For those of us that have or have had multiple chemical sensitivities finding a safe place to live can be quite the journey to say the least.  Being in towns or cities can be very hard when you are really sick.  There are just so many chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis that it can be hard to recover in typical daily life. Many have redone airstream trailers and have found a nice piece of land to escape to for awhile.  Another option that some have done is building your own trailer or small studio…

A fellow MCS blog, Vardo for Two, has just expanded to share their knowledge with you about how they created a safe haven.  Mokihana and Pete are available to consult you on how to create a safe haven for yourself or they can build one for you as well.  If you have MCS, you will love the site and resonate with so many of the comments. Check out their new blog at The Mobile Birdcage.

My thoughts…

Wearing a bra not only restricts your lymph drainage – especially if your bra is too tight or does not fit properly, but it also can cause problems with stimulation of acupuncture points if you wear an underwire bra.  When I came down with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity I noticed a huge difference in the way I felt when I was wearing one of my underwire bras vs. wearing one without underwire.  It is hard to pinpoint your sources of ill health because there are so many actions that we take and so many toxins that we are exposed to that can attribute to decreased feelings of health.  Yet, I have found that taking these first steps to remove what may seem like insignificant toxins and stresses on our bodies can lead to significant improvements in your health and well-being.  I highly suggest that you read this article from Dr. Mercola…

Can Wearing Your Bra Cause Cancer?  

A short excerpt…

Medical anthropologists Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer – authors of Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras – conducted a study of over 4,000 women, and found that women who do not wear bras have a much lower risk of breast cancer.

Their findings included:

• Women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer
• Women who wore bras more than 12 hour per day, but not to bed, had a 1 out of 7 risk
• Women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day had a 1 out of 52 risk
• Women who wore bras rarely or never had a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer

So why is this?  Check out the article to hear Dr. Mercola’s thoughts.

An article on WebMD reports that scientists have created a new paint that is strong enough to kill superbugs.  Superbugs infect many hospital patients and kill thousands annually.  My first thought is that are there not other ways to take care of this problem such as increased air ventilation? Or how about better use of material? And isn’t one of the reasons that we are having such a problem with superbugs in the first place because we are using too many drugs to combat them?  

The new paint will include antimicrobial and antibiotic properties to help protect against dangerous bugs as well as mold growth.  This is a very top down approach to solving the problem of mold.  We should design our buildings intelligently, which is what Building Biology is all about.  

Essentially, now we are talking about not only filling our bodies with drugs instead of changing our habits, but now we are talking about drugging our homes as well.  We have gotten so use to living in ‘sick buildings’ that I think too many of us are forgetting what it means to live in a healthy environment.  My hope is that our culture will stop looking for a quick fix for every ailment that presents itself, and realize that changing habits and being more conscious of design in the first place is a lot easier and cheaper in the long run.  

The other interesting thing about this paint is that a simple chlorination process can be used to recharge the paint.  Way to throw another toxic element into the mix.  Chlorine, when it interacts with natural substances, produces trihalomethanes (THMs).  THMs are cancer causing compounds. THMs are also linked to kidney, liver, and nervous system damage as well as birth defects.  I do not think that we need to add this element into a hospital or home environment.  It is just another element that is in the paint along with the antibiotics and antimicrobials that can weaken our immune system and make us more vulnerable to superbugs in the first place.

I have been doing a lot of research this weekend about MCS and catching up on the newest findings.  I came down with MCS 10 years ago, and today I consider myself healed.  Yes, I still avoid all the toxins that I can and can have horrible reactions when I am not careful with my environment. Yet, I feel better now then I ever did.  Even before I got MCS.  

Anyways, I was thinking about how upset I would get when I was ill and everyone was telling me it was in my head.  Even when I was in the hospital.  (Probably the worst place to be!) It seems like the research pieces and opinion pieces that I have come across lately look at MCS as only a psychological condition or only as a physical condition.

I do not believe any disease can only be looked at on a physical level or only on a psychological level.  I think those of us with MCS are actually quiet lucky that there is so much focus on the psychological aspect.( If only it was not attached to us in such a disrespectful manner and always minimizing the reality of the physical manifestations… ) I believe to have true healing you must look at illness on all levels – physical, mental and spiritual.  I think that we all have a great opportunity to heal if we spend the time working on all these levels of healing.  I think we have to be very careful not to get so frustrated by everyone telling us that it is all in our head, that we go the other way and do not take the time to work on the mental level of ourselves.  

My healing I attribute to a lot of physical work – changing my diet, ridding my home of toxins, and exercise.  Yet, I would not have the healing that I have today if I did not work equally as hard on my mental and spiritual health as well.  

So now when someone tells me that it is all in my head, I just smile. While I know that the physical aspect is very real, it no longer bothers me if they do not believe it.  I know my reality and realize you can not make someone see things your way.  It used to take up so much of my energy trying to make people believe me, cause I took it so personally that they thought I was crazy.  I have found it is better to spend that energy on myself and not worry so much about what others think.  (as long as they are not coming into my house wearing perfume!)

I do realize that this is a very serious issue on the physical side and we have to raise our voices on the issue and continue to do research and raise awareness, yet there is no reason to be fighting about it.  I do not like this us vs. them that I see in so much of the writing. Lets spend our energy on creating healthy buildings and healthy lifestyles that people will be so inspired by our energy and our increased sense of well-being that they will be asking us how we do it.  Our lives will then speak for themselves. There will be no need to argue.

Alright, it is video day today! Still jet lagged! This is very well done and a great one to share. Pass this one on. Everyone needs to hear this!