Hi all,

I wanted to use my blog this week to give you a quick update on the things I am currently working on on the site and things planned for the future.

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Back in February of this year the US government admitted that in the case of young Hannah Poling, a reaction to vaccinations she received had resulted in her developing autism.

This admission sent the media, bloggers and online autism forums into a spin with many seeing it as concrete proof that vaccines are the cause, or at least a cause, of the developmental disorder. Medical experts however maintained that Hannah had an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which they said, was extremely rare and so the same process could not account for a significant number of other cases of autism.

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Those of us severely affected by multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) often have no option but to resort to wearing face masks containing carbon filters to protect us from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the form of perfume, fragranced products, tobacco smoke, diesel fumes and many other sources.

For me wearing such a mask was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because for the first time since developing severe chemical sensitivities I could once again be around people and venture out from the safe haven of my chemical-free home. A curse because clearly, a carbon filter face mask is not the height of fashion and draws much unwanted attention when out in public. A hard thing to deal with when you are a touch on the shy and self-concious side as I am!

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A study that hit the news this past week has caused a bit of a stir in the fragrance industry. Researcher Anne C. Steinemann, PhD, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, revealed that common fragranced products such as laundry detergent/fabric softeners and air fresheners emit dozens of different chemicals, some of which are regulated as toxic or hazardous under US law.

Not only that but NONE of these chemicals appear on the labels of such products so consumers are completely in the dark about the toxins they may be filling their homes with.

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Fatigue is a symptom which is common and particularly debilitating in environmental illnesses, as well as in many other chronic diseases (e.g. heart disease).

Fortunately there are a number of nutritional supplements, herbs, and medications which in many cases can significantly improve your energy levels and therefore improve your ability to function normally so you can enjoy life once again.

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Tomorrow is the longest day of the year and the official start of summer in the northern hemisphere (Sorry Aus/NZ etc!). Here in the UK the longer days mean that at least there is more chance of there being periods of clear skies while it is still light!

So I thought this would be a good time to discuss sunshine and vitamin D in relation to chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) as there seems to be some disagreement over  how vitamin D metabolism is affected in patients and whether extra, either from sunlight or supplements, is needed.

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There was a time not so long ago when nobody had even heard of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). In fact, when I first developed the condition only 7 years ago I didn't meet anybody who had heard of it, apart from others who were suffering like I was.

This lack of awareness only adds to the considerable suffering and feelings of isolation that come with being affected by MCS.  As any MCS sufferer will tell you it's one thing to have a disabling illness and quite another to have nobody believe you have a disabling illness!

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 If you're like most people you probably associate probiotics with helping to maintain a healthy digestive system and alleviate symptoms such as bloating and stomach aches. You'd be absolutely right in thinking this as studies have shown probiotics to be helpful in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and traveller's diarrhea.

Companies who produce probiotic yoghurt drinks usually focus on the digestive benefits of their products with their TV ads typically showing women bent over with stomach pain which is relieved by the probiotic drink!

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I realised the other day that I had never really written about my experiences with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). So I thought today I'd give a (relatively!) brief account of my journey through developing MCS, living with it at its most severe, to the point where I am now largely free from symptoms, save for the odd twitch.

I had been ill since the age of 11 and was diagnosed with ME/CFS at age 12. Having read a lot about my illness during my late teens I was aware that a large number of ME/CFS patients also suffer from allergies and MCS. I had developed hayfever a few years after being diagnosed with ME/CFS so thought it was a very real possibility that I could develop chemical sensitivities at some point.

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 Back in November of last year I reported on the efforts of the Fair Name Campaign which has the aim of promoting a name which truly represents the medical and patient reality of the illness currently known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in the United States and elsewhere.

The majority of patients, as well as some in the medical community (doctors, researchers etc), have felt that the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) trivializes what is a very serious and disabling illness. Not only that but it is medically inaccurate and does nothing to confer the fact that it is an organic illness. This has understandably contributed to much of the public, and to the chagrin of sufferers doctors as well, dismissing the condition as "all in the head". The weight of evidence conclusively demonstrates that CFS is not a psychological illness.

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