Connie Mullens was an attractive woman in her early thirties. She appeared to have many of the things which would help to make a person happy: a loving spouse, a beautiful home, a good educational background, and a rewarding job. Yet before she came to the Ecology Unit, she was contemplating suicide. Mrs. Mullens had many illnesses and problems practically all her life, but was completely unhelped by conventional treatment. In fact, her health was endangered by being prescribed amphetamines. Clinical ecology helped her, in part by breaking her dependence on these drugs.
During her childhood, she had had many illnesses, some of them bizarre. She had had asthma so badly that her parents doubted at times that she would live. This problem went away after the family moved to a new house. In high school, she had frequent stomach problems, diagnosed as the result of a “virus.” One such “virus” lasted for over a year.
In college, she demonstrated superior academic ability, got straight A’s most of the time, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Nevertheless, during this same period a curious sort of malaise started to creep over her, imperceptibly at first.
At times, especially in chemistry lab, she would feel a kind of euphoria. She was known as the chemistry class prankster and would devise complicated practical jokes to play on her instructors. Of course, this sort of behavior among college students is “normal” when looked at in isolation. It is only when seen in the context of her overall development, and the onset of her more serious symptoms, that it begins to take on medical significance. In retrospect, some of this behavior may have been a lesser stimulatory reaction (plus-one) to the presence of chemicals and natural gas (in the bunsen burners) in the classroom.
At the same time, Mrs. Mullens had an increasing number of bad days. On these occasions, she had headaches of ever-increasing frequency and intensity. On some days, she could not get out of bed, could not concentrate, and could barely stay awake. To combat these doldrums, she relied on junk food. She would drink cola beverages or eat chocolate and candy whenever she had to “cram” for a test. Every day she would go down to the drugstore and have a chocolate malt and a piece of pie, which seemed to temporarily relieve her tiredness and headaches.
Because she was, not surprisingly, overweight, she consulted an internist, who prescribed diet pills which contained amphetamines. “With these,” she later recalled, “I could leap tall buildings at a single bound.” She stopped taking them when she realized that she was becoming addicted.
Connie was married in college, but the marriage did not work out, This was mainly because of her irritability, she says. She would throw temper tantrums in the house, fling shoes at her husband, or force him to watch his favorite television shows with the sound off (she was very sensitive to noise). She kept on eating, too; her husband called her the “cookie monster” because of her insatiable sweet tooth.
By the time she reached graduate school, her problems were worse. She now had headaches once or twice a week, but each lasted a couple of days. She began to consult doctors, and each had a different diagnosis and solution. One internist, she says, prescribed twenty different pills, mostly amphetamines. She was instructed to try each of them in turn and keep a record of their effects. None of them did anything for her head pain.
She also saw an endocrinologist (hormone specialist), an otolaryngologist (ear-nose-and-throat specialist), and, of course, a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist analyzed her psyche in depth and at length. He came to the conclusion that, as an only child, she had had too much pressure put on her to achieve. In fact, except for her illnesses, she had had a particularly happy childhood. Her parents were both successful and well-educated and probably expected their daughter to be the same, but did not force her to emulate them in this regard.
Connie could not drive an automobile. If she attempted to she became confused and could not interpret traffic signs or even make sense out of a simple stop light. Rather than look for something in the environment (for example, automobile fumes) that might cause such a condition, the psychiatrist interpreted this problem as a psychological need for perfection. He recommended that she relax more.
After finishing graduate school, Mrs. Mullens undertook a job which brought her into contact with industrial chemicals. All of her symptoms worsened. She got married again and gave up the full-time job.
As bad as all these symptoms were, her condition took a sharp turn for the worse (from minus-two or -three to minus-four) when her new home was sprayed with powerful pesticides, inside and out. Winter came, and the gas-fired heater was turned on. Soon afterward she started to feel so weak that she could not get out of bed. She was depressed to the point of dwelling on suicide. Her new husband would come home each day and find her crying uncontrollably.
Her psychiatrist prescribed amphetamines again, this time for ten days, to bring her out of what he called a “short-term depression.” At the end of this period, she was worse and had developed a numbness in her fingers and a tingling in her limbs. To all of her other problems, she now added a fear of multiple sclerosis—an unfounded fear, it now appears.
When she was admitted to the Ecology Unit, her symptoms were particularly bad. The water fast accentuated her symptoms; she developed a terrible headache and cried almost continually at first. After a few days on the fast, however, she underwent a remarkable recovery. “I got completely better,” she recalls. “I became absolutely convinced that my problem was related to the environment.”
Mrs. Mullens reacted to most of the foods she was given. Some brought on arthritislike aches in her fingers and other joints. The worst food for her was beef. After eating a portion of beef, she told the nurse on duty that she wanted to kill herself. She wandered the halls, crying aimlessly. The next day she said that she felt as if she “had been run over by a bulldozer.”
All of her many symptoms were reproduced in several weeks of food testing. What is more, tests with chemicals in various forms showed that this patient had the problem of chemical susceptibility. Mrs. Mullens has made excellent progress in controlling her food and chemical difficulties. “In the real world we face serious problems,” she has said. For example, it is difficult for her to avoid all exposure to natural gas. The gas heater and range have been removed from her house, but she still runs into them in other peoples’ homes, as well as in stores. In certain shops, she becomes so irritable that she feels like strangling those who get in her way. It is only in gas-heated stores that she has this problem. Despite periodic setbacks, her mental state recently has been cheerful.
An understanding of the food and chemical problem has brought with it many rewards. But it also has added responsibilities. Once, when she was in a hospital for some physiological testing, a conventional doctor “caught” her making lists of her reactions to artificially colored and flavored medicine. He actually took papers which she had discarded out of the wastebasket, read them, and remarked, “I see that you are involved with your symptoms. You apparently want to be sick!” When she tried to reason with the man, who was a gastroenterologist, he said brusquely, “I have forty other cases in the hospital. I don’t need you.” To his amazement, she promptly checked herself out of the hospital.
Mrs. Mullens’ case thus represents both the triumph and the tragedy of treatment by the methods of clinical ecology. On the one hand, like many other patients, she was brought back from the brink of suicide by coming to understand the multiple environmental factors responsible for her reactions. She credits it with saving her life. Yet, on the other hand, the world itself sometimes seems hostile to this new approach. Much yet needs to be done to make the environment completely livable for the Connie Mullenses of this world.
In summary, it may be said that the concepts and techniques of ecologic mental illness are opening up new horizons for patients with the symptoms of depression and related psychiatric disturbances. In contrast to the longstanding artificial distinctions between physical and so-called mental illnesses, both physical and cerebral and behavioral manifestations of allergy/ecology represent different levels of reaction. At long last, large sectors of the field of psychiatry are yielding to medical management based on the demonstrability of cause and effect.
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Patients with the autoimmune disease SLE illustrate the sort of symptoms that can be produced when immune complexes are deposited in the blood vessels. Among other things, they suffer from skin rashes, painful joints, and damage to the kidneys and lungs.
All these symptoms are produced by the deposited immune complexes causing inflammation in tiny blood vessels known as capillaries. In the case of the joints, the capillaries supplying blood to the joints become inflamed and this causes pain.
In the kidneys, immune complexes can become deposited around the delicate membranes that do the important job of filtering the blood. Their task is to remove excess salts and certain toxic compounds from the blood so that they can be flushed out of the body in the urine. Proteins in the blood are not normally allowed to escape into the urine, but when there is damage to die structure of the kidney, then this can occur. Because the body’s much-needed proteins are being lost in the urine the general state of health will eventually deteriorate, especially in children, who need protein for growth. The failure of the kidneys also means that excess water is retained, so there is puffiness in various parts of the body (oedema).
*85\180\8*
Bronchodilators are used in the control of asthma by making the bronchial muscles relax. There are two types of drugs used as bronchodilators – beta-adrenoceptor agonists, and xanthine drugs.
Beta-adrenoceptor agonists can be given in aerosol, powder or tablets. They relax the muscles around the lung airways and are primarily used to relieve, not prevent, bronchospasm; they are sometimes taken before steroid inhalers to free the airways so that the steroids penetrate throughout the lungs. The effectiveness of an inhaled dose lasts for up to six hours. Slow-release tablets or syrup can be useful overnight. They may cause side effects, but usually only briefly if used in excessive doses; these include tremors, palpitations, and headaches. The beneficial effects of the drugs cease once use is stopped.
At present, it appears wiser to prevent asthma using avoidance, desensitisation and, if necessary, inhaled steroids so that relief medication of this kind is not required too frequently, as there is some evidence that prolonged regular use may increase the twitchiness of the airways. Some doctors prefer prevention of asthma to prescribing these drugs indefinitely.
The most commonly used types are as follows:
• Salbutamol: Ventolin, Ventodisks, Volmax, Cobutolin, Salbulin,
Salbuvent, Asmaven, Aerolin-Auto
• Terbutaline: Bricanyl, Monovent
• Fenoterol: Berotec
• Pirbuterol: Exirel
• Reproterol: Bronchodil
• Rimiterol:- Pulmadil
For people sensitive to excipients – other ingredients used in preparing the drug – the powder form of an inhaler is usually well tolerated.
One of the most important elements in the effectiveness of these drugs lies in operating the inhaler properly so that the right amount of drug reaches the affected parts. Many inhalers now have metered doses – in forms of turbohaler, diskhaler, or rotohaler.
It is particularly important for children to learn to operate an inhaler properly on their own. Many GPs now run asthma clinics and can advise. The National Asthma Campaign (address in CHARITIES) also offers advice and local support groups.
If a child has problems using an inhaler, bronchodilator drugs can be given as slow-release tablets or in syrups. If the child is highly sensitive to many things, however, a powder inhaler is probably the best alternative.
*415\117\8*
There is a bewildering array of competing systems for water treatment, purification and filtration on the market. They vary greatly in price, running costs, performance and capability. It is very difficult to compare like with like. The main things you need to consider are:
• Purity
How pure do you need the resulting water to be?
• Initial Cost
How much do you want to pay to instal the system?
• Running Costs
How much will it cost to run it over its life?
• Coverage
What parts of your water system do you want to treat?
Do you need just drinking water and cooking water, or do you want
more coverage?
• Convenience
Do you want a plumbed-in system?
Do you want a system that requires frequent cartridge or membrane replacement?
Do you object to a low flow-rate of water?
• Taste
Do you mind a de-mineralised taste to your water? The main types of purification and filtration methods are:
• Reverse Osmosis
• Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF)
• Activated Carbon
• Distillation
• Softening
The way that these work and their principal benefits and drawbacks are explained below. The three methods which are useful for most chemically sensitive people’s needs are reverse osmosis, KDF and activated carbon. All of these provide cheaper water than using bottled water.
Systems can be plumbed in variously, either undersink to supply one tap, or end of tap or showerhead to supply that outlet. Free-standing, or jug versions are available for some methods. Some methods are only suitable in certain variants – if you want a whole system version, or nitrate-reducing method, you only have limited choices.
*400\117\8*
If you are sensitive to vehicle exhaust fumes, you can adapt the way you drive in order to help yourself. Keep windows closed as much as you can. Unless you have a car with a re-circulating air system, do not use heating and fan unless you have to, and keep vents closed unless you really need ventilation. A sun-roof can be useful for ventilation – it draws air in and out of the car, directly away from your face.
If the car gets too cold, or too hot, or condensation develops, use the ventilation and heating system in short intense bursts, then close it down again. Shut off if you have to wait in heavy traffic.
Hang back from the vehicle ahead – especially in busy or stationary traffic – do not stop close to someone else’s exhaust, allowing fumes to be drawn directly into your car. Leave as much space as you can. Select a route, or a time, to drive that avoids traffic queues, or sitting stationary at junctions.
When filling your vehicle with fuel, keep windows and vents closed so that fumes from the pumps do not get into the vehicle. If you can find one, go to a service station where someone will serve you, rather than to a self-service garage.
Avoid car journeys in very hot weather if you are very sensitive to vehicle exhausts, or chemical vapours from materials. Materials in cars heat up and give off more vapour in hot weather. It is also impossible to keep windows closed. Only do essential journeys when it is extremely hot, and travel at a cooler time of day if you can. Go earlier to or later from work if possible.
If you are extremely sensitive, try wearing a face mask or use a car filter. If you cannot afford a filter, hanging damp cloths over air vents will reduce the amount of residual vapours which pass through.
*385\117\8*
Depilatories
Shave with an electric razor without soap if possible, rather than use a depilatory or wax agent.
Hand Cleansers
Some sensitive people find that they can use a cooking oil (one which they tolerate or to which they are not allergic) to clean off substances like paint, thick grease, oil and stubborn dirt. Massage the oil into the hands until the substance dissolves, then rinse the oil away.
Shaving
For shaving, use an electric razor which will not require soap or lather. For a wet shave, Simple, Gillette and Wilkinson make shaving foams or gels for sensitive skins. If you want to use soap, choose one of the soaps given below. For aftershave, use Witch Hazel, available from pharmacies, which is an astringent.
Soaps
Use soap sparingly. You only really need it to remove grease or severe dirt.
Two soaps that are tolerated well by people with sensitive skins and other allergies are Kays’ Vegetable Oil Soap (available in Superdrug and most supermarkets), and Simple Soap by Simple (available in most chemists). Most supermarkets also sell their own brand of ‘pure’ soap or ’simple’ soap. These are worth trying. Beware of fragrance-free soaps and look for unperfumed. Health food stores sell pure olive oil soap. Wash E45 is tolerated well by some sensitive people; ask your pharmacist.
Tissues
To avoid formaldehyde and bleaches, use handkerchieves rather than tissues.
Toilet Paper
Toilet paper will contain formaldehyde for wet strength. Some brands will be chlorine-bleached. Some toilet papers are perfumed; avoid these.
Try different brands to see if one suits you better than others. Sniff before buying. If the smell is unpleasant or you get symptoms, try another. Air the rolls before using if you can. Keep supplies out of the toilet, in a cupboard or outhouse, until you need them, to keep down the fumes.
Try using non-chlorine-bleached or unbleached toilet paper. Some people tolerate these better; others find they make little difference. If you find you cannot use toilet paper, use pure cotton handkerchieves instead. To disinfect and kill smells.
*369\117\8*
Burns and Scalds
Cool the area of the burn or scald to relieve pain. Keep the burned area in cold water or hold it under a cold running tap until the pain stops, or for at least 10 minutes. Do not prick or burst any blisters, or apply any ointment or lotion.
If the burn or scald is serious, seek emergency medical help. If the bum or scald is superficial, but rubs against clothing, cover it with a dressing of pure cotton lint and secure it with a cotton bandage. Do not use fluffy cotton wool.
Cystitis
Drinking alkali salts can ease the symptoms of cystitis. Dissolve a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of water and drink it. Consult your doctor if you are on a low-salt diet.
Diarrhoea
Taking arrowroot will stop diarrhoea very effectively. You can buy this as a powder at a pharmacy and make a paste by adding water. Consult your pharmacist to get the right dosage.
If you need rehydration salts after severe diarrhoea, do not take any of the proprietary ready-mixed products which can cause reactions. Rehydration salts are a mixture of sodium and potassium salts, and glucose in the right ratio; ask a pharmacist to mix these for you.
Earache
If you tolerate olive oil, warm a teaspoonful of it. Drop it into the ear, then close the earhole with pure cotton wool.
An alternative to this is sodium bicarbonate BPC, which is available in an eardrop solution.
Eyewash
For sore and itchy eyes, use a sterile saline solution to ease the itchiness. Either make a solution yourself, buy Normasol or Steripod in sachets from a pharmacist. Bathe the eyes with the solution in an eyebath, or put a few drops into the eye with a dropper.
*353\117\8*
To avoid wheat, you have to stop eating foods made entirely or mainly from it:
Breakfast wheat cereals Wheat bran Bread Wheat germ
Pasta Cracked wheat (bulgur)
Most of the following foods are commonly made with wheat;
unless you know for sure they are made totally without wheat, you must avoid them:
Biscuits Breadcrumb stuffing
Crackers Batter
Pastry Battered foods (e.g. fish)
Pies Pancakes
Sausage rolls Waffles
Cakes and bakery Yorkshire pudding
Puddings Dumplings
Breaded food (e.g. fish, chicken legs) Suet puddings
Gravies and mixes Pretzels
Sauces and mixes Snack foods
Stock cubes Croutons
Casserole sauces Melba toast
Soups Baking powder
Wheat is commonly used as a cereal filler and thickener in processed foods. Read labels and avoid foods containing the following which are usually wheat:
Cereal binder Cereal protein
Cereal filler Flour
Avoid the following ingredients which are derived either from wheat or corn:
Cereal starch Modified starch
Edible starch Starch
To avoid wheat as an ingredient in processed foods, you may have to avoid the following which often contain it. If not absolutely sure, avoid the food.
Sausages Pastes
Frankfurters Spreads
Luncheon meats Powdered beverages Pates
Wheat is often, with other cereals, a base material for beers, lagers and spirits. Avoid these while excluding wheat.
Wheat is used in tabletting some drugs and home medicines. Take advice from your doctor about avoiding prescribed medicines. Stop taking any home medicines.
Wheat is sometimes used as a glue on envelopes and similar uses. Avoid licking envelopes and stamps.
Communion wafers are made of wheat. It is best to avoid swallowing or licking these if you can. Your minister or priest will be able to advise you on what to do. Holding the wafer in your mouth without touching it, or touching it without licking it, is often a satisfactory solution.
*117\117\8*
Laboratory tests for allergy include the eosinophil test. Eosinophils are white blood cells always present at the place where an allergic reaction takes place. Samples of blood, or of sputum, or of secretions from nose or eye, are taken. The cells are stained with a red dye, eosin, and are counted under a microscope. A high count indicates an allergic reaction is taking place, but it can be an indication of other diseases as well, and it can also be found in symptom-free individuals. Steroid tablets suppress the level of eosinophils and can cause misleading results. The eosinophil test cannot identify allergy to specific sub-stances.
A useful but expensive laboratory test for allergy is the radio-aller-gosorbent test, or RAST test. It can measure the levels of IgE antibodies in the blood specific to a particular allergen, such as pollens, house dust mites or food proteins. The blood sample is passed over an extract of the allergen attached to an inert substance. The IgE antibodies will bind to the allergen if they are present in the blood, as during an allergic reaction. Then another liquid, containing anti-IgE antibodies marked with radioactivity or colour, is passed over the sample. These will adhere to any IgE bound to the allergen, or will simply wash away if none is there. The level of IgE in the sample can then be taken by measuring the level of the marked anti-IgE that does not adhere.
The RAST test is more helpful than skin tests in cases of food allergy, and its results are not influenced by medication. However, results can vary – some people allergic to seasonal allergens, such as moulds or pollens, will have negative results outside the season, but positive results when exposed to their allergen. Similarly, if you have not eaten a problem food for some time, you may get a negative result, whereas you could get a positive result if you eat it regularly.
A modified version of the RAST test can identify false food allergy, as well as true allergy.
*48\117\8*
What Are Resins?
A significant proportion of allergic reactions and sensitivity to clothing are caused by resins, applied to give easy-care properties. The resins used are mostly formaldehyde polymers. They make fabrics more resistant to shrinking, creasing, and going out of shape. They improve dye absorption and restrict fading. The feel of clothes, and the way they hang, can also be improved. Formaldehyde resins are used for stain and grease resistance, waterproofing, and permanent pleating and pressing.
Resins and additives other than formaldehyde resins can also be applied (such as acrylates to reduce creasing and silicates to improve the feel of fabric). Catalysts can also remain in the fabric but are removed when the garment is first washed. These are not generally known as major causes of reactions.
Which Clothes Are Treated?
Fabric resins are not applied to silk, nor to pure synthetics. They are rarely applied to wool or to linen. Virtually all cotton, viscose and polycotton fabrics are treated with formaldehyde resins.
Some sensitive people learn to develop the ability to judge whether a fabric is highly treated or not. There is often a distinctive, sweet, aromatic smell to the fabric which a sniff (gentle, just in case!) can detect. Some people can tell by the feel of the fabric; some say that their skin prickles when they hold it. Another test is to place one drop of water with an eye-dropper on the fabric. If it holds in place without being absorbed, then there is a finish to the fabric.
Generally speaking, the more glazed, stiff and shiny the fabric, the more likely it is to have high levels of resins. If clothes are labelled, ‘Easy Care’, ‘Permanent Press’, ‘Sanforised’ or any variant of these, then they will be treated heavily. Cotton poplin, stiff cotton drill and denim are often treated and may be best avoided.
Conversely, cotton jersey (including cotton loopback), cotton fleece, towelling, knitted cotton sweaters and cotton corduroy are much less treated and are often no problem once washed. Brushed cotton is also sometimes untreated. Some cotton lawns and voiles are treated; others are not. Indian and Third World cotton fabrics are less likely to be treated heavily, and thus are often acceptable to people who are sensitive to most other fabrics.
Watch out for shirt collars on men’s cotton shirts. These are sometimes much more highly treated than the shirt itself. Look for shirts with softer collars.
*322\117\8*
