I'm FLYING!!!

 

It's 2024 the year I will move! I can't even express how incredibly frightening this is not knowing where I can go that might be safe, trying to figure out how to research and plan, and then actually attempting to visit the location to make sure it would work.

I threw all caution to the wind (or rather humanity-infested perfumed-soaked airspace) and flew on a plane from Seattle to Tucson, Arizona! I got on a plane! I'm still amazed I survived the experience.

I haven't flown for twenty years since the onset of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. The thought of being packed into a small space like a sardine shoulder to shoulder with other sardines has not appealed to me, but how do I research a location and assess safety without visiting? I did consider driving, but the length of time it would take compared to a three hour flight wasn't cost affective. Losing time from work is very costly. So I got brave and donned my wings!

Thankfully, the pandemic made wearing a mask normal. I brought two just in case one wasn't good enough. I use the 3M 8577 P95 which is for odors as well as dust-like molecules. I wear them for any toxic construction or painting projects I might do. Not only do they work great, but they don't offgas any chemicals nor are they soaked with anything like formadehyde. I do well with them. 

Security was a new requirement, one I had never experienced. I'm sure those who travel often take all the changes for granted, but it was a new world for me. Some airports, like Seattle, are incredibly busy with long lines through security; other airports, like Tucson, are empty with no lines and no waiting. I kept my mask on until the security personnel asked to see my face.

The airline reservation was all online, another new experience. The cheap seats don't allow one to choose a seat as that would be an added cost. I was flabbergasted on the flight from Seattle to Tucson I had a whole row to myself! On the way back I was in an emergency seat with no one around me! How does that happen with full flights?

I love airports! The ventilation is top of the line. The ceilings are high. There is plenty of space to stay away from others. I have always found the air in airports to be incredibly clean even with jet fuel exhaust polluting the outside.

On the outgoing flight three women sat in front of me. Someone stunk to high heaven. If I turned my head just right I could smell the perfume. I stopped turning my head and had no problem. (Love this P96 mask!)

The whole time I kept getting really excited! Can I really travel! I can go to Hawaii! Mexico! Europe, even! Wow. Who would have thought! Of course, then there is the risk of a rental car, the risk of accommodation, the risk of airport buses...lots of risk. But I survived!

Stink!

I just discovered, Stink!, a 2015 film on the toxic chemicals in our every day products. The preview is outstanding. The film is produced by Netflix. This interview with the director is very informative:

OH MY GOD, that movie was frightening! The methods in which the chemical companies and their lobbyists double-talk around regulation is absolutely shocking. The fact that Europe and China have better regulations than the United States is disgusting. The movie makes a point that the USA is now a chemical dumping ground for manufacturers because of our lack of oversight so companies create cheaper products with more toxic chemicals because they can. We are their market. Asthma, autism, cancer, diabetes, obesity, reproductive issues, and cardiovascular disease are all linked to toxic chemicals.

BUYER BEWARE! No US agency or official is looking out for consumers. The manufacturers, retail outlets, or trade agencies are just out to make profits and don't give a rip about the health issues caused by toxic chemicals. We are on our own. If it's on the shelve, there is every guarantee the ingredients are not regulated, controlled or even researched for safety and the labels are not to be believed. I already knew this, but it was still frightening and depressing.

There was a woman featured who is a "Green Living Expert." She goes into people's houses and identifies the toxic products they are using. Heck, I could do that! I'd be good at it!

Scary movie. Everyone needs to see it. If they did and stopped buying these toxic products, we'd start to see real change.

The Counterprotester

On April 22nd, in honor of Earth Day, marches supporting science were happening all around the United States. We have an incompetent president who thinks climate change is fake. Well, he believes anything he doesn't like is fake and then lies about everything else. What a ridiculous man! So anyone who opposes this stupidity (or 60% of the country) are called to protest and support the value of science in whatever way they choose to express themselves.

My friend and I have committed to march and rally in every protest for the next four years or until the Liar-in-Thief is impeached, whichever comes first. I am in charge of signs. She is in charge of dates. Although I appreciate her constant enthusiasm and motivation, she never gets the dates right. LOL! She always thinks there is a march when there isn't and when there is a march, she doesn't think there is. It's been a challenge. She gave me two days to get signs ready for the Science March. I had about a day to ponder and research for design ideas before I had to get busy.

Painting with acrylic paint is toxic, but this paint is durable, and most importantly, waterproof once it dries. The rain here is relentless so there is always a 99% it will rain during any given rally. For health reasons I vowed not to replenish my acrylics so the last of my twenty-year-old supply of acrylics has left me with some ugly colors, colors I never used to use and still would rather not. My early signs with the old paints were ghastly gross. My commitment to protest for the next four years was justification for buying a whole new palette of fresh acrylic paint! So joyous! But toxic nevertheless. These new colors seemed to be less smelly than the old stuff. This could be due to a better more modern formula? Or perhaps because they are newer? Or cheaper with less toxic chemicals? Or just wishful thinking. Good lord, I love to paint! And these bright colors are incredibly inspiring making my signage excessively verbose. I have a lot to say.

So I pondered...how do I feel about science? Science is responsible for inventing art supplies. Hooray for convenience. I love my television, computer, and car. We've made astounding progress in curbing pollution and protecting the environment over the last fifty years. I enjoy water quality except when the chemicals are poisoning me....hmmm.

I pondered through the night...didn't science create chemicals? Perfumes, colognes, pesticides, herbicides, formaldehyde, petrochemicals and car exhaust, water treatments, biological and chemical warfare...just to name a few without listing every chemical on the planet. It's good to have laundry detergent, but didn't science also make it stink?

I felt conflicted. Yeah, science has been good for society in so many ways, but science has also been very irresponsible. If someone gave me the option of giving up my television, car and computer if all perfumes would disappear off the face of the earth, I would make the trade in a heart beat.  I considered not going to the protest. No one wants a negative naysayer marching along side of them. Some of those radicals might beat me up. My friend kept assuring me, "This is really about climate change and the environment. Concentrate on the goodness of science as a fact during a presidency determined to spread alternative facts."

The problem with chemical sensitivity is a majority of the population doesn't have a clue what it means. They don't know their perfumes are poisonous or their laundry detergent might cause asthmatic symptoms in innocent bystanders. Concentrating on the goodness is what everyone does and that only impedes public education. I had something to say. Could I say it without being too negative? Probably not. I tend to be negative as a default.

So. Incredibly. Bright.

Notice the word "HAPPIER". That's my attempt at a positive spin. I am HAPPY, but I could be HAPPIER.

Only one person challenged me. She came up behind, "Excuse me! Excuse me! It's not science's fault, you know."

"Are you thinking chemicals weren't created with science?"

She stuttered, "Well, I don't think the chemical companies are the fault of science." [As if science is a person....]

"Chemical companies use science to create the poisons," I said as I flipped my sign over and pointed to the "Perfume is Poison" sentence. (I have a lot to say so I opt for double-sided signs!)

Flip side. I have the best signs! LOL!

"Well, OK, but it's the greed of chemical companies that are at fault."

I pointed to the "People B4 Profits" sentence on my sign. I love a sign that speaks for itself. I hardly had to say a thing.

"Well, OK...."

We continued discussing perfumes. She said she didn't wear them but she did still buy some scented products.  I nodded while she babbled waiting for a break so I could jump in.

"This is the purpose of my sign. It's not to holler about how horrible science is, but to create conversation. Science isn't perfect. In the wrong hands it has been disastrous. Most chemical companies care only for profits regardless of their products' ramifications on human health or the ecosystem. That's my point. And this is most definitely science, but perhaps not a side of science anyone wants to applaud. I'm glad you voiced your opinion so we could share. If others read my sign and it makes them wonder and think even without speaking their mind, I have succeeded."

We parted at that point. She was my only challenger. It was estimated there were about 5,000 people marching and many were snapping photos of my signs. I'm hoping they would show up on other websites and blogs and spread the word that Chemical Companies are Poisoning Us and Perfume IS Poison. It's all about communication.

As I'm standing at the rally listening to a speaker, someone with perfume got a little too close. Immediately I felt dizzy and nauseated. We moved. This is the risk of group gatherings. I wonder if they even read my sign. Or if they did read it and purposely moved closer? Perfume wearers tend to feel personally assaulted if you tell them they stink. No telling what they might do. That is the risk of disclosure, communication. It's a double-edged sword.

Next week is the Climate Change Protest!

Perfume Linked to Diabetes

I just found this article called  "Could Your Perfume Be Giving You Diabetes?" from Rodale News. It's from a few years ago. It makes me wonder if this information is out there, why does no one seem to care?

 

It's about phalates, a common ingredient in personal care products, and how they are linked to not only diabetes, but autism, weight gain, infertility and some cancers. It also explains phalates are found in foods because these personal care products are often washed down the drain, enter our water systems, and/or the human sewage sludge is used as fertilizer on produce. Is it just me or is that really gross?

The article is from three years ago. The information is out there and still, it all goes ignored....

Consumer Terrorism, or Air Pollution for Purchase

ScentAir is the latest gimmick in consumer marketing. They call themselves smell consultants. Here is one of their marketing slogans:

Add More Excitement to Your Crowd Experience! 

 

It seems it is their mission to poison people with toxic chemicals worldwide and on a grand scale. Currently they are operating in 105 countries with over 40,000 deployments. Deployments? Isn't deployment a word used during wartime to describe military maneuvers? Fitting. It's no longer enough for the corporate machine to legally poison individuals with perfumes and colognes. If a little is good [for profit], then much more is much better [for much more profit]. To hell with health. Very American.

The trend began with perfumed clothing, then expanded to whole retail outlets in hopes of higher profits. The target is now large gatherings of people: arenas, shopping centers, casinos and stadiums. Where ever people congregate in mass numbers. Sound familiar?  Like a terrorist operation? Legalized terrorism. Here are some of ScentAir's deployments, clients, companies and locations and their choice of stink:

Barclays Center in New York smells like their sponsor Calvin Klein. 

The Edward Jones Dome or St. Louis Rams' stadium smells like Cotton Candy.

Bloomingdale's smells like Baby Powder, Lilac and Coconut, except at Christmas when they smell like Sugar Cookie, Chocolate and Evergreen.

Hard Rock Hotel smells like Sugar Cookies, Waffle Cones, and Ocean.

City of Dreams casino in Macau smells like Rainforest.

Coors smells like something called Ice Show, a mix of peppermint and vanilla. (What? They don't want to smell like beer?)

Times Square in the middle of Manhattan in New York smells like chocolate...right outside the Hershey's store. On the street. "It's not really chocolate. It's nose chocolate."

NOSE CHOCOLATE?

REALLY?

Other stinkers include the Westin Hotel and Resorts, Anytime Fitness, Jimmy Choo Shoes, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, and Florida Hospital. Yep, that's not a typo...a scented hospital. No wonder I have no confidence in our medical system.

ScentAir boasts over four billion individual enduring impressions. In addition to impressions, pretty words like scent and fragrance are used in abundance on their website along with relaxation and belonging. The words POISON, POLLUTION, or DEATH are not found anywhere.  No mention of ingredients used to make this purposeful air pollution. No mention of toxic chemicals. No mention of the health effects of these impressions on at least 15% to 33% of the population. No mention of asthma, anaphylactic shock, depression, joint pain, brain fog, migraines, or illness. No warning label. There is one claim of "scent studies" implying serious scientific research although the focus is entertainment rather than meaningful public education. Great advertising if your target is the unquestionably stupid. I wonder when they'll figure out how to puff toxic chemicals through a computer if someone clicks on their website?

 

Why don't company managers and consumers question how chemically-contaminated air might affect their health and the health of everyone around them? Do they care or is ignorance to blame? And what about the innocent bystanders? Are they warned in advance? Do they get a choice whether to breathe clean or polluted air? Is there a disclaimer to read prior to purchasing event tickets, making reservations, or buying memberships? Do they get their tickets, reservations, or memberships refunded if they can't breathe? Are their medical bills paid by the host company if they are rushed to the hospital with asthma attacks or anaphylactic shock?

But there is still hope! People have been complaining about ScentAir, in Las Vegas, anyway:

The use of air fresheners in Las Vegas businesses HVAC, are creating barriers under Title III of the ADA. The businesses refused to address requests for accommodations resulting in the US Department of Justice filings.

Hooray Americans with Disabilities Act! One of the businesses was Abercrombie & Fitch, a retail business known for offending many. Not only are they perfumed, but they have in the past marketed Nazi clothing and have stated they cater only to "popular" and "beautiful" people so if you are overweight, uncool or just plain ugly, don't bother. They claimed no wrong doing, of course. Several other businesses, mostly casinos, claimed it wasn't their fault and the customer should contact the distributor, ScentAir, directly. Wow. Talk about lack of responsibility. Passing the buck. They don't think they are responsible for hiring a company to create the problem? It amazes me if up to 33 % of the population is negatively affected by chemically-based scents and if these businesses are dependent on having and keeping customers, why wouldn't they figure out toxic impressions aren't good for business? Logic 101. Is the ambiance worth it?


It is good ScentAir lists some of their clients. This is helpful so we know who, where and what to avoid.

 

The world gets smaller every day.

The Chemicals of Sex

For this post on sex I decided to find the best possible source for information: an adult sex store. There is one located near the food co-op where I do my organic shopping. It's just off the freeway in this sleazy-looking, window-less building in the middle of a beat-up parking lot overgrown with weeds. I notice it everytime I shop, but I was never sure if it was an abandoned building or in business. There is a big warehouse attached to it. Hmmm...Curious. My imagination tends to run wild. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about the visit.

When I pulled into the parking lot I counted the number of vehicles ...three... and thought, I hope those cars don't belong to perverts lurking in dark corners hoping for an easy victim. Never mind what the place might smell like with all those scented lubricants. Or air fresheners used to try to purify the place of human body odor. But I was on a mission...

Don't get me wrong, I'm really not prudish. In the past I have shopped at such stores, but it was years ago and I was accompanied by a very strapping, young gentleman-friend who had a fetish for sex toys. He believe everyone woman should have her own supply. At the time, it was fun, safe, educational, and a whole other world of entertainment.


Shortly after our shopping extravaganza, we broke up. Feeling guilty like I had illegal contraband and convinced the FBI, CIA, EPA and FDA knew it, I sealed all my sex toys in multiple bags, drove to a public garbage can located fifty miles away, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and tossed them in. I was so afraid I'd die before I got the deed done and someone would find my stash of sex toys. Heck, even after I got the deed done I thought for sure someone would find the bag of goodies covered in my fingerprints and trace them back to me!

So here I am many years later standing outside a sex shop feeling virginal and vulnerable. The thought of walking in alone was intimidating. I prepared myself like an actress about to go on stage and marched right in with a practiced demeanor of confidence and experience. I discreetly cased the joint: a big room of videos on the right, the counter on the left, and in the back was a small room where I was sure they kept the nasty stuff. That's where I wanted to be. No one in the shop except the guy at the counter. I smelled the place. No stink at all. The Counter Boy looked barely old enough to work there, kind of wholesome and sweet, so I approached, "Can I do some research?

"You mean in the back room?"

I must have looked bewildered as he pointed to a small, dark hall off the video room. What?! Back room? Hell, no. I was certain that's where the perverts were lurking.

"No, I'm just wanting to look at some of your products, read labels, do research, write a blog post."

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks"

Sex Toys I felt like a detective on an investigation. I interrogated the sex toys first. The labels stated they were hygienically superior with nothing to substantiate the claim. I wanted verification so I questioned Counter Boy. He said sex toys used to be made with rubber or latex. Rubber breaks down too easily. Ah ha! The hygienically inferior. And too many people are allergic to latex. He said some accessories are made with the same material as fishing bait, a soft, wiggly plastic, but they are harder to find now. I pictured pink florescent wiggly worms hanging off a hook. I didn't see how this would be conducive to romantic inclinations, but in an attempt to conceal my ignorance and maintain my disguise, I didn't ask.  I concluded plastic, besides being toxic, is hygienically inferior.  I was really impressed with Counter Boy's knowledge. 

Silicone is now the lesser of evils and the safest and strongest material. If you were to implant these toys in your breasts you may end up with Silicone Immune Toxicity Syndrome. The symptoms read like any chemical poisoning: multiple chemical sensitivity, muscle inflammation, joint pain, fatigue, weakness, anxiety, depression, memory loss, etc. Breast implants, however, were made with liquid silicone. This made them susceptible to leakage causing silicone poisoning rather than solid, more stable forms of silicone. I don't know if this makes a difference, but if you want a stash of sex toys, silicone would be the lesser of evils. The Diva Cup could be considered a sex toy!

Nothing Says Love Like Motor Oil.

Lubricants Next I checked out the lubricants which were locked in a glass case that served as the counter. There was a choice between plain, flavored and warming. Most of them had the same toxic ingredients: hydroyethylcellulose, sodium benzoate, propylene glycol (PEG), glycerine, and EDTA. The flavored lubricants had saccharin added, and the active ingredients of warming lubricants are niacin, menthyl paraben or CAFFEINE! Well, I already know caffeine is evil, but I didn't know it made genitalia warm and toasty. Of course, PEG will cause burning like the fires of hell but I don't think that's what they mean by warming. Counter Boy also said a lot of people use motor oil for lubricant, after all, it's just petroleum or Vaseline. Yes, people are really that stupid. Or creative.

K-Y Jelly is made with the same basic, toxic ingredients although the box advertises it as "fragrance-free".

Tantra manuals suggest olive oil as the best lubricant as it is the most natural and easily assimilated into the body so the least likely to create health problems, but what a mess it would make.

Condoms  Condoms are made with three different kinds of materials: polyurethane, latex, and lamb skin. Lamb skin is most natural, most hypoallergenic, but doesn't guard against sexually transmitted diseases. Polyurethane condoms are plastics so they are not only toxic, but they break easily. Counter boy told me he has a friend who is allergic to latex and if exposed, his boy parts painfully swell and develop a rash. With strong doses of steroids, it takes about a week to recover and he'd rather suffer the misery of latex poisoning than have the polyurethane condoms break all the time. I think that is admirably responsible. However, less than 1% of the general population are allergic to latex so it is the lesser of evils.

Spermicides  Counter Boy also told me condoms no longer come coated with spermicides because so many women are sensitive to nonoxyl-9 the most commonly used spermicide for everything. This was fascinating to me as one of my first serious chemical reactions was to contraceptive sponges. I always assumed it was the spermicide, but never knew for sure. It's interesting how we think we are the only one on the planet with these experiences and here I'm being told by a young man behind a sex shop counter that bad reactions to the same spermicide are common.

Vinegar was used as spermicide in the days before chemicals. I think vinegar is good for killing nearly anything, but I don't know if I'd depend on it as a form of birth control.

I asked Counter Boy if I could take pictures. He smiled and said, "No."

I asked him if there were any chemically-free products. He smiled and said, "No."

I thanked him for being so informative, helpful and not a pervert, and I left feeling accomplished and newly educated on the chemicals of sex. Whew!

Birth Control Besides spermicides and condoms, I cover this briefly under the post titled, "Girl Stuff." In summary, contraceptive sponges are poisonous and birth control pills are, well,  reliable. If one plans to have sex and doesn't want to be popping out babies non-stop, birth control is smart even if it might be hazardous to your health.

Sex Perfumes I recently read a book called The Cookie Book by Maritza Breitenbach. It's about female genitalia with all kinds of vagina information and awesome art. In the chapter on smell, or rather, vaginal aroma, the author also discusses the money-making perfume industry and how manufacturers use smells based on sex in their perfumes.  The perfume Miss Dior by Christian Dior smells like sweaty armpits and Black Orchid by Tom Ford smells like a man's crotch. Or Jicky and Shalimar were scented with vaginal and anal smells. Eeeeewww, gross!  Who wants to smell like armpit, man-crotch or butt?

In Germany, bottled vaginal fluid is quite the rage. So weird. Wasn't it in that book Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins where one of the characters used vaginal fluid as perfume and demonstrates how to apply it in front of an audience? She claimed it is a better man-magnet than any perfume on the market. That scene has been seared on my brain for years. I bet one could make a lot of money being a provider of vaginal fluid. Great idea for self-employment. And just think, you could work from home in a fragrance-free environment!   

Although I much prefer the idea that natural substances are being used for perfume instead of deadly chemicals, it still doesn't make me want to run out to buy real human body fluids and put them on my skin. That just screams unsanitary...or insanity. You choose.

Does anyone know of other non-toxic alternatives?

WHY Do People Want to Stink?

My dad was also chemically sensitive and couldn't stand perfumes or strongly scented products .  Anytime we discussed it, he would always yell at imaginary stinky people, "GOOD GOD! JUST TAKE A BATH NOW AND THEN!"

Why isn't bathing enough? It's not like we live in the Middle Ages and hygiene is discouraged. Why do people feel they must smell like French whores?

When I was young, I wore perfume. I believed I needed assistance to be loved. It wasn't enough I was thoughtful, friendly and intelligent. I believed if I wore perfume I'd attract the perfect man. Of course, if Prince Charming was on the other side of the room, I needed to expand my personal space and stink up the whole room so he could smell...or rather, find me. In my fantasy, I was olfactorily irresistible and he'd make a bee line for me pushing all the unworthy others out of the way. Besides having an overactive imagination, my reasons for wearing perfume were 1) a whole lot of insecurity, 2) a desperate need for attention, 3) a serious case of self-centeredness, and 3) maybe a tad bit of dishonesty. My authentic self wasn't good enough. Perfume made me someone else, someone who was the center of every one's attention. In addition, like most perfume wearers, I was too ignorant to question what was in a bottle of perfume and if it was smart to expose my body to it. I'm so glad I grew out of my awkward years!

Even back then I had some minor health issues with perfume so I only wore it if going out at night, and I didn't really wear enough to smell up a whole room. Those who do are addicted. Perfumes and colognes are like any other addictive chemical only these are public sanctioned and come in a really pretty bottles.  Do you ever wonder why people who do smell up a whole room will still reapply it throughout the day? Granted, their sense of smell is shot because their brains have chemically imploded, but they also NEED it. I've asked several of the incredibly stinky why, why, why? The overwhelming response was they couldn't live without it. It makes them feel good. It makes them feel beautiful. It makes them not feel like themselves. It makes me wonder if they'll ever grow up and if psychiatric intervention would help.

What's really nasty are people who smoke, rarely bath or wash their clothes, and then pile on the perfume to try to cover it all up. These people should be arrested for being health hazards!

So, in conclusion, why do people wear perfume?

* They are insecure.

* They want attention.

* They are self-centered.

* They are dishonest.

* They are stupid and/or brain-dead.

* They are drug addicts.

Why do you think people spend so much money on a bottle of chemicals in order to stink?

MCS Membership: Joining the Club

How do people become chemically sensitive? For some, it's long-term subtle chemical exposure to everyday poisons; for others, it's one massive overexposure experience.  Still others become chemically sensitive as a by-product of other health issues: cancer, pregnancy, mold exposure, to name a few, as our immune systems hyper-react to toxins trying to protect the body from further damage.

I was poisoned at a school where I worked. It wasn't an old school, but it's often newer construction materials using modern chemicals that create many "sick building" environments. First day on the job the carpets were being replaced. New synthetic carpets and the glues used to hold them in place are incredibly toxic and can offgas poisons for years, but old carpets harboring a very serious mold problem are deadly. This school had both. Didn't seem to bother me at the time, but everyone else was ranting about the stink. The school also had ventilation problems and three times a day bus fumes would waft through the building. Uncomfortable and making everyone sick to their stomachs, but didn't seem to bother me other than an occasional "ugh!". To camouflage the stink so we could all pretend it wasn't there, air fresheners were sprayed through the halls and staff wore copious amounts of perfume and cologne. Now THAT did me in! With the repetitive assault, my body just gave up and started defensively attacking back.

In addition, my history includes growing up surrounded by acres of perfectly manicured turf grass drenched in pesticides and herbicides, a home full of second-hand smoke, a house treated for termites, and a perfume-saturated office job where I thought I had a very bad, lingering case of the flu. For me it was a combination of long-term subtle exposure culminating in a massive overexposure that pushed me over the edge.

How did you become chemically sensitive? Share your story.