What Is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?

An article in the BBC News today reports that exposure to pesticides increases the risk of contracting Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson's Disease is a progressive, degenerative neurological condition. Many pesticides are neurotoxic and there have been other studies that have found associations with exposure to pesticides and various chronic neurological diseases.

Neurotoxic chemicals are prevalent in our society today. For example, we are exposed to solvents and pesticides almost every day, in our working environment or on our way to work, very often at home, and even in our food. Gasoline, diesel and the products of combustion are something we are regularly exposed to when we're on the road, and also when traffic passes close to where we live or work. These frequent and common exposures put us at risk of developing chemical sensitivities. This is even more relevant for children.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, MCS, has been defined in a number of ways. It is difficult to define precisely because the mechanism of injury is not known and the specific symptoms can be very varied from one individual to another, and also varied in the same individual over time.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity often begins with one high-dose exposure to a chemical which is toxic in large doses, but it may also develop with long-term exposure to low levels of a chemical, or chemicals. The significance of 'low level' used here refers to the fact that this level of such a chemical is generally held to be non-toxic to the human body at this concentration. However, for many of the chemicals that we are exposed to, conclusive tests, taking into account reactions inside the body with other chemicals we are exposed to, and/or the interaction of many 'low level' concentrations of chemicals forming further chemical products before they enter the body, have not been performed.

A few examples of the ways in which people who develop MCS are commonly exposed are: working in industrial employment; living or working in a poorly ventilated building; living in conditions of high air or water pollution. Chemicals most often associated with MCS include: formaldehyde, pesticides, solvents, petrochemical fuels, waxes, detergents, cleaning products, latex, tobacco smoke, perfumes and fragrances, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.

Products that often precipitate symptoms of MCS are: air fresheners, aerosol deodorant, asphalt, after-shave lotion, colognes, perfumes, diesel, dry-cleaning fluid, furniture polish, gasoline products, hair spray, insect repellant, insecticide, many laundry detergents, marker pens, nail polish and remover, oil-based paint and associated products, many creams and cosmetics, many hair shampoos, gels, and dyes, public restroom deodorizers, many modern cleaning products, tar, varnish, creosote, paint products, chipboard, treated lumber, many treated leathers (depending on process used), soft plastics, mold, cotton and fabrics treated with pesticides and/or antibacterial agents, antibacterial soap, fabric softeners, rubber. This may seem like a phenomenal list, and there may be other items that can cause a problem that through oversight have not been mentioned here. But this gives a good idea of how difficult it is to avoid regular exposure to 'low level' harmful agents once chemical sensitivities have been triggered in an individual.
MCS symptoms can manifest in any or all organ systems including respiratory, neurological, endocrine, urinary, cardiovascular, immune. Some of the symptoms experienced, in any combination and in differing strengths at any given time, by someone with chemical sensitivities can be: fatigue, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, depression, anxiety, slow response, weakness, dizziness, tingling in fingers and/or toes, headaches, heat intolerance, irritability, numbness, burning sensation on the skin, itching skin, itching scalp, noise sensitivity, congestion, sore throat, hoarseness, shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, difficulty thinking and making decisions, stomach pains and cramps, insomnia, clumsiness, inability to gauge distance, coordination problems, muscle cramps, joint pain, trembling, faintness, nausea, vomiting, rapid increase in heartbeat, increased frequency in urination, diarrhea, confusion, blurred vision, eye irritation, rashes.

This may sound even more incredible than the number of products that can cause a problem, but people with chemical sensitivities experience many, if not all, of these symptoms at some time or another in varying intensities. However, more commonly, many people experience some level of these symptoms without necessarily understanding the cause.

When such symptoms occur at low intensity they are easy to dismiss, without realizing their significance, because they become an expected part of our ordinary daily life. Eliminating the use of some of these products and items mentioned above that are not essential to our existence can provide a way to investigate whether we actually feel better without them. If an individual is genetically predisposed to succumbing to chemical sensitivity then with every greater load we place on the body's toxic clearing mechanisms, the closer we get to triggering chemical sensitivities.

There is controversy in the professional medical field about chemical sensitivities and related syndromes. It is not a topic of research readily financed by commercially successful businesses manufacturing these products. The organized removal or alteration of the multitude of products that permeate almost every aspect of our daily lives would require a huge change in economics. Ultimately, consumer choice dictates largely what products are available on the market, and that is where each individual can make a difference in what is in our daily environments. Many of the products available today not only cause damage in human beings, but they also harm our environment and the ecosystem around us.

MCS is medically a poorly understood phenomenon; there is no known cure for it as yet. However, it is possible to make very significant improvements in a person's health and daily functionality by reducing regular exposures. And it is possible to decrease an individual's reaction to previously problematic products and chemical agents by reducing the overall load experienced by that individual. It is better, however, to reduce the load before really noticeable chemical sensitivities even occur.