Eliminating all potentially troublesome chemicals, plastics, and synthetic materials from one’s life may seem like a hopeless task. Some people who seem to agree with the point of view expressed in this book still argue that controlling these chemicals is impossible, since one must “live in the twentieth century.”

There are several fallacies in this fatalistic argument.

First of all, the unbridled use of petrochemicals is part of a particular historical phase and has not been a constant in human history, by any means. In fact, with the much publicized energy shortage, it seems likely that the throwaway use of petrochemical products will have to be curtailed for economic reasons. The need to find more efficient, and also more healthy, forms of energy and basic materials has become a matter of survival in many countries. Thus the trend is with, not against, environmentalism in the long run.

Second, the degree to which harmful products are allowed into the environment is subject, to some extent, to political pressure and control. Countries, states, and even cities vary greatly in their regulations on health and pollution. In the 1920s, for instance, New York and other cities banned the use of leaded gasoline within their borders. Later, leaded gasoline was deregulated, largely because of pressure from the automobile and gasoline interests. But it was phased out once more in the 1960s and 1970s, largely as the result of political pressure. Toxic and cancer-causing substances have been somewhat restricted by federal law through the 1958 Delaney Amendment, banning carcinogens from food, and the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. These measures would never have been enacted without a groundswell of public opinion in their favor. As public awareness of the danger of the unbridled use of petrochemicals grows and as more and more chronically ill people trace their problems to the “safe” chemical environment, we can expect to see increasing political action to control this danger as well. Thus, on a national and international level, there is no reason for pessimism, provided that people become aware of the danger and take effective action.

On a more personal level, it is advisable for each individual to restrict and eliminate harmful chemical exposures in the home, the workplace, and the general environment. If a person has cause to suspect chemical susceptibility, or only wishes to prevent it from occurring, there are a number of effective changes which can be made.

The following ten suggestions are not all-inclusive. As one learns more about ecologic illness and individual responses to chemicals, it will be possible to augment or modify this list. The basic idea behind these ten proposals, however, is to cut down on exposure to unsuspected causes of chronic illness.

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Miasmas were elusive, unidentified atmospheric conditions that could somehow cause disease. To explain the great variety of diseases that appeared in the same crowded areas, the miasmas were assumed to be non-specific -they might cause cholera in some people, yellow fever in others, and so on. As an extension of this idea, other factors in the environment were assumed to cause disease. Cold was an obvious one, and it too was seen as being nonspecific – different people suffered different symptoms when they lived in cold houses or breathed cold air.

In the 1860s and 1870s, a revolution occurred in medical thinking. Dr Robert Koch in Germany and Louis Pasteur in France discovered that microorganisms caused a great many diseases. More importantly, they found that specific bacteria caused specific illnesses. This is a fact that we now take for granted, but in its time it was a remarkable and novel idea. The germ theory, as it was known, quickly replaced the old way of thinking, where a miasma or other environmental factor could cause a great variety of different ills.

The change in medical thinking brought about by the germ theory was a radical one. In a reaction to the vagueness of the old ways of thought, a dogmatic insistence on cause-and-effect thinking took over. From then on, each disease had to have a specific set of symptoms and a specific cause. This way of thinking, with its obvious scientific merits, has dominated medical education for the past century.

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If you are very short of money on a special diet, then use cheap, filling foods that you tolerate as much as possible. Use potato, sweet potato and unusual grains, such as buckwheat, if you can, and beans and pulses for cheap protein. Fish can also be good value if you tolerate it.

Severe reactions to a food can be relieved by a dose of alkali salts.

It is common for people with a tendency to multiple food allergy and intolerance to develop new sensitivities, especially when run down and already reacting severely to other foods or other allergens. These are often temporary intolerances and disappear with managing your diet, but they can be demoralising and confusing. You may suddenly find you react to something you thought relatively safe. Be warned that reactions like this sometimes occur during exclusion dieting. The way to cope with them is, again, to manage your diet. In particular, it is a good idea not to binge on or eat any food in excess, as this seems to pre-dis-pose to sensitivity. If you leave a food out, for instance, do not binge to compensate on its substitute or on other foods. Eating a varied diet in moderation is the best policy to keep new food sensitivities at bay. It is often very difficult on a vegetarian diet to eat a sufficiently varied range of foods.You are also much less likely to react to foods that you have eaten seldom, infrequently or never. This is why, if you have even just a few food sensitivities, you are often advised to eat unusual foods and to make your diet as wide and as varied as you can. This helps the body to maintain its level of tolerance.

Some people cross-react to foods which are closely related. A rotation diet is usually planned to avoid problems of this kind.

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The process soon becomes overwhelming. Take a look at Table 5, which gives information about chemicals that commonly cause allergy and sensitivity – formaldehyde, chlorine, ammonia and rosin. Formaldehyde, also called formalin, has many, many uses. It is used as a preservative in cosmetics, cleaning products and pharmaceuticals; as a coating, it confers wet strength and grease resistance, so it is used extensively in paper production and as a fabric finish. It is used as an adhesive resin in all kinds of manufacture, and as a protective treatment on some building materials. It gasses off from some types of plastic foams, melamine sheeting, from computer plastics and some car interiors. In short, you find it almost everywhere in modern life. However, not every kind of cosmetic or cleaning product, nor every type of product named, contains formaldehyde, but how would you know, and what if you are also sensitive to other chemicals that may or may not be contained in things that also contain formaldehyde?

Chlorine, ammonia and rosin are also other common troublemakers. Each of these chemicals is potentially found where other potentially aggressive chemicals are also found – in household cleaners, cosmetics, toiletries, paper, fabric finishes and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, these chemicals are not necessarily found in all products in any category – not all soaps contain rosin, not all toothpastes contain ammonia – but soon you realise that you begin to feel quietly (or not so quietly) desperate about working out where chemicals are and what to use -let alone detecting what you react to.

A much more helpful and workable approach is to turn things around and to look at areas of your life where you come into contact with chemicals and to work out what the major potential troublemakers are in each.

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In the High Street, Monsoon has a wide range of silk clothing for women. Next and Wallis also sell silk fashions for women.

By mail order, the supplier with the widest choice of silk clothes at reasonable prices is Patra. For women, their range includes raincoats and suits, as well as blouses. They have silk/cotton blend clothes, and a range of silk jersey T-shirts. One of Gillie’s make silk bikinis to order, as well as a range of co-ordinates and dresses. Table 15 gives names of further suppliers of silk clothes.

Linen Clothing

Linen is a natural fibre (sometimes called flax) which is expensive and not very practical in everyday life because it creases easily. It often has fabric finishes when new to prevent creasing, but once washed, loses its finish and some people with allergies and sensitivities tolerate it well. Table 15 gives names of suppliers of linen clothing.

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If you have persistent damp problems, these can aggravate allergy to moulds and to house dust mites. It is important to get them sorted out and treated; there are ways of doing this which are relatively trouble free.

If you have cavity wall insulation of the urea-formaldehyde foam type, this is a potent source of formaldehyde vapours, especially when new. There is no practicable or economic way to remove this, and if this affects you badly, you may have to move house. If extensive woodworm or rot treatments have been carried out in the building, persistent chemicals remain and there may also be no alternative to moving if you are badly affected.

If you are planning to move flat or house, check what chemical treatments, if any, have been done to the place. Beware of urea-formaldehyde cavity wall insulation; see whether fitted furniture and other places where particle board has been used are newly installed. Ask what type of damp-proof course is in place. Check what type of lagging is round the central heating pipes. Use the information in the alphabetical list of materials below to help you know what to look for.

Registered disabled people can apply to their local authority for grants for alterations to their home, under the Local Government Housing Act. These can be awarded to people with allergies needing work done if you are registered disabled.

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If you are very severely affected by pollen allergy, you may think of moving to a different part of the country. Generally speaking, upland areas, coastal parts, and the western side of the UK have lower pollen counts than other parts of the country. The Pollen Research Unit (address above) will be able to give you specific advice on particular locations if you send them £1 and a stamped addressed envelope.

Look very carefully at the immediate surroundings if you are thinking of moving house. Avoid living near any plants, trees and grasses that you know particularly upset you. Find out which way prevailing winds blow, and try and live upwind of any woods or grassy areas.

Ask the local doctors’ practices if there are any particular patterns of allergies and if there are any parts of the local area which seem more favourable.

Some tree pollens cross-react with certain fruit and nuts. If you are allergic to these pollens, you may get reactions if you eat these related foods.

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