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My Story: What Happened

The source of my condition was probably prolonged exposure to a new carpet that was being installed in a poorly ventilated area at my workplace. Nothing special, just ordinary maintenance in an office building. New carpets have all sorts of interesting substances in them, like formaldehyde, PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls), epoxies, solvents, VOC's (volatile organic compounds), organophosphates, and other industrial chemicals. The company I worked for won't tell me the manufacturer or the materials specifications for any of the substances they used. Some of the information that you would think would be readily accesible is remarkably hard to find. In lab tests, rats die when placed on new carpeting for a few days.* The padding underneath is often made of Omalon, which I haven't been able to find the composition of yet. It's often used in mattress pads, and I think is a type of "memory foam". I had a terrible toxic reaction to one, where I was extremely weak and in such a haze and so cognitively impaired I couldn't even figure out how to remove it from my bed for a month. Another thing to keep in mind is that the solvents in carpets are often closely related chemically to pesticides. Pesticides are known neurotoxins. They can affect the amygdala and other parts of the brain that are involved with memory and learning.* And speaking of pesticides, in the past decade or so carpet warehouses no longer have pests ruining their stock which used to be a common and serious problem.* This is likely due to the new chemicals developed and now used in synthetic carpets which resemble pesticides. That's great for the warehouses, but do we really want that stuff in our closed-up homes and our kids' bedrooms?

At any rate, when I was exposed I hardly noticed the effects for a while. However, after six to eight weeks of breathing in the fumes for hours a day, eventually my body reacted violently. I started blanking out, I got lost repeatedly on my way to work, I walked into walls, I had trouble breathing, eating, sleeping, and thinking. I was reeling. I couldn't get the simplest things done, and had to stop working. I could not manage basic self-care and simply went without, struggling to find the energy and cognitive focus for basic survival. I couldn't make reasonable judgments or comprehend simple things. For several years now, my basic functioning has been severely limited, both physically and cognitively. I am still often in pain and unable to move around, even across a room. I am homebound. I have trouble reading and writing. When I am exposed to substances that used to be merely annoying or had no effect on me, now they cause a relapse for days or weeks. Exposure to the more potent ones can send me back into a seriously injured state.

MCS tends to affect smaller people, because the concentration of chemicals is higher in their lower body mass. It also seems to have a gender-bias, because of the biochemistry unique to women. Many chemical substances found in pesticides and carpet solvents are related to the estrogen family of hormones found in all in humans. Chemical sensitivity or intolerance is on the rise, and may already be affecting about 15% of the population, apparently mostly women and children. Pregnant women and fetuses may be particularly sensitive, because of the unique and different hormone mix that is effect during that period of life. Not only is the developing fetus at greater risk, especially during certain phases of nerve and brain creation and growth, but the adult woman who is pregnant may also be particularly susceptible to chemical harm at this time.*

A very helpful resource for me has been the Chemical Injury Information Network (CIIN), www.ciin.org. I also learned quite a bit from the "Trade Secrets" PBS special in 2001 (http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets) on the chemical companies and what they have known regarding substances that were harming their employees since the 50's. One interesting piece of information was that there are over 100 synthetic substances found in samples of human blood today, materials that did not exist 100 years ago. Many of these products have barely been studied for their effects on humans, and almost none have been studied in conjunction with other materials. They are already here, in our lives and bodies, but very little is known about what they do to us. The evidence is starting to mount that most are none too good for us, especially in combination.

While there are many things I can do to try to keep my body in as healthy a state as possible, the experts conclude that there is no treatment beyond complete avoidance of toxins. I now use the mask to breathe whenever I encounter a harmful substance, which happens whenever I go out, which is rare. I have a backup tank of oxygen that I must carry with me. I am basically homebound now. This is not the life I was leading, and I still have not managed to digest all of the changes or pick up all of the pieces since that was shattered. The point I am hoping to make is how ridiculously little it took to send me into that state. I do wish I had been more aware of the known harm that newly manufactured carpet fumes are capable of causing. I would have respected minor signs like headaches and sluggishness much sooner, and responded by protecting myself.

* I'm sorry that I can't remember all of these references off the top of my head or give further details as to where to find these resources. I'll put up more information as I am able to.

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