• About
  • Blog
  • Work With Teresa
  • Contact

Living Natural Today

Creating a natural home and healthy lifestyle.

  • Natural Beauty
  • Natural Home
  • Natural Living
  • Natural Wellness
  • Recipes
  • Shop
    • My Books
    • Book Recommendations
    • Christmas Gift Guide
    • Eco-Friendly Camping Gear
    • Natural Living Recommendations
    • Online Health Summits
You are here: Home / Natural Health / Have You Become Desensitized? A Weekend of Chemicals

Updated on January 4, 2018 By Teresa | This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.

Have You Become Desensitized? A Weekend of Chemicals

We are all surrounded by chemicals everyday. Some are desensitized to them, but when you have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), you really notice every one of them. Eventhough I’m better today than I was a couple of years ago, I still get symptoms from chemicals. I recover more quickly than I used to and they’re more manageable, but I still definitely experience consequences from exposure.

desensitized to chemicals

Bombarded with Chemicals

This past weekend I experienced many reactions to different chemicals. What a “normal” person might be able to tolerate, a person with MCS cannot. Here are 3 examples:

  • I went with my husband to Lowe’s. We were in the lawn section because he was looking for grass seed. This time of year is horrendous for chemicals in the lawn and garden section – everything from weed killers such as awful Roundup, to lawn fertilizers. I couldn’t stay in the section for long as my tongue and lips started tingling and my ears started swelling up.
  • We were also out of town over the weekend. We don’t have a Chick-fil-A near where we live, so if we’re near one, my husband likes to stop. I do not recommend eating at Chick-fil-A just like I don’t recommend eating at any fast food restaurant (other than ones like Chipotle which have organic, fresh foods without the preservatives). However, eating at a Chick-fil-A every once in a great, great while shouldn’t kill you. I ordered their grilled chicken salad. All I ate was the lettuce and the fruit that came with it along with a tiny bit of dressing. I didn’t even eat the chicken. I also didn’t eat the toppings that come with it. Check out the chemicals that are included with their added toppings! I had to take a picture of it! After eating the salad, I came away with a headache. I’m not saying Chick-fil-A sprays their salads with chemicals because I don’t know that for sure, but I do know that some restaurants spray their salads to keep them looking fresh. All I know is I came away with a headache.
  • Finally, this weekend we visited a house that had plugin air fresheners. Air fresheners, especially the plugin kind are highly toxic! We were only in the house for less than 1 hour and I came away feeling nauseous, with my heart racing and a strong, sick feeling headache.

Have You Become Desensitized to Chemicals Such as Fragrance?

If I am experiencing these symptoms and reactions, just think of what these chemicals are doing to those of you who have become desensitized to chemicals and are exposed to them on a regular basis (and we wonder why people are so sick)! Exposures to the things I listed above can be minimized. You don’t have to eat garbage fast food. You don’t have to use synthetic air fresheners and you don’t have to use harmful chemicals on your lawn.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Canaries

People with MCS are often called canaries. We experience symptoms around toxic substances similar to when they would put a canary in a mine shaft. If the canary became ill or died, people in the mines (even if they couldn’t smell the chemical) knew it was time to get out.

Don’t be like the miners who didn’t heed the canary’s warning. Begin taking steps to reduce the amount of chemicals you are being consistently exposed to in your everyday household products. It is possible to live more naturally!


Read Next: Do You Suffer From Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?


 

Additional Posts You Might Like:

Have You Become Desensitized? A Weekend of Chemicals 1

sensitive to smells

Article by Teresa / Filed Under: Natural Health, Natural Living 4 Comments

About Teresa

It was after overcoming personal health challenges resulting from toxins, stress and an unhealthy diet that my career changed from positions in corporate America to that of a fierce advocate for health-and-wellness and living naturally. I am currently the owner of Living Natural Today and a previous radio show host on VoiceAmerica's Health & Wellness Channel. I share resources about creating a healthier, more natural home and lifestyle. Click here to download my free healthy home guide.

Comments

  1. mary says

    May 16, 2014 at 9:27 pm

    I was a people greeter at walmart.I was sick daily. After a few injuries I was sent to garden door, amazing difference in fresher air. The cashier thought it was cool that I could tell her what a person was buying before they got to to her without looking. Some products made for instant headaches. If I smell it the damage is done

    Reply
    • Teresa says

      May 22, 2014 at 1:44 pm

      I definitely feel for you. It’s good they were able to move you to an outside door, eventhough the lawn chemicals are toxic too! At least you have fresh air you can step into. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  2. MCS Gal says

    May 8, 2014 at 12:52 pm

    You are telling my story. Those are the types of things those of us with sensitivities have learned to avoid. I’m surprised you could tolerate the “air freshened” house at all. I have got to the point that I have to tell people I can’t go in.

    Reply
    • Teresa says

      May 8, 2014 at 3:01 pm

      I hate that you, me and others are dealing with this horrible disease. There was definitely a time when I couldn’t even enter an “air freshened” house. Now I can “tolerate” it (I use that term loosely) for about an hour. Once I leave the environment, I start feeling sick then I regret having stayed in that environment for too long. Once I get home, wash my hair and change my clothes, I typically start feeling better. Fortunately, as I continue to get better, I recover quicker than I used to. Being exposed to certain chemicals used to set me back for a couple of days – washing my hair and changing my clothes wouldn’t help.
      Thanks for stopping by! It’s always nice to meet others who understand what we’re going through.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Organic healthy sleep for the whole family

Recent Posts

  • How Community Gardens Are Feeding More Than Just Bodies
  • The Chilling Truth About Nutritional Yeast
  • 7 Reasons To Invest In A Wearable Health Device
  • 7 Benefits of Bamboo Mattresses and Toppers
ECOS Paints - Paint you can feel good about

Visit Our Other Site

  • Real Healthy Home

Join the Community!

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on YouTube

Search

  • Natural Beauty
  • Natural Home
  • Natural Living
  • Natural Wellness
  • Recipes
  • Shop

Return to top of page

Living Natural Today participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Site Map · View Cart · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT