MCS anyone?

[VaBreeze]

Do you suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?  Have you ever walked into a candle or flower shop and felt that you couldn't breathe or begin to sneeze?  Do you rush out of an elevator after the doors open because someones cologne made you physically ill?  Break out or get a rash after working in the garden?  

[dai3symae]

Yes, I am extremely sensitive to scented products.  I had an anaphylactic shock reaction to (feel free to laugh, I know it sounds crazy...and after all I didn't die!!!) scented pencils that were being sold by the student council at my school.

It has gotten worse since I developed hypothyroid and entered menopause.  

[RobinHood70]

My sensitivity to smells has markedly increased since the onset of CFS, but for me, it tends to be milder, generally biological or food odours that nobody else notices.

[Kenderyl]

Yep. I have a problem w/ many strong odors - be it someone's perfume or the lotion they're wearing, an overpowering candle, incense, smoke, even many household cleaners & laundry detergents,etc. Some cause more serious reactions (asthma attacks) than others. Some cause me to itch and hive up, others don't. But generally speaking, I'm highly sensitive to odors and chemicals.

[PlateletGal]

Since I started treatment, most of my chemical sensitivities have disappeared and even my intolerance to gluten ! However, I still have a reaction when I'm around this hair product and so I avoid it. I'm also still using non-toxic cleaners as well. I recently found articles about air freshners and toxins in laundry detergents... it was quite disturbing. If I were healthy, I would avoid some of these products. Here's the link to my journal entry for those who are interested in reading about that:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/11102?personal_page_id=1064