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IT never really sinks in. At first? You think your imagination is on overdrive. Your reactions are so unlike you. Can it be? If so? How? All these years, you've done your best to do the right thing. Now?
It seems nothing you do is right, or will be right ever again.
Chemical Mysteries
Simple, everyday things. Going to the grocery store. I hate grocery shopping. You always end up
paying more than you planned. Prices change at the blink of an eye. Now, more than prices are changing. You are changing and the realization is scary.
There was a time you could walk isle to isle, looking for produce, seafood, paper towels. Now, when you walk into the store, your built in radar starts ... your senses are heightened, your pulse races.
Why? There is a good possibility that before you get to the check-out counter your breathing may be so labored that you wonder if you will make it home alive.
At first, it was just the isle where they keep the pretty packages of personal needs. You know, the pale blue and lavender soaps, potpourris, hairspray. Then you find after a period of time, as you start
to wander down the household isle, your breath is shorter, your lungs feel on fire, you perspire and you cough, you wheeze, your chest feels like a vice is gripping each rib.
You get into your car, drive away and find that even the trip home is no longer easy. Windows are rolled up tight, the air conditioning is on even in the middle of Winter. You check your gas gauge and
find that you need to fill up. As you stand next to your car listening to the ding ding ding of liquid gold filling your tank, you find that what happened near the Tide and Joy is happening again.
Before you get home, you see on the front seat the package and letters that need to be mailed. By now, you are light headed and almost dizzy. One more stop, then home and safety. As you pull into
the parking lot of the Post Office you are thankful it isn't too busy. Good! Right in and out again. Well, almost. You are number 14 in line, and the thirteen women ahead of you have enough perfume
on to stock all of Macys. You tell yourself, Relax, this is just the Post Office! All you have to do is give the clerk your packages, pay your way, then off you go. Finally, you are able to get out of the
building and you think you will never be able to breathe again.
Since your prescriptions are ready at the Drugstore at the other end of the shopping center, you tell
yourself to get in gear, go pick up your refills. You tell yourself to relax, grab your Inhaler, take two puffs and wait a minute or two. Finally, you feel your lungs cooperate. You open the door to the
Drug Store and bammmm! It happens again. For some reason known only to those who market products, the Fragrance and Make-up section is right when you walk in the door. You weave your
way down the isle to the Pharmacy and hope your order is ready. When you get there? Twelve people ahead of you, all wearing their own favorite cologne. Your senses are again bombarded, but
you tell yourself you have to go on. If you give up now, you'll be housebound for a long time to come.
What I have described is a very brief account of what everyday life is like for millions of people
around the Globe. They ask their Doctors for help. They go to the library or search the Internet hour after hour searching for answers. The symptoms increase, the answers are long in coming.
At first, the medical community laughs in your face. Your doctor tells you, You are reacting to stress. Anxious? Too many long hours on the job? You tell your doctor that you know your Asthma
seems to be bothering you more than normal He says Well of course it is! Your emotions are out of control! Slow down, take your medicine, avoid stress!
Months go by and as they do, each new chemical exposure creates a more severe reaction. When did carbonless paper start to bother me? Why is the smell of fresh paint making me wheeze? Cleaning
products, aerosol sprays, car exhaust, tar, any perfume or cologne, bug spray, pesticides. Why? No one around me is having this problem, why am I?
The simple answer is, there is NO answer. Is this a genetic problem? Is it all in my head? Am I crazy?
Ask the brave Military who served in the Gulf War or Vietnam about how they have been coping all
these years with an illness that no one accepts as real ... They've known longer than I have. The world around us is changing and altering how our immune system can handle what is forced upon us, in the environment.
When the immune system breaks down, you fall apart. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
What I've tried to describe is known as many different things. I chose to call it Multiple Chemical
Sensitivity. For millions like myself, small exposures to chemicals around us, make us very, VERY ill. In fact, we react to any given substance at greater reduced levels of exposure. When that exposure is
reintroduced, our reactions escalate.
Unlike broken bones or high blood pressure, there are no proven tests available or methods to track
and give undeniable proof. That makes this a Catch 22 situation. You know you are ill. Your family knows something is wrong. You look for answers, guidance, professional help. Guess what. You are out of luck.
Those of us who have this, find the only way to begin to cope is to learn on our own. To read, research, reach out, and trust that someday we will be accepted for what we have, as a genuine
illness. In reality, we self-diagnose and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Then, when the completed puzzle is presented to someone who is trained in the medical profession, we are perceived
as overbearing, intimidating and step on toes of those who should have the answers. The world of medicine does not want us to remind them that they do not have all the answers. These gods of
healing are not gods at all. They pledge an oath to Do no harm then they deny our existence.
It isn't a matter of not wanting to be part of a normal life. Social events are potential danger as well.
Simply going out to dinner, or to the movies or a drive is no longer a viable option. Sure, you tell yourself, 'What can possibly happen in a restaurant? What happens between the appetizer and
dessert is that there are other people around. The table next to you when you arrived, was unoccupied. Now, a man and a woman have been seated there. His After Shave, or her cologne
reaches your olfactory system and the next thing you know, you are in the parking lot trying to breathe. Your own radar must be in working order. You must be prepared to make a hasty retreat at
a seconds notice. The only plans you can make are .... plans to change your plans. Think ahead and realize that others not familiar with MCS will assume you are overreacting, looking for attention or exaggerating.
On the job, the situation is more critical. Co workers do not understand, or chose not to understand your plight. Even when it is explained that eliminating as many triggers as possible is mandatory for
YOUR survival, they will say as you cough and start to turn blue.. "Sorry, I forgot that cologne bothers you Or? "I was only cleaning my work area! Don't get so uptight!" Little by little you sick
days dwindle away. Your Boss becomes discouraged too. Your work is proven to be done with flare and dedication, when you are able to be on the job.
The financial drain is enormous. The ability to further your education is stunted. Your circle of friends becomes smaller and smaller. You are different a freak .. someone to avoid. You find yourself going
from doctor to doctor, looking for answers.
You find that you test yourself constantly or try to fit in so that your normalcy is maintained. By
then, your immune system is experiencing total overload and you have to flee the environment that is making you so ill. Days of fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability, depression are soon to follow.
Fortunately, some of those afflicted with MCS are doing the best they can to make government agencies aware of potential hazardous chemicals that must be eliminated. Research is being performed, slowly, but surely.
One day, we may be able to understand why this happens... to whom... and prevent further impairment. Until that time, hold your head up high, think positive thoughts and plan to make
accommodations in your world, that can allow you some sense of freedom. Human Nature can be cruel. Learn to live each day the best you can. Find a way to open all secrets that make your hermit lifestyle so lonely and forlorn.
One day, perhaps those who manufacture the chemicals and substances that shatter our hopes and dreams will pull those products off the shelves. Until they do, support those organizations that fight
for chemically sensitive humans. Write to your Congressman or Representative or both. Contact the Legislature in your state. Tell them you need their help. Never give up. Don't let them win!
It is not your fault that these MYSTERIES are so frustrating. Your initial exposure to an element that injured your immune system happened. You cannot change that fact. The Human Body is an amazing
machine. When it works the way it is supposed to, life is grand! When it lets you down, you find a way to survive.
If your reaction to the world prohibits your functioning in gainful employment, gather your medical
history, think through all your options and if necessary, file for Medical Disability. That is a battle in itself. Now you are forced to prove that you are not capable of normal day to day activity.
Document your reactions to what causes your distress. Ask your Doctor for help and if he/she cannot help, ask for a referral to someone who can! There are only a few national centers in the
United States that have the expertise to investigate this horror. If you want additional information, please write to me here and I will do my best to help, I promise.
Write to: Edit4MUniv@aol.com
Nancy, Director of Operations, Editor www.mysticaluniverse.comz