet Hair Remover - Put on a damp rubber dishwashing glove and run your hand over hair-covered upholstery—the hair will cling to the glove, not the sofa. Rinse off the glove in the sink (with the drain catcher in place, of course).

Vanilla as Freezer Freshener - Trade frostbite funk for a more pleasing freezer scent and wipe the inside of the icebox with an extract-dampened cotton pad.

Vinegar as Garbage Disposal Deodorizer - Deodorize a garbage disposal. Make vinegar ice cubes and feed them down the disposal. After grinding, run cold water through the drain.

Coffee Filter as Screen Cleaner - For lint-free viewing, grab a coffee filter to wipe down dusty and staticky computer monitors and TV screens regularly.

Club Soda as Stainless Steel Polisher - Shine stainless-steel cookware and fixtures. Buff scuffs with a soda-dampened cloth, then wipe dry.

Coffee Filter as Mirror Cleaner - Get a streak–free shine by using a coffee filter to buff a mirror or window.

White Bread as Painting Cleaner - To clean an oil painting, softly rub a piece of white bread over it to remove dust or dirt.

I spoke and they listened. What more could I ask for?

Saturday I was scheduled to give a talk at the local library. My sister Gay and her husband, Stu, and friends from out of town came. Although I stand before groups and read and speak often, this engagement was different. I had never spoken on this subject.

We arrived at the library, my brother-in-law carrying my box of props consisting of spray bottles, catalogs, detergent boxes and other things. By 1:45 PM I felt sure my ten handouts were a waste of paper. No one was there except Carolyn, the lady who had invited me to speak.

Obviously no one was interested in my subject, De-toxing Your Home. Perhaps they were like my dear friend Virginia who said there was no reason for her to come. She wasn’t going to do that.

May has been declared in many states as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity month. I hoped to raise awareness in my community about the dangers of the chemicals we use every single day while thinking they are safe. I hoped to encourage those who didn’t know better to stop using scented dryer sheets, scented detergents, and all the scented products on the market that appeal to women especially, but do not give the facts about the toxins they contain.

Suddenly just before two o’clock the doors opened and folks began streaming in.  I relaxed then and enjoyed speaking to people who knew of many things I mentioned and some who wanted to know more. One lady said she has had to come home in the middle of the night because she couldn’t find a motel or hotel room that wasn’t “fragranced” and she knew if she stayed there she would be sick. Others told of problems with perfume and stores that used “air fresheners” and I realized that, just here in our little town, were a number of people with MCS.
My handouts ran out and we made more. The long list of recipes I gave them for making their own safe products seemed to be appreciated.

The group was so enthusiastic about the subject that my one hour talk stretched into 90 minutes. Best of all, my friend Linda told me, “You have finally gotten my attention.” She and her husband plan to make up recipes for their home care, using simple ingredients such as vinegar, soda, water, Borax or washing soda. The cheapest ways to clean are the best ways to clean our homes. No unsafe chemicals in these ingredients.

My weekend was terrific with my family and friends here. And I feel I made a difference, in my own small way, to raising awareness of indoor air pollution, chemical sensitivities, and keeping our air pure and safe for all of us.

I don't want to hurt your feelings, but...

How does one tell a loved one "don't sit near me. Your perfume makes me sick?" That is the quandary I find myself in too much of the time lately. Having just returned from a visit to see my family, I spent most of my time explaining that I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but fragrances make me very ill.
Most people don't even know they have a fragrance on their body. They assume if they do not douse on a bit of cologne or perfume, they are completely fragrance-free. They forget the hairspray they used just before leaving home, the scented deodorant, the shaving cream, the scented soap, the lingering fragrance of detergent and fabric softener in their clothes.
"Well, what can I do," you might ask. "Everything we buy has fragrance in it."
We can read labels and learn what is in our products. We can ask our grocery store and our drug stores to have an aisle with Non-scented products. Yes, there are non-scented ones out there.
Those of us who suffer with respiratory illness due to chemical fragrances are not the only ones who are being harmed.
What about the baby brought home from the hospital to a nursery with an
"air freshner" plugged into the wall emitting damaging fumes for the child to breathe. What about the baby blanket washed and dried in chemically fragranced detergent and fabric softener? What about the chemicals his mother has ingested for the past nine months through her clothing, her cosmetics, her cleaning products? The baby has those chemicals in his body when he is born.

In Canada now we find some fragrance -free areas in hospitals because many of us are made sicker inside a hospital with the harsh chemical cleaners and the fragrances used there. Some churches are becoming fragrance-free. This is happening because we are becoming aware of the health issues.

At my house and my studio, I ask everyone to refrain from wearing fragrance. But at times, my ultra sensitive system reacts to something on them - their clothes, the perfume they wore yesterday, or even three days ago. I can't tell them what it is, but I know I must get away from them.

People who sing have long known that perfumes and other fragrances are bad for them. Choir members are told to never wear fragrance to choir practice or to church service.

We would never ask this of anyone if there was not a darn good reason. If these fragrances are making me sick, it won't be long before they are making others sick as well. I am one of the canaries in the coal mine. And there are about 30 million of us now.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is calm tonight

I sit in a Hampton Inn in Greensboro tonight hoping I can get up and over to UNC-G by 8:00 AM tomorrow for the NCWN Spring Conference. I am to work the registration table which opens at eight o'clock. However, the doors won't open until 8:00, so I hope Virginia and Ed will have things set up ahead of time. Seems to me it might be better to have registration begin at 8:30 so that those of us who need to be there to set up will not have a line waiting already.
I feel like I'm in Florida. Temperature tomorrow is going to be 82 degrees. I don't do well in hot weather and I pray the Elliot center will be cool.
As usual when I travel, I had to call ahead and impress the staff at the motel with my multiple chemical sensitivity. I was skeptical when Keshia, the lady who made my reservation promised she would tell housekeeping that the room must be cleaned with vinegar and water and no chemicals, no sprays and nothing smelly. Today I called ahead and asked to speak to Housekeeping. I've learned that most requests made at the desk never reach the people who need to know.
Keshia once again answered the phone. She remembered me. When I asked to speak to housekeeping, she said my room was ready and waiting and "we even went out and got vinegar to clean with" she said. And she promised me no harsh chemicals or chemical smells were in our room.
We drove for five hours and I was anxious about what I'd find when I opened the door to the room. Wow! A motel that did what they said they would do! Only a very faint hint of "air freshener" remained and in just a few minutes of running the AC I didn't notice the odor. All the staff insisted on helping us with everything, giving us directions to restaurants, and asking us to call them any time we needed anything.
As the bell boy left our room he said,"we're having a survey and we could use some tens."
Now, I know what all the red carpet treatment is about.
I will give them "tens" but I will also tell each one personally how much it means to have people who go the extra mile to insure their guests comfort and well-being.
I can tell already. I'm going to enjoy this weekend. My driver and good buddy didn't have any problems being on the road all day. He is one sweet man. So I'll get off the computer and let him get some sleep.

I'M A CANARY

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a health problem where sensitive people– some studies show up to 30% of the general population– react unfavorably to very low levels of synthetic chemicals in the environment from things like pesticides, cigarette smoke, paint fumes, wood preservatives, photocopier fumes, perfumes and epoxy. Symptoms vary from fleeting to severe and might include rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, fatigue, flushing, dizziness, nausea, coughing, or difficulty concentrating (reference).
People with MCS are often call “canaries.” The name comes from an old practice of miners who took canaries with them into the mines; if the canary died from toxic air in the shaft, the miners had time to escape with their lives. People with chemical sensitivities are the canaries of the modern world.





This is excerpt from article on The Canary Report.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or Why I Had to Flee McDonald's

Once again, today, I was overpowered by a fragrance so harsh I had to escape the area. While waiting for my order at McDonald's, a man and a woman came and stood beside me. At the first whiff, I assumed the young woman wore the smelly spray, perfume, lotion or whatever caused the fumes that began closing my throat and burning my nasal passages.

I left the counter with my hand over my nose and mouth and rushed as far as I could get from the couple without leaving the restaurant. As I watched for my food to be brought out, the woman took her latte and left.

Good, I thought, she won't be sitting near me. I waited by the side door and took my tray when it was ready.

As soon as I sat down, the smell hit me again. I looked up and saw the guy who had been standing in line near me. He had plopped down fifteen feet away from my table. The odor emanating from him smelled worse to me than a skunk's spray, the chemicals in that fragrance he wore poisoned me. By the time I got out of there, hoarse and coughing, I gasped, sucked in the fresh outside air like it was my final breath.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. More and more of my friends are experiencing the same symptoms -- spending tons of money on doctors who run tests and tell them they have asthma and to stay away from chemicals. Duh!! The asthma is caused by the chemicals we breathe every day, the chemicals all around us, the chemicals we can't escape.

In this world we live in there is no place free of VOCs, parabens and pthalates , not even our own homes. Unless we educate ourselves about these chemical dangers we continue to bring them into our safe places. One friend had her carpets cleaned before Christmas, became ill with shortness of breath, and saw her doctor.

What did the doctor do? With this scenerio, doctors only know to give more chemicals (drugs) to counteract the poisoning by the chemicals in the carpet cleaner.

Where will it all end?

Human exposure and VOCs in fragranced consumer products

Human exposure studies, over the past two decades, have revealed widespread U.S. population exposure to VOCs and the largest contributors of VOCs to humans (nearly 90%) are rather small sources, largely unregulated, yet often within our control. In particular, fragrance compounds, used in a wide variety of consumer products, can be primary sources of human exposure toVOCs. (EPA, 1989; Sack et al., 1992; Wallace et al., 1991a; Cooper et al.,1992, 1995).

Visit The Canary Report to learn more about MCS.