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Multiple Chemical Sensitivity MCS
The Danger of Toxins
MCS - Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome is an environmental illness that has gained recognition since the early 1990s, when Gulf War veterans came home with Gulf War Syndrome. During the brief war they were exposed to chemical weapons, organophosphate pesticides, immunizations, pyridostigmine bromide and oil well fires.
At about the same time, there was also an increased awareness of "sick building syndrome" (SBS). It is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building.
Most indoor air pollution comes from sources inside the building. For example, adhesives, carpeting, deodorants, perfume, nail polish, upholstery, manufactured wood products, copy machines, pesticides, and cleaning agents may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde.
Dr. Mark Cullen, Yale School of Medicine, quoted by most Occupational and Environmental doctors, defines Multiple Chemical Sensitivity MCS as an acquired disorder characterized by recurrent symptoms, referable to Multiple organ systems, occurring in response to demonstrable exposure to many chemically unrelated compounds at doses far below those established in the general population to cause harmful effects.
Confronting the criticism of health and environmental groups, three major nail polish manufacturers say they've either removed or have begun the process of removing a trio of substances that have been deemed harmful. These are products that enter into the body in a way that is not dissimilar to the way that drugs do.
The chemicals formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, have been linked to cancer and birth defects. All were banned earlier in 2006 in cosmetics by European Union regulators but have not been targeted for removal in this country by the Food and Drug Administration.
DBP is an endocrine disrupter, associated with underdeveloped genitals in newborn males. The compound belongs to a broad class of toxins that have been linked to accelerated puberty in girls, a factor that may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Toluene has been linked to nervous system disorders and formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen. Epidemiological studies show an association between formaldehyde and leukemia. Inhaling formaldehyde fumes can cause respiratory problems and asthma-like symptoms.
The health of the nation’s 300,000 nail salon workers has become a major concern for many environmental organizations, which often point to academic studies that highlight the hazards posed by the chemicals manicurists use. The intensity of exposure for salon workers is 1,200 times what it would be for the average American.
Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit show that nail salon work was associated with poor performance on tests of attention, mental processing speed, memory and verbal learning.
In California, where three-fourths of the 80,000 nail salon workers are Vietnamese, Vietnamese groups have begun an education campaign on salon safety. California law requires the government to list products containing chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects, and three compounds long used in nail salons — toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate — are on the list. The chemical companies are still killing Vietnamese. Napalm and agent orange wasn't enough.
The FDA doesn't require the rigorous scrutiny of cosmetics that is reserved for pharmaceuticals. Harmful substances have been allowed in nail polish because the expert panel advising the agency on cosmetics is made up of officials from the cosmetics industry. The foxes are in charge of the chicken coop. The cosmetics industry is a $30 billion industry worldwide with an annual growth rate of 20%. The FDA doesn't maintain any vigilance over cosmetics.
Sally Hansen brand nail polish products are being reformulated to eliminate all three substances. The Sally Hansen brand is sold worldwide and is the No. 1 nail polish brand sold in drugstores.
Indoor air contains a complex mixture of biological and chemical pollutants. Depending on such factors as the sensitivity of the occcupants and pollutant concentration, exposure to these pollutants may result in a number of harmful health effects. Some people become sick to tiny amounts of chemical pollutants. These people are said to have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
The chemical industry is outraged that some people should become sick to exposure to their products. They are trying to change the name of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to Idiopathic Environmental Intolerances (IEI). Notice the slick way they removed the word "chemical" from this environmental disease.
Even though the word idiopathic means arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause, they would like people to think that chemical victims are idiots or mentally defective or just crazy.
The chemical industry in league with the pharmaceutical industry, is spending untold millions of dollars to lobby against Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. (Many pharmaceutical companies also manufacture pesticides). They are trying to convince state legislatures, the courts and the medical community that there is no such disease.
According to Ann McCampbell, MD, "This circular reasoning, that you can’t prove MCS exists without more study and you can’t study it because it doesn’t exist, is commonly used by industry lobbyists. A corollary to this is the lobbying strategy of calling for more research on MCS while attempting to block it at the same time."
The American Medical Association denies that MCS is a clinical condition because conclusive scientific evidence is lacking. Even the government website for the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences states that "the preferred medical term is Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance."
When used indoors under certain conditions, many common household cleaners and air fresheners emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks, according to a new study (May 24, 2006) by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Exposure levels to some of the pollutants - and to the secondary pollutants formed when some of the products mix with ozone - may exceed regulatory guidelines when a large surface is cleaned in a small room or when the products are used regularly, resulting in chronic exposure, according to the study.
The study is the first to measure emissions and concentrations of primary and secondary toxic compounds produced by these products under typical indoor use conditions, and it examines the potential hazards of small-scale yet widespread utilization of an array of products designed for household use.
Four years in the making, the team's 330-page study and report, "Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air Contaminants," was released in May of 2006.
The ARB asked Nazaroff and his team to focus their work in two areas: an investigation of toxic air contaminants in household cleaning products and air fresheners, especially a class of chemicals known as ethylene-based glycol ethers; and an examination of the chemistry that occurs when such products are used indoors - in particular, products that contain a reactive group of chemicals called terpenes.
Ethylene-based glycol ethers are common, water-soluble solvents used in a variety of cleaning agents, latex paints and other products. They are classified as hazardous air pollutants under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and as toxic air contaminants by California's Air Resources Board. Their toxicity varies with their chemical structure.
Terpenes are a class of chemicals found in pine, lemon and orange oils that are used in many consumer products either as solvents or to provide a distinctive scent. Although terpenes themselves are not considered toxic, some recent studies have shown that they may react with ozone to produce a number of toxic compounds. (The primary constituent of smog, ozone enters the indoor environment from infiltration of outdoor air, but is also produced indoors by some office machines such as copiers or printers, and by some devices marketed as "air purifiers" that purposely emit ozone into the indoor environment.)
The research team's first task was to determine which household products contain terpenes and glycol ethers, and in what quantities. It compiled a list of the household cleaners and air fresheners available at any of five chain retail outlets in Northern California, then examined the labels and advertising claims (e.g. "pine-scented") for these products and reviewed available product data sheets.
Based on this information, they selected the 21 products most likely to contain significant amounts of terpenes and ethylene-based glycol ethers: four air fresheners and 17 cleaning products, including at least one each of disinfectants, general-purpose degreasers, general-purpose cleaners, wood cleaners, furniture maintenance products, spot removers and multi-purpose solvents.
A complete chemical analysis of these 21 products revealed that:
• Twelve contained terpenes and other ozone-reactive compounds at levels ranging from 0.2 to 26 percent by mass.
• Six contained levels of ethylene-based glycol ethers of 0.8 to 9.6 percent by mass.
• Among the four air fresheners studied, three contained substantial quantities of terpenes (9-14 percent by mass)
An office worker for the city of Detroit, Michigan is suing for her co-workers to be banned from wearing perfume which gives her such severe headaches, nausea and coughing fits that she must leave work.
Court documents (July 2007) show that Susan McBride suffered so acutely from allergy to the chemicals in scents, lotions and sprays that she had to go home sick when a heavily perfumed co-worker shared her office.
Her sensitivity is so bad that she avoids the detergent sections in grocery stores and cannot sit near perfumed people in a movie theater or on the bus.
The co-worker refused to leave off the perfume, according to the complaint filed at the district court in Detroit. McBride needed medical treatment and was off work for some time.
Now she is seeking a jury trial to make the city force fellow employees to come to work un-scented, citing disability discrimination laws. She is claiming unspecified damages for "pain, suffering, humiliation and outrage" suffered.
McBride and her manager have already asked the city authorities that employ her to enforce a "no scent policy as an accommodation to her disability, without success," the complaint said.
At a time when people are disturbed about toxins in baby bottles and prescription drugs in the water supply, another study shows that our pets are full of chemicals as well.
The analysis, released by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, used blood and urine samples from 35 dogs and 37 cats collected at Hanover Animal Hospital in Mechanicsville, Va. found high levels of numerous chemicals in dogs and cats, including chemicals used in the making of furniture, fabrics and electronics. Mercury was also detected at high levels, likely from fish used in pet food.
Is this added chemical exposure having a meaningful effect on pet health? More important is the question of how these chemicals affect people, through exposure to food animals as well as fruits and vegetables. An article in Harper’s magazine called “Toxic Inaction,'’ cites several studies that show how industrial chemicals and toxins used in clothing, food, toys and cosmetics have found their way into our blood.
Greenpeace U.K. released a study in 2005 that found numerous toxic chemicals in the umbilical-cord blood of European infants. That same year, World Wildlife Fund International tested the blood of three generations of women from 12 European countries. The largest number of chemicals — 63 — was found in the group of grandmothers. Given the number of years they had had to accumulate exposure, this result was perhaps not surprising. But the next-highest level was among their grandchildren, aged 12 to 28, who in their short lifetimes had amassed 59 different toxic chemicals…. Bio-monitoring tests in the United States have revealed the same dangerous chemicals making their way into the blood of Americans. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention completed screening for the presence of 148 toxic chemicals in the blood of a broad cross section of Americans; it found that the vast majority of subjects harbored almost all the toxins.
Harper’s says the United States is doing very little to address the problem, despite efforts by European authorities to step up regulation of various industrial chemicals.
Perfume Allergy Symptoms - Advanced Homeopathic Formula
Allergies: Fragrances & Phenolics*
Indications for Use:
Difficulty breathing, irritated respiratory tract and mucous membranes, irritation of eyes or skin, instant headaches and nausea from perfume and other fragrances, symptoms of multiple chemical sensitivity, including lethargy, mild depression and mood swings from exposure to fragrances, air fresheners, spices and phenolics.
Ingredients:
Arsenicum alb, Acetaldehyde, Balsamum, Calc carb, Carbolicum ac,Conium, Crocus, Coumarinum, Histaminum, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Phos, Sepia Other: Phos mur, Quercitin, Rutin (Ingredients 1-15 in 12X/24X/LM1), ChemBlend (Fragrances+Solvents16X, 34X ,204X, Spice Complex 10X ,16X ,34X).
FH-16-15 Perfume Allergy Symptoms 1oz $22.95
*Phenols
From Wikipedia
In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of a hydroxyl group (-O H) attached to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. The simplest of the class is phenol (C6H5OH).
Phenol - the simplest of the phenols.
Although similar to alcohols, phenols have unique properties and are not classified as alcohols (since the hydroxyl group is not bonded to a saturated carbon atom). They have relatively higher acidities due to the aromatic ring's tight coupling with the oxygen and a relatively loose bond between the oxygen and hydrogen. Some phenols are germicidal and are used in formulating disinfectants. Others possess estrogenic or endocrine disrupting activity.
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