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.

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