February 13, 2015

Rough Winter & Safe Housing



Many people with ES/MCS do not have access to safehousing and so I recognize that I am extremely privileged to have a home that is mostly safe for me. I also recognize that I am very privileged to have a partner and the resources to be able to secure safe housing. It took a lot of work to make our home safe, but from time to time the house is not a safe place for me. Being a student and managing this illness is very complicated. Even if I don’t leave the house or go anywhere, I still get sick at home. I need to have a lot of flexibility in my schedule and I have to take advantage of brain function when I have it. 
http://www.riddc.org/cross_disability/images/safe-housing.gif
Back in November, there was so much road construction happening in my neighbourhood. Projects were rushed to get completed before the snow started to fly. It seemed as though every street in the city was under construction. I was having exposures from the constantly idling trucks and heavy-duty construction vehicles spewing diesel fumes day after day. My house is well insulated, but it is not impermeable. When it is toxic outside, it is also toxic inside. And when it is toxic, I am unable to do much of anything because all of my body systems descend into chaos on account of the whole 'canary' thing. All I can do is wear my mask and lay in my ‘saferoom’ day in and day out and wait for it to end. Following these sorts of exposures, I usually have about 24-36 hours of normal functioning before I spiral into a migraine that lasts between 24-72 hours.

Later in November, we had a massive amount of snowfall in a short period of time and then it all melted and our basement flooded. What a mess! We (I use ‘we’ lightly here because I actually didn’t do any work) cleaned up and dried out the mess very quickly, but in the process the entire house became contaminated due to circulating the air from the basement throughout the house. All of the towels that were used for cleanup became contaminated and then the washing machine and dryer got contaminated when the towels were washed in them. It was a mess. We were very worried about mould, so we (again, using ‘we’ lightly) tore out all the floors in our finished basement. I was sick for many days and was confined to one room in the house for many weeks and had to take time off from my practicum placement.

There is one room in the house that is sealed off from the heating system and the rest of the house. I call it my ‘safe room’. I keep this room sealed off in the winter because when I am sick I am unable to tolerate our gas furnace. Eventually, we will have to change our furnace, but we simply do not have the money to do this right now.

It has been very cold this winter, which means that the neighbours with woodstoves are supplementing their furnaces by burning wood. The smoke from the woodstoves makes me extremely ill and keeps me from being able to go outside. I have not been able to go for walks as much I did last winter. Also, when it is extremely cold, people idle their cars in theirdriveways for very long periods of time and the harder our furnace works, the more it makes me sick.  Sigh. And the snow blowers, which are more toxic than the cars...etc...

Needless to say, it has been a rough winter.

But there is a silver lining here...
My Environmental Physician wrote me a prescription for an air purifier. We decided it was time to invest in one so that we can better manage the times when the house is not safe. It was a very costly purchase and so we decided to buy it for Christmas. It arrived by post on Christmas Eve and it has just been a lifesaver. I was able to spend time outside of the ‘safe room’ and enjoy visitors during the holidays. What a blessing! I still haven’t been able to be out of the house much this winter, but at least I can be safe inside the house and not be confined to one room.

February 03, 2015

MCS & Essential Oils

A question that I am frequently asked is whether or not people with Environmental Sensitivities (ES) can tolerate essential oils. I am certainly not an expert on essential oils, but this is my take on it based on my knowledge of my own experience and the limited research I have done on the experiences of others living with ES. People with ES vary greatly. Some folks have mild sensitivities while others have more a disabling form of ES that is manifested as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Even those with more disabling forms of MCS can vary too so it is always best to ask the person about their specific challenges.

The quality and grade of essential oils varies tremendously and a lot of the essential oils on the market are not pure. Plants are grown as monocrops which are often sprayed with pesticides unless they are certified organic. Oils are extracted using solvents and are suspended in petroleum based oils. Real essential oil is actually very expensive and hard(er) to source.

As people have started to learn about the health concerns of “fragrance”, they are turning to essential oils as a safer alternative. Unfortunately, as the demand for essential oils goes UP, the quality of the oils goes DOWN and the market is not well regulated from what I can tell. Also, essential oils have similar molecular structures as synthetic oils and unfortunately, for those who have experienced chemical injury – the brain can’t always tell the difference!

Personally, *I* can tolerate trace amounts of some very high quality, certified organic, therapeutic grade essential oils on people around me for very short periods of time, but not on myself. Other people cannot tolerate it at all, while others are sensitive (or even allergic) to certain resins or natural occurring terpenes in some oils.

For some people, essential oils are medicines that are used for therapeutic purposes. Medicines should not be administered to anyone other than the person requiring the intervention. Like other medicines, essential oil can be carried in a small medicine bottle and opened to inhale when necessary.

The most important thing to note is that essential oils do NOT contribute to a scent-free space. If you use them in your home or on your skin and body, the scent will be in your clothing, bags, books, shoes, coats and hair making you scented when you come into spaces that are meant to be scent/fragrance free.


When in doubt, leave it out!