Synthetic chemicals are all around us. They're in the products we use, in the clothes we wear, in the food we eat, in the air we breathe at work. Because chemicals are everywhere in the environment, it's not possible to escape exposure. No wonder, then, that many people have become sensitized to the chemicals around them. In fact, it is estimated that 15% of the population has become sensitized to common household and commercial products.

For some people, the sensitization is not too serious a problem. They may have what appears to be a minor allergy to one or more chemicals. Other people are much more seriously affected. They may feel tired all the time, and suffer from mental confusion, breathing problems, sore muscles, and a weakened immune system. Such people suffer from a condition known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?

MCS is a disorder triggered by exposures to chemicals in the environment. Individuals with MCS can have symptoms from chemical exposures at concentrations far below the levels tolerated by most people. Symptoms occur in more than one organ system in the body, such as the nervous system and the lungs. Exposure may be from the air, from food or water, or through skin contact. The symptoms may look like an allergy because they tend to go with exposures, though some people's reactions may be delayed. As MCS gets worse, reactions become more severe and increasingly chronic, often affecting more bodily functions. no single widely available medical test can explain symptoms.

In the early stages of MCS, repeat exposure to the substance or substances that caused the initial health effects provokes a reaction. After a time, it takes less and less exposure to this or related chemicals to cause symptoms. as the body breaks down, an ever increasing number of chemicals, including some unrelated to the initial exposure, are found to trigger a reaction.

MCS affects the overall health and feeling of well-being of those with the disorder. It typically impairs many bodily functions including the nervous system and digestion. Each individual affected by MCS has a unique set of health problems. A chemically sensitive person may also have other preexisting health conditions. Many affected people experience a number of symptoms, in elation to their chemical exposures :

symptoms of MCS

headaches
flu-like symptoms
asthma or other breathing problems
dizziness
increased sensitivity to odors
mental confusion
bloating or other intestinal problems
fatigue and depression
short- and long-term memory loss
chronic exhaustion

People with MCS report many other health conditions such as :

MCS may result from a single massive exposure to one or more toxic substances or repeated exposures to low doses. On one hand, some people may become chemically sensitive following a toxic chemical spill at work or in their community after being sprayed directly with pesticides. On the other, individuals may develop this condition from spending forty hours each week in a poorly ventilated building where they breathe a profusion of chemicals common to our modern way of life.

In many cases, MCS has been brought on by a wide array of chemicals found at home and work. studies show that many of the people diagnosed with MCS were :

industrial workers
teachers, students, office, and health care workers in tight buildings
chemical accident victims
people living near toxic waste sites
people whose air or water is highly polluted
people exposed to various chemicals in consumer products, food, and pharmaceuticals
Gulf war veterans
Not all people with MCS fit any of these categories. For example, some may have experienced a toxic exposure from flea or roach sprays or from (urea formaldehyde) foam insulation in their home. Other people with MCS cannot identify any situations where they had unusual exposures to chemicals.

People with MCS may become partially or totally disabled for several years or for life. This physical condition affects every aspect of their life. They must make dramatic changes in lifestyle at home. Their marriages and other relationships may end from the stress off coping with this disabling condition. As members of the workforce, they may drag themselves to work only to return home sicker and more exhausted each day.. Alternatively they may be forced to leave their jobs and deal with the devastating loss of income and consequent poverty. However, even in the most severe cases, some people eventually recover, at least partially.

What can cause MCS?

No one knows for sure what causes MCS. However, in non-industrial workplaces, a number of common products and processes are often identified as contributing to the onset of MCS :

Most chemicals in consumer products remain untested for health effects, such as cancer, reproductive problems, and the impacts of long-term, low level exposure. How these substances affect women, children, and people with existing conditions is also little studied.

Once a person's defenses have been broken down and he or she has become hypersensitive, a wide variety of common chemical exposures can trigger a reaction. Just what products and other chemicals which cause problems varies greatly among affected individuals. These include the same chemicals which can bring about MCS in the first place, as well as the following :

perfumes and fragrances
dry cleaning solvents
detergents and other cleaners
anaesthesia
prescribed medications
artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives in foods, drinks, and drugs

Treatments

After the onset of MCS, a person's health generally continues to deteriorate. It may only begin to improve once the chemical sensitivity condition is uncovered. While a number of treatments may help improve the baseline health status for some patients, at the present time, there is no single "cure" except avoidance.

Avoiding the chemicals which may trigger reactions is an essential part of treating MCS. Those with MCS who are able to strictly avoid exposures often experience dramatic improvement in their health over the period of a year or more. Yet the profusion of new and untested synthetic chemicals makes this extremely difficult.

Individuals affected by MCS often create a "sanctuary" relatively free from chemical emissions in their home, where they spend as much time as possible. Because of the serious impact of even an accidental unavoidable exposure, MCS sufferers often spend as much time at home as possible and often must choose not to participate in society. As a result, they may experience intense isolation, and loss of self-esteem and depression from not being able to have an active work or social life. Therefore, supportive counseling is often a very useful form of treatment.

The MCS controversy in the medical community

Many traditional allergists and other physicians discount the existence of an MCS diagnosis. They claim that there is not yet sufficient evidence that MCS exists. Research effort regarding the mechanisms that cause MCS have been inadequate and unfortunately are often financed and supported by the industries which benefit from chemical proliferation. Generally medical doctors have not been trained to understand or seriously investigate conditions such as MCS. In fact, the vast majority of physicians receive very little training (four hours or less) in occupational and environmental medicine or in toxicology and nutrition.

Therefore, it is not surprising that many affected individuals consult with a large number of specialists. People with MCS are often even diagnosed with serious degenerative diseases. Often baffled doctors tell their patients with MCS that their illness is entirely psychosomatic -- in their head. And many whose health is impaired by MCS have never heard of the condition. The lack of support and understanding from physicians and the stress created by having no explanation for symptoms tends to produce a high level of anxiety and distress in people with MCS.

At this time, conventional medicine offers very few medical treatments for MCS besides avoiding offending products. Unfortunately, medications and other conventional medical treatments offer little or no relief and may even prompt new sets of symptoms. Treatment with anti-depressants masks the underlying condition and can also cause other serious problems.

Physicians who clearly recognize the MCS phenomenon include some occupational and environmental health specialists and those MDs who specialize in the new field of clinical ecology. A wide range of new or "alternative" treatments have been utilized by MCS sufferers with varying success. Though some of these treatments are still experimental in nature, they seem to help some individuals with MCS. These treatments may include a combination of the following :

Diagnosis may involve unconventional laboratory tests not customary to conventional medicine, including tests for the presence of chemical contaminants, such as total body burden of accumulated pesticides.

Dr Morrow-Brown on MSC >