Chemical sensitivity & electro-sensitivity

[KT2000]

People with these conditions are often ridiculed for having something that is "all in their heads." They are denied proper medical care, denied benefits when the condition becomes disabling and usually end up in extreme poverty. There has been research, mostly outside of the US, that is identifying the mechanisms involved.For those affected, keep the hope. Here is a current study that points to biomarkers in identifying the conditions:

http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/reveh.2015.30.issue-4/reveh-2015-0027/reveh-2015-0027.xml?format=INT

"Our data strongly suggest that EHS and MCS can be objectively characterized and routinely diagnosed by commercially available simple tests. Both disorders appear to involve inflammation-related hyper-histaminemia, oxidative stress, autoimmune response, capsulothalamic hypoperfusion and BBB opening, and a deficit in melatonin metabolic availability; suggesting a risk of chronic neurodegenerative disease. Finally the common co-occurrence of EHS and MCS strongly suggests a common pathological mechanism."

[womanofthehills]

1. I had MCS and electro-sensitivity for yrs but am much better now

Good to see this info out there.

Most of the women in my MCS support group became ill after being exposed to pesticides - me included.

[Person 2713]

2. Mine came after a severe adverse reaction to a medication

I am happy to report I am much better years later although I still have petrochemical issues
It was very bad at one point and never in my head . I hated when people rolled their eyes.
Just another form of " it didn't happen to me so it can't be true" false logic

[KT2000]

4. pesticides for me too

I got bolts of fabric that had been transported in containers that had stored pesticides. People in the warehouse were sickened and I sewed with it not knowing. I was pressing in pleats for a bunch of pleated skirts wondering why there were water marks on the fabric. That was years ago and am doing better but still have to be careful.

[betsuni]

3. K&R

[Duppers]

5. Still have it.

Don't let anyone tell you that living underneath a major high powered voltage tower will not affect your health.
?m=1322039239


It will affect your immune system in various ways.

[Orrex]

6. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but....

Most of the testing that's been done has shown that "electro-sensitives" confidently report the symptoms when they know the electricity is on, and the symptoms abate when they know that the electricity is off. In double-blind studies, however, they report they symptoms no more frequently than random chance. In short, testing has not yet supported claims of electro-sensitivity.

I also have a friend who did extensive study in this area in the 90s, and she found that the levels of electromagnetic "leakage" (my term, not hers) at power stations and under power lines is insufficient to generate the symptoms as claimed.

A more compelling explanation IMO is that these sites also feature other potentially deleterious factors, such as residences located near power lines and by high-volume traffic routes (resulting in heavier volumes of pollution). or residences near sub-stations with toxic substances on-site or leeching into the soil over time (and contaminating ground water, etc.).

In any case, if someone experiences mysterious symptoms that they attribute to some environmental factor, they should quickly seek a professional diagnosis rather than relying on Dr. Google. The symptoms may indicate a treatable condition or, more urgently, a serious condition requiring prompt intervention.

"Chemosensitivity" is kind of vague, by the way. "Sensitive" how? And to which chemicals? It's ok as a broadbrush description, but as a diagnosis it's about as nebulous as "pain somewhere in the body." Greater specificity would benefit both the sufferer and the researcher.


For that matter, I'm not sure that it's useful to group "chemosensitivity" together with "electro-sensitivity" either, since they would presumably operate by wildly different mechanisms, even if the reported symptoms are broadly similar. It would be like lumping a throat-closing peanut allergy with a trachea blocked by a poorly chewed piece of cheese; both will seal off the airway, but the cause and treatment of each is very different.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. I'm With Orrex On This

Especially the part on chemo-sensitivity. Since some chemicals are well known to be sensitizers, or that increasingly lower exposure levels trigger the same symptoms. One of the best examples of this is the sap in poison ivy. For many people, the rash gets just as bad even if they actually contact a smaller amount of the substance. And it keeps getting worse in this way. Geez, i know a couple guys who practically get a rash just walking by it. (Not really, but the slightest brush and they've got an irritated area of the body the next day.)

So, chemo-sensitivity is not only real, but can get increasingly severe for some chemical compounds.

[KT2000]

11. the abstract

explains some of your objections. The difficult part is that until you develop those sensitivities you cannot understand what it is. The purpose of the research is to find out the mechanism.
One researcher, W. Meggs, has found that those who are sensitive to chemicals have lost the tight junctions inside the nose that serves as a barrier to toxic exposures for all of us. This allows passage of foreign chemicals into the brain through the olfactory bulb. The blood brain barrier can be compromised by many things including stress. This problem is really a brain issue. As one physician put it - the inflammation in the brain can be in different locations resulting in different symptoms.

There is industry generated research on this and there are others who truly want to find answers.

[Orrex]

12. That's fine for chemo-sensitivity, which no one is disputing

Electro-sensitivity is more nebulous and, to date has not borne out the assertion that electromagnetic fields affect the human physiology in the way suggested by believers in the phenomenon.

There is industry generated research on this and there are others who truly want to find answers.

While I appreciate the condescension, I should mention that my friend's research was part of a graduate program at Lehigh University, rather than a profit-driven campaign by Some Evil Corporation™. Further, research generated by true-believers is famously quick to support the true-beliefs of the true-believers. Since you're being so commendably honest in your demand for objective analysis, you need to accept that fact as well.

[KT2000]

13. not here to argue

the corporate research I referred to was not a slam on your friend.
I do not want to argue with you on this subject. My purpose in posting is for those who suffer these conditions and to offer hope that research is taking place.

[Orrex]

14. As I noted, I don't have a strong opinion on the subject

I am suspicious of dubious assertions offered in the language of science, especially when it appears that an interested party is trying to elevate one questionable subject (electro-sensitivity) by conflating it with a more credible subject (chemo-sensitivity).

My purpose in responding is to urge people to seek a diagnosis if they display symptoms, both for their own sake and for the sake of anyone whom they might give bad medical advice based on their own interpretation of a poorly-demonstrated phenomenon.

[KT2000]

15. for educational purposes

When people have such symptoms and seek a diagnosis they are usually turned away with a prescription for antidepressants. If a doctor diagnoses these conditions they may be informed by the insurance companies they better stop, they can be removed from preferred provider lists, they may find themselves investigated by the state medical board - no complaint necessary, major employers that use chemicals will have them removed from provider lists as well. That is how it works. The doctor does not want the person to come back. People are thrown overboard into no medical care, poverty, and isolation.

What I just described I have seen first hand.

[Orrex]

16. I've seen it as well, and the causes are many

Sometimes the doctor is an asshole, sometimes not. In any case, you need to quit lecturing me about chemicals, because I've indicated repeatedly that I'm not disputing that point.

But if a patient complains that he's suffering from electro-sensitivity--a condition that frankly hasn't been shown to exist even experimentally--then he should consider himself lucky if his doctor doesn't recommended a psych consultation. And for pity's sake he'd better not say that he's allergic to electricity, because that's not a thing.

[sorefeet]

7. I am so bitter I can't see straight

I was chemically poisoned after 30 years of using solvents and chemicals that no one had any business touching without plenty of schooling. Very few safety rules 30-40 years ago. Encouraged to wash cuts and blisters with M.E.K. to speed healing. Might as well been living in the 1920's, very old school. Industrial sandblaster and coatings. When I came down with neuropathy and plenty of proof as to the chemicals I had used over the 30-40 years. Doctors, worker comp, lawyers and people said it was bullshit. I fought for years and gave up. I still get angry when I try to explain it to people. So I don't socialize or go many places much. Many of us were just kicked to the curb. Workers comp labeled me a nuisance claim. Worked like a dog all those years too. All of the chemical companies should be liable for all the people they have destroyed. It's humiliating to say the least. Never mind the pain and loss of wages because you can't work anymore. Monsanto stole my career and I want compensated.

[KT2000]

9. I understand

So many people have been thrown overboard if they were sickened by chemicals and most don't know what that means. It means constant loss of friends, family, money, and any place in the world just to keep going. In WA to get anything like workers comp - even for those who ended up in wheelchairs - they had to file a claim for mental illness.
The fix is in on this in the US. We will have to depend on foreign research for progress.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Better Call Saul