MCS - Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
This is a Reprint From The
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES (NIEHS)
800-643-4794
AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE REGISTRY (ATSDR) 301-496-4000
MAY 1996
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
MCS is an acquired chronic syndrome described as a severe toxic
allergic-like reaction to extremely low levels of chemicals in our
environment.
MCS has developed over the past four decades and is caused by
overexposure to some 100,000 new, more toxic synthetic chemicals.
Research contends that a victim’s body becomes unable to cleanse
its tissues of chemicals to which it is exposed, either in small doses
over time or from a single tremendous dose. Exposure can come
from the air, food, water or skin contact. These chemical
irritants come from a great variety of sources. These include,
but are not limited to plastics, household cleaning products,
pesticide, solvents, smoke, kinks, fuels, natural gas, auto exhaust,
scented products, synthetic fabrics, leather, glues, building
materials, carpeting, etc. As the body breaks down, an ever
increasing number of chemicals including some unrelated to the initial
exposure are found to trigger a reaction. Hence the name Multiple
Chemical Sensitivity. MCS affects multiple organ systems,
especially the central nervous, immune, respiratory, musculoskeletal,
endocrine, and digestive systems. Symptoms vary in severity and
duration, and may include headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue,
exhaustion, respiratory problems, aching joints and muscles, memory and
concentration problems, irritated eyes, nose, ears, throat, skin, odor
intolerance and sensitivity to bright light, sound and temperature
extremes.
MCS is a permanent condition. Severely affected people have
lost their jobs, and had their lives disrupted. Their symptoms
have left them incapacitated and essentially home bound.
Dr. Iris Bell, a leading MCS researcher and chief of geriatric
psychiatry at Tucson Veterans Affairs Hospital in Arizona, estimates
that as many as 16 million people in the U.S. now have hypersensitive
reactions to chemicals.
THE MCS CONTROVERSY IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY
Many traditional allergists and other physicians discount the existence
of and MCS diagnosis. They claim that there is not yet sufficient
evidence that MCS exists. Research efforts regarding the
mechanisms that cause MCS have been inadequate and unfortunately are
often financed and supported by the industries, which benefit from
chemical proliferation. Generally medical doctors have not been
trained to understand or seriously investigate conditions such as
MCS. In fact, the vast majority of physicians receive very little
training (four hours or less) in occupational and environmental
medicine or in toxicology and nutrition.
Therefore, it s is not surprising that many affected individuals
consult with a large number of specialists. People with MCS are
often even diagnosed with serious degenerative diseases. Often
baffled doctors tell their patients with MCS that their illness is
entirely psychosomatic-in their head. And many whose health is
impaired by MCS have never heard of the condition. The lack of
support and understanding from physicians and the stress created by
having no explanation for symptoms tends to produce a high level of
anxiety and distress in people with MCS.
At this time, conventional medicine offers very few medical treatments
for MCS besides avoiding offending products. Unfortunately,
medications and other conventional medical treatments offer little or
no relief and may even prompt new sets of symptoms. Treatment
with anti-depressants masks the underlying condition and can also cause
other serious problems.
Physicians who clearly recognize the MCS phenomenon include some
occupational and environmental health specialists and those MD’s who
specialize in the new field of clinical ecology. A wide range of
new or alternative treatments have been utilized by MCS sufferers with
varying success. Though some of the treatments are still
experimental in nature, they seem to help some individuals with
MCS. These treatments may include a combination of the following:
nutritional programs, intravenous vitamin therapy,
provocation/neutralization therapy, immunotherapy vaccines, enzyme
potentiated desensitization, (EPD), food inhalant-allergy testing,
detoxification regimens, detoxification through exercise and sweating,
rotational diet, chelation for heavy metals, as well as any number of
non-Western healing methods. Diagnosis may involve unconventional
laboratory tests not customary in conventional medicine, including
tests for the presence of chemical contaminants, such as total body
burden of accumulated pesticides.
Eventually MCS sufferers become allergic to food, artificial
flavors, colors, fillers, preservatives, and need to be on a rotation
die, eating organic food whenever possible. MCS sufferers also
become allergic to common inhalant allergens, such as pollens, mold
spores, dust, and dust mites.
Many people have shown improvement with these treatments, though
others have not. Unfortunately, these treatments are not usually
reimbursed by insurance plans, since few participating practitioners
support alternative approaches.
Individuals affected by MCS often create a “sanctuary” relatively free
from chemical emissions in their home, where they spend as much time as
possible. Because of the serious impact of even an accidental
unavoidable exposure. MCS sufferers often spend as much time at
home as possible and often must choose not to participate in
society. As a result, they may experience intense isolation, and
loss of self-esteem and depression from not being able to have an
active work or social life. Therefore, supportive counseling is
often a very useful form of treatment.
Many different terms have been used in professional and lay
literature over the past decade to describe all or part of what often
is more accurately called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Those
marked below by a diamond are also distinctly recognized medical
conditions and listed as such in the International Classification of
Diseases.
*20th Century Disease *Environmental Hypersensitivity
Disorder
*Allergic Toxemia *Gulf War (or Persian Gulf Syndrome
*Cacosmia *Immune System Dysregulation
*Cerebral Allergy + Intrinsic Asthma
*Chemical Hypersensitivity Syndrome *Multiple Chemical Hypersensitivity
Syndrome
*Chemical Induced Immune Dysfunction *Multiple Chemical Reactivity
+Chronic Fatigue Syndrome *Sick Building Syndrome
*Ecological Illness *Total Allergy Syndrome
*Environmental Illness (EI) *Toxic Carpet Syndrome
*Environmental Irritant Syndrome +Toxic Encephalopathy
*Environmentally Induced Illness *Toxic Response Syndrome
RECOGNITION OF MCS AS A DISABILITY
Federal Authorities
*U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, Board of
Scientific Counselors ATSDR
*Americans with Disabilities Act ADA
*U.S. Army Medical Evaluation Board
*U.S. Congress
*U.S. Department of Education
*U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
*U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Library of
Medicine MESH
*U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
*U. S. Department of Justice
*U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs
*U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and
Development (EPA)
*U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
*Social Security Administration (SSA)
*Federal Courts
State and Local Authorities
*State Courts
*Attorney General of 27 States (AL, AZ,CA,CT,FL,IA, KS, MA, MN,
NO,ND,NJ,NM, NV,NY,OH,OK,OR,PA,SD,TN,TX,UT,VT,WA,WI,WV)
*Arizona Department of Economic Security, Rehabilitation Services
Administration and Statewide Independent Living Council
*NYS Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
*NY Cite Department of Health
NYS Division of Human Rights
*PA Human Rights Commission
*FL Legislature
*Minneapolis Advisory Committee of People with Disabilities
*Minneapolis Public Housing Authority
*NJ Department of Health
Some information on this web site has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information on this web site or in emails is designed for educational purposes only and should not
be taken as professional medical advice. I am not a medical doctor and this information is not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. With all medical conditions consult a qualified medical professional.
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