O.T. Wife with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

IA Roy

Well-known Member
My wife has extreme "Multiple Chemical Sensitivity". Last fall in an effort to reclaim some transmission lube from my old case tractor, I boiled the water and transmission fluid that I had drained out of the bottom of the transmission. As water boils at a much lower temperature, it leaves the mixture. As my luck would have it, the fumes drifted toward and into the house. The windows and doors were closed, but still got inside. The wife got my attention before I was done, but the damage was done. It doesn't bother me, but it makes her skin crawl. I can't smell it and not sure she can at this time.

After female cancer surgery at Christmas time she became much more sensitive to it. I guess the worst room is her bedroom. Mine is on the same side of the house and it was less of a problem for her until I started to clean. She has been on oxygen now for three weeks, starting with a trip to the emergency room and a week in the hospital. There is a humidifier on the oxygen concentrator, but after a couple of hours she starts getting water drops up her nose. We have to disconnect and drain the condensation out of the oxygen tube. She has moved to the dining room and spends her time between a recliner chair and a hospital bed. To make matters worse, she has a tumor between her lungs that is making fluid and filling the cavity between the lungs and the ribcage. She has had one lung drained 3 times and another scheduled for Wednesday. They probably should do both, but I am not sure she will let them. She has no appetite and is getting sores in her mouth today. She is loosing weight and has no strength. She tried to get chemotherapy scheduled to start this week, but it will have to wait until next week as we had scheduled last Friday.

I removed all the curtains, the bedding and the clothes from the room. Then I shampooed the carpet using Borax as that does not bother her. I washed the walls and ceiling also. That did not help and seemed to spread it into more of the house. I had a professional cleaner come in and he checked his different chemicals with her before he started using them. After he got done, there was an odor that bothered her. Why it didn't before he used it I don't know. He did use an ozone generator for a little while after he shampooed. We have two bathroom exhaust fans that have been running continuously for 3 weeks. I have an ionizing HEPA air filter running in her bedroom. I have been cracking open the front door a little to get some fresh air. That helps some, but also has it's limitations. We have a small humidifier that helps a little to keep from drying out her mouth.

I don't know where to go next. I threatened to pull out all the carpet from the house, but am sure it will stir everything up and make it worse. We live in the country and she is affected by herbicides, pesticides, insecticides and fungicides. With aerial spraying and all the road dust from traffic, our house is pretty well polluted. I also work in the office of a factory and the heavy metals from welding smoke and petrochemicals follow me home. I could paint and seal everything, but those chemicals are also forbidden. Years ago there was the story about the boy in the plastic bubble who didn't have an immune system. She is starting to feel like that, and her defenses will be compromised when starting chemo.
Does anybody have a solution to these issues.
Thanks, Roy
 
I hope she can get some relief soon. She must be feeling miserable. Just a shot in the dark here but try cutting out gluten. A person who has gluten intolerance or worse, celiac can be very sensitive to various things. I'm no doctor so I'm not prescribing anything and I'm going on personal experience only. Marilyn has celiac and was very sensitive to various chemicals and allergens until she cut out gluten. She still has some problems and is on a CPAP with oxygen at night but the problems are lessened greatly now that she is off of gluten. She can't have even a whiff of gluten without a reaction?
 
It reminds me of a story I saw once about a house with black mold contamination. They ended up demolishing the huge house that was only a few years old. It was due to an ice maker leak no one had caught. They got odd sicknesses to the point of the husband and child having cognitive impairment. Is there a company that can come in and check the air quality?

I've always wanted an ionic filter on the furnace but haven't sprung for it. Something like that could change or save her life.
 
By no means am I a doctor, but here this goes. my wife and I have been eating unprocessed foods for many years now, no corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. My wife has a gluten issue like fixeruppers wife. The wife does a lot of studying on health, she says need to balance the pH in your body. It is like a field, your crops are healthier at a pH of 6.5 to 7, you get down to 5 and you just get a sickly looking crop that will not take up nutrients that you give them. Again I am not a doctor! Hoping the best for you and your wife.
 
I have chemical sensitivies. Perfume made me so sick that I had to stop going to church. I removed ALL the carpet in the house and installed laminate flooring. That made life better for me. Carpet is a chemical and germ cesspool and shampooing it will not remove all of the contaminates.

My wife threw out all the chemical cleaners in the house and only uses vinegar and water for cleaning. She does not buy anything that has a scent to it.

In addition to the sensitivities, I have a smell disorder so I have to avoid every odor known to bother me.
 

I have been in the cleaning chemical business for 44 years. It is sometimes hard to believe the things that people blame on chemicals. It is mainly the fault of the people producing the "green" products that actually have most of the same ingredients as conventional cleaners. DON'T blame yourself for this. I agree with removing the carpet as it can harbor all kinds of bad stuff. Do you have a HEPA filter? Get two! I have had multiple mold problems both in my home and at church where I am responsible for the building. It is usually very simple to get rid of the problem. Simply expose the mold, which can sometimes be hard but not usually, then paint it over with oil based paint. Your wife certainly has serious problems but stop blaming yourself!
 
I used to smoke 40 years ago. My sinuses now react to smoke of any kind, especially diesel exhaust, burning leafs. In seconds I will have a head ache. If I get too close to a woman with perfume, not only do I get a headache I start sneezing. Many organic smells will trigger a reaction.

So our body do react to chemicals. I worked with a lady who gave her husband the kiss of death. Her husband worked for a chemical company that made meds. He became very sensitive to a med and had to be transferred to a different division. His wife was taking the med he reacted to. One night after she took the med, gave her husband a good night kiss and he stopped breathing. Had to call 911.
 
My wife is sensitive to petroleum odors, diesel is the worst. She carries an epi-pen because of it. I have to be cognizant of any petrol odors on my clothes..
 
Your wife knows what she is talking about. Dr Carey Reams has done alot of study on PH balance, it makes a huge difference in how your body reacts when in balance versus not being so.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top