Beware of the Mortuary if you are Chemically Sensitive

I am chemically sensitive and have had problems on various occasions with the mortuary and also with people who work at the mortuary and funeral homes. Once a salesman from a funeral home came inside my home and I could immediately feel the chemicals on him. I suspect that it is the chemicals in the embalming fluid that are making me sick. There are various chemicals in embalming fluid, including solvents and formaldehyde.[1] I know that I am extremely sensitive to some solvents so it could be the solvents that are making me sick. It could also be the formaldehyde. "Formaldehyde is highly toxic to all animals, and is 'known to be a human carcinogen'. It is implicated in cancer, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, disorders of the nervous system, and other ailments."[2] Embalming fluid would be easily spread to anyone who touches a body that has been embalmed, and from that person's hands to anything that person touches. The volatile organic compounds and other chemicals in embalming fluid can also be transmitted through the air and can be felt by those who are sensitive to those compounds.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embalming_chemicals
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_burial

Nasal Filters for Chemical Sensitivity

I recently purchased some carbon nasal (or nose) filters to see if they would be effective in reducing the symptoms of chemical sensitivity. The nasal filters actually go inside the nose and are much more discrete than a carbon facemask. The filters themselves seem pretty free of chemicals. If anyone has tried these, feel free to leave a comment on whether they seem effective at filtering chemicals.

I purchased mine from ebay but there are other websites that sell similar products:
http://gadgetsgo.com/Nose-Filter-Spray-Tanning-Pollen-Smoke-Pollution.html
http://www.shop.breathecleanerair.org/category.sc?categoryId=2
http://www.nosefilters.com/Product_Page.html

Washable Men's Dress Clothing for the Chemically Sensitive

It is often difficult for individuals with chemically sensitivity to find clothing they can tolerate. And it is important to find clothing that can be washed so that any chemicals can be washed off. Dry cleaning generally entails the use of toxic solvents and is not an option for many with chemical sensitivity. I recently found washable versions of two items that generally are not washable:

Washable men’s suits:

I have purchased three washable men’s suits from Marks and Spencer in the UK. I live in the US but they will ship internationally to many countries. The suits are very reasonably priced and are wearable for me (the chemicals are not too strong). The shipping was surprisingly fast.

Washable men’s ties:

Haggar now makes a line of washable men’s ties. I have purchased five and at least two did not have a problem with chemicals on them. However at least one of the other ties was toxic with solvents and I think it was a blue one. I purchased them from Amazon.com.

Chemical Protection for the Car

For those who are chemically sensitive to the touch, it can be crucial to keep one’s automobile relatively free of chemicals such as solvents and pesticides. In the past, pesticide contaminated two different vehicles we owned to the point that I could no longer drive them. Now, I take various precautions with my car:

Gloves

I might go somewhere and pick up chemical residues at the store or shaking hands with someone. When I come back to my car, I put on layered disposable gloves (five polyethelene food service gloves and one nitrile glove per hand) so that I do not spread chemicals from my hands to the steering wheel and other parts of the car. See my blog post here on disposable gloves.

Seat Protectors

I sometimes pick up strong chemicals on my clothes if I sit on a chair with chemical residues. I use seat protectors (a piece of plastic or other relatively hard material) so that I do not contaminate the seat of the car. I can just put the seat protectors in the dishwasher if they get chemicals on them. Towels can work as seat protectors as well but I prefer the harder material because some chemicals on the seat can go right through a towel but generally not through a thick piece of hard plastic.

Containers for Items

I often put groceries and other items into plastic or metal containers, such as a Granite Ware stockpot (see post here) or a plastic bin. That way, if there are chemicals on the items, they will not spread to the seat of the car. I use containers that are barely small enough to fit in our dishwasher so that I can wash them if they acquire chemical residues.

Steering Wheel Protectors
There are disposable plastic steering wheel protectors that one can buy. I haven’t tried this, but that might be a good idea when you need to take your car to the shop. I just wrapped my steering wheel with aluminum foil with duct tape on the outside. If my steering wheel gets very strong chemicals on it, I will just remove the foil and tape.

The back of my car has some extremely strong chemicals on it so I covered it with sheet metal:

Dealing with the Discouraging Circumstances of Chemical Sensitivity

The illness of chemical sensitivity can present some very difficult circumstances. The following are examples of some of the challenging circumstances a person with chemical sensitivity may face:

• The symptoms of the illness can be painful by themselves.
• Family, friends, and others, including doctors, may believe the sufferer is malingering or has psychological problems.
• A person that is chemically sensitive to the touch may not be able to touch anything or anyone.
• The illness often requires people to live relatively isolated lives.
• Chemical sensitivity may cause conflict in a family, as family members may want to use products or do other things that cause the chemically sensitive individual to suffer.
• The sufferer may not be able to work, which can cause financial difficulties.
• According to the book Strategies for Surviving Chemical Sensitivity, the basics (2010), by Dr. Robert Mayer, divorce is common where a spouse contracts chemical sensitivity.
• A person with chemical sensitivity may have difficulty and stress related to finding food she can eat, clothes she can wear, and a place to live that does not make her sick.

    The following quotes have helped me deal with the difficult circumstances of chemical sensitivity:

Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. . . . My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. . . . Don’t give up . . . . Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. . . . . It will be all right in the end. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.

Jeffrey R. Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” Ensign, Nov 1999.

It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is.
It all works out. Don’t worry.
I say that to myself every morning.
It will all work out.
Put your trust in God,
and move forward with faith
and confidence in the future.
The Lord will not forsake us.
He will not forsake us.
If we will put our trust in Him,
if we will pray to Him,
if we will live worthy of His blessings,
He will hear our prayers.

From the funeral program for Marjorie Pay Hinckley, April 10, 2004; see also “Latter-day Counsel,” Ensign, Oct. 2000, 73. (available here)

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.

Orson F. Whitney, in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 98.

Beware of Some Organic Food

I became chemically sensitive in 2008 and my dad became chemically sensitive in the late 1970s. My dad says that organic food used to be consistently free of chemicals that made him sick. Some years before I became chemically sensitive, my dad noticed that some organic food growers started to use some kind of natural pesticide that made him sick.

The following site explains why organic food is not always as free of dangerous substances as people often think it is: http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~lhom/organictext.html.

Organic food growers can use a variety of products to kill bugs and other pests and still label their food as organic. Some of these natural pesticides include pyrethrin and rotenone. I believe it is likely that some of these natural pesticides can cause symptoms and other problems in people and especially in those with chemical sensitivity. Furthermore, organic food growers are not subject to the regulations that apply to the use of pesticides, including regulations that limit the quantity of pesticides that may be applied to a crop area. Consequently, consumers of organic food may be eating a substantial amount of natural pesticide.

My health improved substantially after I stopped eating a certain brand of organic brown rice. I had been buying it in bulk and eating a lot of it. I noticed that after I would eat it, my liver area would become inflamed. I brought some of the rice to my dad and he confirmed that it had the natural pesticide in it that made him sick. I switched to conventionally grown (not organic) brown rice and I felt a lot of improvement. I had been dangerously thin and was able to gain over thirty pounds and get closer to a healthy weight.

The natural pesticides that are being used by some organic food growers are so harmful to my dad and I that we often choose to avoid organic food products. Don't get me wrong--a lot of organic food is free of the natural pesticides that make us sick. It is a sad irony that a lot of people are sacrificing to pay a premium for organic food when it is actually damaging their health more than if they were to stick with conventionally grown food.

It makes sense that chemically sensitive individuals would be sensitive to some natural pesticides. For example, pyrethrin is a natural pesticide obtained from the chrysanthemum plant.[1] Pyrethroids are synthetic pesticides that were patterned after pyrethrin, and are chemically similar, but are made to last longer. For example, bifenthrin is a pyrethroid, and is the active ingredient in the product that caused me to become extremely chemically sensitive.

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[1] Pyrethroid, Wikipedia, accessed on 05/07/13, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethroid.

Taking Your Pet to the Groomers can be Risky if you are Chemically Sensitive

We used to take our dog to the groomers to cut her hair. However, one time our dog came back from the groomers with a chemical on her that made me extremely sick. Also, after our dog came back from the groomers, she was acting strangely—rolling around and rubbing herself on the carpet as if she were trying to remove something from her fur. I think it was over a year after we took our dog to the groomers before I could tolerate having her in the house again!

I believe what happened is that other pet owners treated their pets with insecticide to kill fleas and ticks before taking them to the groomers. The insecticide on other animals then spread to our dog as the groomers likely used the same combs, clippers, and brushes on our pet that they used on the pets that were treated with insecticide. I do not believe the groomers purposely applied insecticide to our dog. I called the groomers and the person I spoke with said that they do not put insecticide on pets.

Many people with chemical sensitivity are extremely sensitive to insecticide. One of the insecticides that I am most sensitive to is the insecticide in so called “spot-on” flea and tick treatments. The insecticide in spot-on flea and tick treatments seems to be extremely concentrated and powerful. For example, one product recommends applying the insecticide on the back of the neck of a dog and states that one treatment lasts at least thirty days.

The insecticide spreads through the oils on the dog until all of the skin and fur of the dog is treated with insecticide. These spot-on flea and tick treatments spread like crazy, and this is bad news for the chemically sensitive. If a person touches a pet that has been treated, everything that person later touches will then have pesticide on it, until the residues on the person's hand are no longer there. When people treat their animals with spot-on products, they are also exposing themselves, their children, and anyone who touches the treated pet with a potent insecticide. I am so sensitive to such insecticides that it has made me ill when people who have used spot-on products on their cats have later visited me at my house. The visitors did not have their cats with them, but the insecticide had spread to them and their clothing.

A spot-on product website states that the insecticide "remains effective for 30 days, even if your pet swims or is bathed.”[1] This is also bad news for the chemically sensitive, because it means that the insecticide is terribly difficult to remove by washing. I might compare it to liquid lecithin, sunscreen, or road tar–all are very difficult to remove.

Therefore, for a person sensitive to insecticides, cutting your pet’s hair is likely a do-it-yourself project. There are also natural products and methods that can be used to fight fleas and ticks, and there are many online resources that provide education and products in that area.

Also, these flea and tick products have proved dangerous and even fatal for many pets. There are many sites that describe the dangers of these products and here is one example: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-dangers-of-flea-and-tick-products/
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[1] http://www.biospot.com/get-educated/faqs/.

Shower Filters that Remove Chlorine

I am very sensitive to chlorine. If I take a shower or bathe in chlorinated water, it gives me nausea and makes me extremely tired. I have found that shower filters remove a lot of the chlorine from the water. Recently, I discovered that if I attached two shower filters, even more chlorine is removed from the water:

If one filter removes 90% of the chlorine from the water that passes through it, then two shower filters should remove 99% of the chlorine. Of course, I'm not sure exactly how much chlorine is actually removed by the combination of two shower filters, but I have noticed a definite improvement in my symptoms. I purchased two shower filters from Amazon.com that use KDF-55 media to remove chlorine from the water:



After the filters were delivered, I put them through the dishwasher to remove any chemicals. Also, because two shower filters makes the shower head lower, you may need to raise the level of your shower head with an attachment. See this site for how to raise the shower head: http://www.instructables.com/id/Raise-Your-Shower-Head-in-5-Minutes/.

The Wikipedia article on KDF-55 explains what it is:

KDF water filtration media is a high-purity alloy of both copper and zinc, used in a flaked or granulated particulate form. Usually appearing gold or brass in colour. . . . KDF is known to kill algae and fungi, control bacteria growth, remove chlorine, pesticides, organic matter, rust, unpleasant taste and odour, hydrogen sulfide, iron, lead, nickel, chromium, cadmium, calcium, aluminium, mercury, arsenic, and other organic compounds. . . .KDF water filtration media utilize the principle of electrochemical oxidation reduction, more commonly known to the population as the redox process (Redox reaction) to eliminate a vast number of water contaminants.[1]

KDF-55 media will not remove chloramine from the water so it is important to find out whether your water is treated with chlorine or chloramine, or neither (if you're really lucky).

Whole house filters

If you want to remove chlorine from the water in your entire house, and not just from the water in the shower, you might try a whole house carbon filter. I personally cannot tolerate carbon filters, as they trigger my arthritis symptoms and make my skin burn. We had a whole house carbon filter installed and it cost about $150 to install it, and $300 per year to replace the tank with one that has fresh carbon. KDF media can also be added to the tank of carbon. Alternatively, if you cannot handle the carbon, you could use KDF media without carbon in a whole house system. KDF media is expensive, and I noticed that one site recommended adding 10 to 15 pounds of KDF media to a carbon tank. Ten pounds of KDF media would cost about $100 or more.

Gravel or some other substance could be added to the bottom of the tank so that the water does not bypass the KDF media.

I have also heard of an individual sensitive to chlorine who installed a whole house reverse osmosis (RO) filter to remove chlorine. However there are some downsides to whole house RO filters (see here), including the following:

• They remove minerals from the water and make the water more acidic.
• A lot of water is wasted.
• They filter very slowly.
• The systems are expensive.

I realized I was sensitive to chlorine more than two years before I developed full blown chemical sensitivity. I went swimming in a chlorinated pool and it gave me nausea and made me extremely tired. This is also how I feel when I bathe or shower in chlorinated water but to a lesser extent (the concentration of chlorine is much less in municipal water than in a swimming pool). While I was shopping for shower filters that remove chlorine from the water, I also came across filters that use vitamin C to remove chlorine. I have not personally tried those, however.
I have found that vitamin C is effective at removing chlorine from bathwater (use 2000 mg of vitamin C per bath).

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[1] Kdf-55, Wikipedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kdf-55 (accessed 05/06.13).

Natural Gas and Arthritis-type Symptoms

It seems to be relatively common for people with chemical sensitivity to have problems with their joints.[1][2] I have chemical sensitivity, and certain foods and other substances seem to trigger an autoimmune response in which my immune system attacks my joints and other connective tissue. Some of the things that trigger my arthritis symptoms are:

• Natural gas
• Nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.)
• Citrus fruits and citric acid
• Propane gas
• Pesticide

I have found it to be very beneficial to avoid the things that trigger my arthritis and connective tissue problems. For example, about seven years ago I had terrible TMJ and knee problems. After I stopped eating nightshade vegetables, my symptoms improved dramatically and rapidly.

Natural gas makes me extremely tired. When we were using natural gas to heat our home, I felt like I was so tired I could barely walk up the stairs. Natural gas also makes my eyes burn somewhat and triggers arthritis symptoms—especially in my hips. In fact, my mobility has been affected to such an extent that I cannot do grocery shopping or even walk around the house very much.

Some time ago, we began to use electric space heaters instead of natural gas to heat our home. We also recently changed our natural gas appliances (a dryer and a water heater) for appliances that run on electricity. Since we stopped using natural gas, I have noticed a marked improvement in my joints and connective tissue. My mobility is much better than it used to be and I can now stand for a significant length of time without much pain.

Costs

It cost a little over $1000 to switch out our water heater (including the cost for the electrical work). To switch out the dryer, we already had the wiring installed, so we just had to pay the price of the dryer. Also, heating with electric space heaters has been significantly more expensive than heating with natural gas.

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[1] Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Wikipedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_chemical_sensitivity, (accessed 05/06/2013) ("Symptoms [of multiple chemical sensitivity] are often vague and non-specific, such as nausea, fatigue, dizziness and headaches, but also commonly include inflammation of skin, joints, gastrointestinal tract and airways.")
[2] http://www.chemicalsensitivityfoundation.org/searching-for-elusive-cure.html.

Washer and Dryer for the Chemically Sensitive

My dad and I are extremely chemically sensitive, and we really depend on washers and dryers. I often must put my clothes through the wash more than once to remove chemicals, so it seems like I am doing laundry very often. Furthermore, we must wash new clothes many times before we can wear them, so our washer gets a lot of use. For a chemically sensitive individual, a nice and dependable washer and dryer is a great blessing. I actually wish I had more than one washer! My dad and I both use Whirlpool Duet washers and dryers. They have been quite dependable and we have not had problems with them being too toxic. A few months ago we purchased a Whirlpool Duet dryer. At first it made me somewhat ill as it gassed off (perhaps solvents?). But it was a lot better after a week or two.

Washers

In this section I will compare a  top load washer with an agitator with a high efficiency front load washer.

Pros and cons of top load washing machine with agitator:

Pros:

• It uses more water, and seems to remove chemicals with fewer washings.
• Generally less expensive.

Cons:

• Sometimes quite loud/noisy.
• The agitator is hard on clothing, and clothing seems to wear out much faster than with a front load washer. This is an important consideration for chemically sensitive individuals who have a difficult time finding clothing they can tolerate.
• The agitator gets in the way when removing clean clothing. This is important because the agitator and sides of the top of the washer get chemicals on them when clothing is put into the washer. The agitator makes it difficult to pull out clean clothing without the clothing touching the agitator or the sides of the basket and getting chemicals on them. Therefore, the larger the opening on the washer through which clothing can be removed, the better.

Pros and cons of a high efficiency front load washer:

Pros:

• Gentle on clothing.
• Has a large opening through which clothing can be removed.
• Uses less water.
• Often quieter than washers with an agitator.

Cons:

• Generally more expensive.
• It may require a more washings to remove chemicals because it uses less water.

It may make sense to invest in a fairly nice washing machine that has extra features. For example the following features may be helpful for a person with chemical sensitivity:

• Super hot water. This may help to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other chemicals.
• Extra high spin speed. This feature removes more water from the clothing so the clothing does not need to be in the dryer or on the clothesline for as long.
• Extra long cycle. Our Whirlpool Duet washers have a cycle as long as nearly two hours. This is helpful if you want to wash the clothes for a long time but do not want to keep restarting the washer.

Dryers

I like dryers with a large capacity because they dry the clothes more quickly. I am sensitive to natural gas so we recently purchased an electric dryer and I am doing much better with the electric dryer. Natural gas makes me extremely tired and also triggers my arthritis symptoms.

Clotheslines

A clothesline is probably the ideal way to dry clothes for a chemically sensitive individual because the dryer makes clothing wear out more quickly than using a clothesline. However, if the neighbors use herbicides or other chemicals, using a clothesline may be a risky proposition as the airborne chemicals can contaminate the clothes. It is also beneficial to use a clothesline that you can wash. I purchased some copper wire and put it through the dishwasher, making sure to secure it so it wouldn't get tangled in the moving parts. The dishwasher removed any chemicals from the wire and it has worked well as a clothesline. I previously had purchased a clothesline made of plastic or synthetic material and I had to throw it away because I could not remove chemicals from it by putting it through the dishwasher.

The following posts related to laundry it may also be beneficial: Boiling clothing for the chemically sensitive, clothing for the chemically sensitive, laundry detergent for the chemically sensitive.