How Do Chemicals Impact Our Health?

We can't always see the immediate effects of toxic chemicals on our bodies, but, nonetheless,our health is being compromised with every exposure. Potentially harmful ingredients can be found in cleaning supplies, makeup, scented products, paint, and other things we use daily. One group of chemicals that has been linked to increased inflammation in the body is VOCs (volatile organic compounds).This increased inflammation sets up the perfect environment for developing symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, skin and eye irritation, tingling and numbness in the extremities, dizziness, and headaches. Increased inflammation is suspected as an underlying cause in autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, and even in some types of cancer.

Some folks don't have an immediate response to the VOCs. But the body is effected on a cellular level with every exposure; and even at low levels of contact, inflammation increases and health starts to deteriorate. 

I read numerous articles and research papers about the possibility that chemicals in our environment, like VOCs, and additives in our food like dyes and preservatives, could be an underlying factor in the onset of fibromyalgia. Even after I found this information, it took months for me to summon up the energy and determination to change my lifestyle.

It was not easy for me to radically change the way I did things each day. I wasn't willing to even try until I was overwhelmingly and completely sick and tired of feeling sick and tired all of the time. Getting rid of the chemicals in my home couldn't hurt anything and resigning myself to feeling horrible all the time was not an option. So,I decided to find out where the chemicals lurked, how to get rid of them, what to substitute in their place, and see what happened.  

I did not expect this to be a quick fix. After all, I had been exposed to hundreds of chemicals every day for decades in the household products I used and in the processed foot I ate. It made sense to me that it would take time, maybe a long time, to notice any difference. But I had nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain.  

I started with what I felt would be the easiest group of chemicals for me to eliminate: anything that has a scent. Scents are created by adding chemicals to products. Even so- called "natural" scents often use VOCs to bind the scent to the product. When the scent is released, so are the VOCs. You breathe in the chemicals when you breathe in the scent.

It is possible to create a scent free environment in your home but it may require that you change almost every product you use. I had to eliminate obvious scented products like perfume, air fresheners, and scented candles.

I read the labels on everything I used on a daily basis and found that there were other not so obvious products that contained scent like makeup, hairspray, deodorant, laundry detergent, bath soap, hand lotion, and more. I was able to find scent free versions of all of these. I changed a lot of other things before I recovered from fibromyalgia. But this was the first small step I took. On December 6, I will celebrate three years of being symptom free.

I suppose it is one of those blessings in disguise things that I have an immediate reaction to VOC exposure. I know from firsthand experience what harm it can do. Other people experience equal harm to their health when they come in contact with VOCs. They just don't connect the dots because symptoms like headache, recurrent sinus pressure, dizziness, nausea, pain, and fatigue don't appear until days after exposure to the scented products laced with VOCs.

Just call me your canary in the coal mine. Years ago, coal miners took a caged canary with them down into the mines to warn them it there were any dangerous chemicals lurking about underground. If there was methane or carbon monoxide in the work area, the canary died before those chemicals reached levels hazardous to humans and the miners were able to escape without harm. 

I thought of that canary a few months ago. I love playing competitive Scrabble. I was playing in a tournament with at least forty other people in the room. I zoomed through the first two games, winning both of them. During the third game I had a sudden onset of headache, nausea, and dizziness.I had difficulty breathing and was finding it hard to concentrate. Everyone else seemed fine, but they weren't. Someone had lit a scented candle and the odor and accompanying VOCs were flowing through the room. 

Chirp. Chirp. Clunk.

You're welcome.

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