For those who smelling someone else’s perfume a mile away can feel intolerable, or can’t last two minutes in a freshly painted room, chances are they are dealing with chemical sensitivities. Sometimes the term “chemical sensitivity” is also called “multiple chemical sensitivity.” Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a medical syndrome or condition, while chemical sensitivities are the symptoms, ranging from mild to severe, that people with a heightened sensitivity to chemicals experience. For those with MCS, it can go beyond just perfumes and paints: some people are even sensitive to electromagnetic fields! Whether someone has an official MCS diagnosis or is dealing with chemical sensitivities symptoms, exposure to environmental chemicals can lead to a huge range of health problems, from headaches, itching, and nausea to fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and more. It can also contribute to more serious conditions, like inflammation, autoimmune disease, and even cancer.
While many chemicals are made from harmful and toxic substances, it is unclear why some people are sensitive and others aren’t. Some people think it involves limbic system dysfunction, which means the body is overreacting to small amounts of these stimuli. This is definitely a challenging condition to have, but skilled healthcare providers can help figure out what's going on. For some people, relief can come from avoiding chemical exposure which can include low-level exposure to pesticides, cigarette smoke, fragrances, cleaning products, detergents, some plastics, and solvents. For others, working on systemic imbalances, healing intestinal permeability and lowering toxic load, and treating underlying triggers such as mold exposure or chronic infections can be helpful. Some people have also found that neural retraining programs (such as DNRS or the Gupta Method) can also help.