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 Day in the Life

My day started off sour and got worse. I felt like going back to bed when the cleaning lady, a very nice teacher who works for a cleaning service in the summer, came in bubbly and talkative. She went right to work and I went back to bed, but in fifteen minutes I was back up and trying to make the day a little lighter.

I answered my e-mail and paid some bills online before I dressed to go out. My busy little teacher/maid dusted high and low and then tried to clean around some photo frames. That was when I heard the crash. She had bumped one of my favorite things and sent it flying to the floor. A very dear friend had given me a lovely porcelain bird that I admired and cherished. It is now broken into two parts. I knew it was an accident, but that didn't help the fact that it was ruined.

I left the house and headed for a local restaurant where I was going to meet some former students and  close friends. My whole body ached with fibromyalgia, and the world seemed darker than usual. I just wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. Several parts of my personal life have been out of sorts lately, some of it family worry, and I am embarrassed to say that I arrived feeling quite grumpy. 

Immediately, the waitress came out and wiped off the table with a Clorox-laden rag sending clouds of chemical into the air around me. I had to leave the table and move far enough away that I could breathe safely. I don't know why restaurants around here think that Clorox is the only way to sanitize anything. Clorox is dangerous to breathe and some of us can't take it at all. The woman at Chevelle's didn't seem to notice or care that I had to leave the table. I think the service there is one of the reasons I just don't like that place. 

On top of that, one of my friends had worn perfume. She knows that her perfume makes me ill. She forgot. I love her as well as the others, but I suffer after being with her. 

In spite of everything, I enjoyed seeing them and soon they had me pouring out my tale of woe. By the time we had finished a rather poor meal with even worse service, we were all laughing and talking about how good we are for each other. They gave me wonderful advice and I will take heed to what they said. We promised to meet again next month, and I hope we can. But life is filled to the brim for all of us. One is still working and with several new clients she has a full calendar. One is a full time caregiver for his wife, but continues with his own mission for WWII veterans. Another is filled with concern for her son who is not well and for her sister who has lung cancer. So much grief but still they all gave my problems their full attention and consideration.

I came home filled with love and bathed with compassion from my friends. How could anything hurt me when I have these dear people in my life? Do you have special people that lift you up when you feel low?

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