Living with Chemical Sensitivity

There was a time when I was frequently getting colds and flus. In particular, one day I had cold/flu symptoms including runny nose, achiness, and fatigue. At first I assumed I was sick again, and was determined to just ride it out, when it occured to me that I had just cleaned the stainless steel dishwasher the day before with a spray cleaner that the previous resident had left in our house. I recalled that the last time I used this spray cleaner resulted in similar symptoms. This was the turning point at which I realized that I was sensitive to chemicals.

The chronic symptoms that were resulting from this sensitivity included:

Sore muscles and joints

Extreme fatigue

Headaches

Chronic Sinusitis

Difficulty waking up in the morning

Runny nose

Every day at work, by lunch time or shortly after, I would start to feel so tired that I couldn't work any longer, and in fact fell asleep on a number of occasions at work. At 30 years old, I thought that I was going to be ready for retirement in the next five years! At the time, it seemed like it was just the inevitable consequence of aging until the discovery of the cleaner that gave me the symptoms.

Thus I embarked on a journey to eliminate toxins from my life. This was a long and complicated journey, as I had no idea how many things contained various hazardous chemicals. I started with the household cleaners. First went the laundry softener, as the smells from these products was bothersome. All spray cleaners went straight to the hazardous waste depot, many to be replaced with hypoallergenic laundry detergent (great for cleaning the bathroom, believe it or not).

Natural scent-free hand soaps are an absolute must for me now, and I would never wear cologne or after shave.

Now, virtually cleaning product I use is natural and scent free and probably labelled hypo-allergenic. I no longer have a permanently clogged nose, or joint pain and rarely get colds or flus.

It is difficult to nail down a specific cause of my chemical sensitivity. It is probably a combination of having worked at a chemical company, using chemicals at home to preserve wood, drinking diet soda, and being exposed to many different cleaners.

Now I am better, but exposure to chemicals can definitely still bring the symptoms back. I have to maintain a toxic free zone around me all of the time to feel healthy, but hey, that is probably a good idea anyway.