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Ingrid Scherrmann 14. November 2002, MCS, 1. Fachdialog, Diplomatische Akademie Wien, Organizer: seibersdorf research & Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft (Ministry for agriculture, forestry, environment and water supply) The text in pdf: please email to Scherrmann@safer-world.org The ppt in pdf: ppt_Wien_English.pdf MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity): challenges for patients, medicine, politics and societyIn North-America Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a subject of medicine, science, politic and society since more than 50 years. The consensus criteria for the diagnosis of MCS (which is published 1999 in ”Archives of Environmental Health”) are - ”The symptoms are reproducible with [repeated chemical] exposure.” - ”The condition is chronic." - ”Low levels of exposure [lower than previously or commonly tolerated] result in manifestations of the syndrome.” - ”The symptoms improve or resolve when the incitants are removed.” - ”Responses occur to multiple chemically unrelated substances.” [Added in 1999]: - "Symptoms involve multiple organ systems."In contrary to other illnesses at this definition the link to pollution is visible. For the pollution is very different, every patient with MCS has another intensity and another view of this illness. Also when there is not all clear in the science (like at the research regarding other illnesses too) there are pragmatic approaches in North-America like fragrance-free zones in kindergardens, schools, universities, hospitals, governmental agencies, churches, hotels, restaurants, towns (Halifax) ... There are a lot of Canary-Clubs. The Canary is the synonym for patients with MCS. The canaries in the coal-mines helped miners to survive for they died when gas came into the mines. My learning and recovery process My own illness is typical for MCS. I was exposed to many chemicals (like Formaldehyd, PCP, PCB, Dioxin, Furane, Asbest, Lindan and surely to others). I had a lot of symptoms. 6-10 years ago I felt so bad that my physicians could not belief that I would have a chance to survive. I had to finish my profession as a professor for music and mathematic and as an artist.
For my own recovery and learning process the following book was very important:
A Canary‘s Tale. The Final Battle. Politics, Poisons and Pollution vs. Today I feel very well. I have only small pains and symptoms I had had years before. I could minimize extremely my input of exposure. That means that I have normally the possibility to have a good life-quality. Nevertheless I get also today symptoms when I have some pollution in the air, the food or in water. 2 physicians who helped me over the years and who believed my talks about pains and triggers were the precondition for the process of my recovery. My therapy was in detail above all: - To learn as most as possible to the topic “health and environment” - A lot of detailed detection work (protocols) to find the triggers - Learning of strategies of avoidance - Confidence in the reaction of my body - no experiments whether at the field of ”normal” medicine nor at the field of “alternative medicine” - an environment with less pollution, often in an environment, which has clear air (at the coast of the ocean) - a lot of exercises in fresh air, a lot of sleep - a lot of drinking water, and good organic food with less histamine and less carbohydrates - special techniques of breathing - a lot of self-discipline, creativity, patience - a social environment, who learns with me, who is thoughtful and who is thankful to have also a healthy profit from my knowledge.Situation in Europe Other MCS-patients in Europe normally have not the same chance as I have. There are more and more discussions about MCS, but the experiences and the knowledge from MCS-patients and of their physicians normally is not included in the public and more in the political and scientific discussion. Often there are false diagnoses, mostly as a psychic and/or psychiatric illness. This diagnosis is the basis for therapies and also the decisions from law-courts and governmental agencies at the fields of pensions, workers comprehension-falls, assessments of damages and others. Results of this are false therapies. The patient's health gets worse. Often they loose the working-place; they get financial ruins, social isolation, and legal incapacitation and not rarely at the end there is a suicide and/or death. When this all is not taken for granted from patients, medicine, politic and society we need better conditions for MCS-patients. That means that we need less pollution in the environment. And that’s important not only for MCS-patients but also for patients with other Toxicant Induced Illnesses and also for people who are not yet ill in the moment. To reach a less polluted environment is not easy and it is a large challenge for all spheres of our society. This way can be only successful when all parts are working together and are working with full energy. For the links between poisoning and symptoms can be visible at MCS-patients, this knowledge would be able to be a key position at many fields, for example that environmental awareness will be developed further and will transformed to environmental actions. Situation in other Countries I think the situation in Australia and New Zealand is about the same like in Nord America. In Japan scientists begin to do research about MCS, patients-groups are beginning to educate people and medicine. In Asian (without Japan), Africa, Middle- and South America MCS, CI (Chemical Intolerances) and also TII (Toxicant Induced Illnesses) are no subject. But therefore we cannot say that there is no MCS, there are no CI and no TII. I think in some regions, where there are a lot of pesticides, of plastic, of poisoned water, of heavy metals like arsenic we have the illnesses. But most people who has the responsibility don't want to see it, don't want to change anything. In my understanding: This is an invisible war against citizens in most countries of the world. I. Challenges for Patients Of course of my international network I know that those patients have a chance to survive and to win better life-quality who have the possibilities to live about in the same way with this illness as I did it. All who recover well are saying: Consequent strategies of avoidance must have first priority. So my way of therapy can be helpful not only for my individual case but also for others. Precondition also here is to have physicians who have good knowledge about toxin-induced illnesses. Precondition is also that patients have the willingness and possibility to change a lot in their life. In daily life there is also often the question: how triggers can avoided? Avoidance in the private environment is not easy but it is possible.Perfume, synthetics fragrances in cosmetics, detergents and cleaning-products, natural perfume oils, products for disinfection, solvents, smoke (from cigarettes, chimneys, candlelight, ...), dust, mood, noise, pesticides, radiation (electromagnetic fields in wireless phones, ...) and others can be leave out. In correlation with the content of poisoning in the products of daily life in papers, indoor-products, clothing, food, teeth-correction patients need a lot of time and knowledge to find safe products. Fortunately the market of safe products grows in North America and in many European countries last years. I don't know but I hope that it is easier to get clean products in all other countries. But I think the globalism also brought the poisoned products in all countries of the world. And I often am reading that products which are not tolerated by law in the European Union are sold to Eastern Europe or to Africa. Avoidance of indoor-pollution in the house at the working place ... (nicotine, fragrances from other persons ...), in the leisure time from the inside of cars is much more difficult. To avoid outdoor-pollution in the towns trough traffic, industry ..., at the country through pesticides, through emission of industrial plants, air traffic, incinerating plants, waste disposal sites ( sanitary landfills ), military dangerous waste of the past, ozone, carbonmonoxyd, ... is very difficult. Also Radiation from radar equipments, towers for Mobil phones, Atomic fabrics, ... is not easy to avoid. Also when patients are moving it is difficult to reduce this input. In the public discussion about pollution there are normally in the fore-ground only a few of substances or groups of substances like smoke of cigarettes, carbon-dioxide, ozone, radiation. Products of the daily life like fragrances, cleaning-products ... are in the back-ground for the most part. But every day MCS-and CI-patients make the experience that the products of the daily life are playing an important role as triggers. When we know more about these substances, it is no wonder, that they are triggering a lot of symptoms. Altogether that means also that less polluted products of the daily life can be a great potential for possibilities to resolve problems and this means that to produce clean products is a great potential for a future market II. Challenges for Medicine It is necessary that medicine educate patients, politics, and society: We need the reduction of pollution in the air, in water and in soils, the reduction of radiation, the reduction not only of handful substances but of ALL substances which make people ill. Medicine has to do the correct diagnose: toxin-induced illness, Specified for example as: MCS, Chemical Intolerance, TILT (toxicant-induced loss of tolerance), TILT-vasculity, collagenose, ... We don't need the displacement of the problem “toxin-induced illness” from the general to the psychic level with the false diagnoses like somatoform pain-syndrome, psychoses, ecophoby, hypochondry, idee fixe, anxiety-syndrome, ... Avoidance of pollution is an environmental action and this is no anxiety syndrome. Anxiety comes from lack of (deficiency) of education, lack of knowledge, lack of possibility to act, lack of help, helplessness, playing down and false diagnose for ex. ”anxiety syndrome”. Anxiety can be phased out through education, knowledge, confidence to the reaction of the body, possibilities to act, confidence to medicine. The diagnose ”chemical intolerance” can phasing out anxiety. So the great challenge for Medicine is that the basis of therapy should be consistent strategies of avoidance, help for self-help, support for consistent strategies of avoidance. This needs willingness, knowledge, changing of view, courage and energy. Nearly all therapies of the ”normal” medicine ( in special the psychotherapy and the psychiatry) and also from the ”alternative medicine” and from all sorts of ”healers” are mostly expensive, ineffective and worsen the illness. The challenges for research are that we need a change of paradigm. For Paracelsus (1493-1541) the doses made the poison. And also in 2002 the research's works with "the doses is making the poison". Parameters which are not taken in account at the judgment of poisoning-induced illnesses, the way of application ( f. e. inhaled), time of influence (effect), the half-life of substances, the vulnerability of individuals and synergies. The new paradigm must be: also the poisoning in so-called low-level-doses (which are defined from the occupational medicine) can cause illness, so how Ashford and Miller called it in their book "Chemical Exposition - Low Level and High Stakes". Most of our modern illnesses are in relationship to poisoning and pollution. That’s a graphic how the daily sum of a chemical substance is growing.
Example Studies where MCS- and CI-patients are used like laboratory rabbits or guinea-pigs in exposition-rooms, with provocation-tests, with drugs and/or with psycho-pharmacy are an unethical and irresponsible way. In the meantime there is a lot of MCS - research (1945 - 2002). Albert Donnay, MCS Referral & Resources wrote: There are approx. 700 publications, approx. 400 are describing MCS as an organic disease and approx. 150 are describing MCS as a psychiatric disease. It is very interesting how the psychiatric view is lanced by chemical industry. The result of the works of industry is very serious: there is a one-sided way of information in science. And the "normal" research is only interested at a curative medicine. Only a few scientists are able to do research about the role of pollution at the geneses of disease, about avoidance of disease, about prevention, (not only concerning smoke, less of sport, stress and overweight) and also about concerning a general reduction of pollution. It is very difficult to get money for research. But it would be necessary that the knowledge of the "other" research will be visible An effective prevention needs new main emphases for science which is helpful for all ill and also for all healthy persons. This are - effects of special substances or groups of substances (for example perfumes, fragrances) - synergies - effects of inhaled poisoning in rooms - effects of neuro-toxins to the loss of concentration and IQ, to the increase of aggression and to the geneses of addiction - the toxin-induced origin of other illnesses ( for ex. Allergies, Alzheimer’s, asthma, diabetes, heart-disease, cancer, MS, Parkinson’s, vasculitis - research about MCSIII. challenges for politics Politics has to pass from the principle “nothing to see, nothing to say, nothing to hear and also nothing to smell.” Politic had to support research about effective prevention. In future mankind can go two ways: Mankind will disappear from earth when only "reparation" is in the thinking of medicine, patients, politic and science and when prevention has only a small role. When mankind wants to survive, a restocking from ”reparation” to ”prevention” is indispensable. And when politic don't want to see this, they had to see the costs explosion of the health care system. The costs through false diagnoses and false therapies of toxin-induced illnesses and the subsequent costs of illnesses will be not more payable for most citizens in the future. In Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, New Zealand soon the health care system will be like it is today in poor countries of Asia and Africa. All chemical substances in the air, in water and in soils are growing over the earth. The development is much more a exponential function than a linear function.
So the most important challenges for politics in all their areas is The key is a broadly implemented education about the link between pollution and disease (for ex. asthma, migraine in the context with fragrances and/or pesticides). Politic is responsible that we have a better legislation with documents certifying that new products are safe, with a legal responsibility of industry when products are making health-damages, with new limits for chemicals and other pollution like radiation and noise which are also for children and fetus, sum-limits (for example for school-buildings), reformation of the system of expert-witnesses, a right to know (for all products, ...) and more. Politic has to initiate creations of new independent institutes for risk-management and risk-judgment and -valuation in a wide-spread area, which are also searching about the costs of the false diagnoses and therapies of toxin-induced illnesses. Politic has to initiate the creation of life-conditions for people with Chemical Injuries. The governor of Connecticut wrote a MCS-Proclamation and he let us know that also politic can do good education. V. challenges for society Berkson wrote in 1996: ”... But everybody is at risk. No one is safe. Not the author. Not the reader. Not anyone. The patient with MCS is like the canary in the coal mine. The canary is warning humanity that the environment is polluted and as a sentinel sounds. The Call for Action. ... and to do something about it before it is too late. No cause is more important. ” So MCS can be also a chance for ALL to see the correlation between poisoning and disease and also to develop strategies of action which are necessary. The precondition for action is a changing of views in general in the perception (awareness, observing) of the different health-consequences of pollution. The realization of a less polluted and healthier environment needs a better environmental awareness (not only for a few topics), the transformation from environmental awareness to environmental action. The protection of the environment must also include protection of human beings. Anxiety, dependence, frustration, apathy, ignorance, greed, resignation, inconsiderateness, driving out is hindering the realization. We need courage, empathy, logic, sense for reality, sense of responsibility independence.
So in the sum: MCS and CI are not also a challenge but also could
be a chance for all ill and all healthy persons in all areas of our modern
society in all countries of the world. Contact: Ingrid Scherrmann, email info@safer-world.org , www.safer-world.org Ingrid Scherrmann: When there are misunderstandings of cause of the translation, please let me know (under info@safer-world.org ) |
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