EiR Blog

 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! What may surprise you is that probiotic bacteria are also extremely important for the health of the immune system. There is a contant dialogue going on between the bacteria in the gut and the immune system and this can have profound consequences for overall health depending on how healthy the balance of your gut bacteria is. Studies have shown that probiotics can be...

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. My fears were realised in late 2002 when I was 23 years old. Ironically, I believe the straw that broke...

 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. Patients, backed by knowledgeable doctors and researchers, have now decided that the...

The Daily Telegraph (London) this week reported on another study linking chemicals in common household products to autism. This time the culprit is a group of insecticides commonly found in pet shampoos designed to kill fleas. It seems there is increasing acceptance that an interaction between genetics and environmental triggers (including synthetic chemicals) may be the key to understanding autism which now affects around 1 in 150 children in developed countries. The latest study reported by the Telegraph was carried out by Professor Irva Hertz-Picciotto and colleagues at the University of California, who found that expectant mothers who used pet shampoos containing pyrethrins to kill their pet's fleas were twice as likely to go on to have children with autism. Pyrethrins are a pair of chemicals that act as insecticides by attacking the nervous systems of insects In terms of human health They have been regarded as one of the safest...

Many of you will have seen the news this week on this site and elsewhere that seven subtypes of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have been catergorized based on new genetic research. This is fascinating stuff. Not only does it give us a deeper understanding of what is going on in ME/CFS and offer the hope of diagnostic tests and treatments in the not too distant future, but it also puts another (rather large!) nail in the coffin of the idea that the disease is psychological in origin. Let's face it, this idea should have been buried years ago but its proponents (mainly psychiatrists) are a stubburn lot! ME/CFS has always been a highly puzzling illness for researchers because despite obvious commonalities between patients, chronic fatigue being the obvious one, there are also many differences. These can be grouped into different areas of investigation: Illness Onset A proportion of patients can trace...

As a chronic fatigue syndrome sufferer I have come to realise just how pivotal healthy thyroid and adrenal gland function are to recovery. If your thyroid or adrenal function is below par effectively treating these issues can make a huge difference to how you feel and your ability to function.   The Thyroid  Research has demonstrated that the function of the thyroid and its hormones in those of us with chronic fatigue syndrome and other chronic illnesses can be adversely affected by a variety of factors and through a variety of different mechanisms. Unfortunately, routine medical examinations and blood tests are woefully inadequate when it comes to detecting thyroid problems. Standard thyroid blood tests typically only look at levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4). T4 is actually the inactive form of thyroid hormone which has little affect on the cells. The active form known as T3 is rarely...

The story of a contestant on the hit show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? grabbed my attention this week. It's an amazing story that just shows how quickly things can change in life which is something those of us dealing with ME/CFS and other chronic illnesses always need to keep in mind!

Thirty-three year old Marie Chesterfield from Brighton, England suffers from myalgic encephalomyelitis

This week a major review of scientific research into whether certain antioxidant supplements improve health and extend life caused another debate on the usefullness and safety of nutritional supplements to erupt.

Scientists at Copenhagen University, Denmark, who are part of the respected Cochrane Collaboration looked at 67 studies on beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium

As a hayfever sufferer in the north of England it is the early Summer months of June and July that bring on a sense of dread. In the UK by far

the biggest cause of hayfever is grass pollen whose levels skyrocket at that time of year.

In other countries

MICAGO stands for MCS International Coalition of Allied Groups

If you suffer from respiratory allergies such as hayfever I'm sure you know that symptoms aren't limited to the obvious sneezing, itching, runny nose and watering eyes. Of course these are very annoying and often distressing but what those who don't have allergies don't realise is that mood disturbances such as depression, irritability and insomnia are also a common result of allergic reactions and can be equally or more distressing than the obvious allergy symptoms.

Have you ever wondered how clean your drinking water really is? Or maybe it's something you've never given a second thought. A recent investigation by the Associated Press has uncovered the disturbing reality of municipal water supplies.

Would you willingly drink water laced with antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones? According to the AP at least 41

New research to be published in the April issue of the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics relating to dietary intervention in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome had me very frustrated this week. The research was supposedly an attempt to determine if an anti-Candida diet is beneficial in those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The researchers note that Candida has been linked to CFS in many books and anecdotal reports but little scientific evidence exists for such a link. I couldn't agree more, good quality research that really gets to the bottom of this issue is required, unfortunately the research in question here does nothing to further scientific knowledge and to my mind is of very little value.

  For many of those who were in or around the World Trade Center on that fateful day of September 11, 2001, life has never been the same. Not only as a result of the obvious psychological trauma but also because many have been left with a host of physical symptoms and illnesses that the medical profession in many cases is unable to explain or effectively treat.

 There has been a flurry of media activity in the UK this week after researchers from the University of Hull published a study showing that for mild to moderate depression antidepressant drugs show no clinically significant benefit over placebo. In other words they are pretty much useless. It turns out that pharmaceutical companies have been 'selectively reporting' studies on the effectiveness

Whether you suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or any other illness which we cover on The Environmental Illness Resource, the treatment options available from conventional medicine are extremely limited or totally non-existent.

When I was diagnosed with ME/CFS in 1990 at the age of 11 I was given two treatment options by my doctor and various hospital specialists.....psychiatric treatment and 'graded exercise'. To cut a long story short, the psychiatric 'treatment' involved a grumpy old man suggesting that the only things wrong with me were that I didn't want to go to school and I had problems at home. Neither of these suggestions was even close to the truth, I loved school and was deeply upset about having to miss days because I was too ill. I also had a very happy home life and have a fantastic family. This is besides the fact that if I had problems at home AND wanted to avoid school, surely I would not have spent the days I had off school....at home in bed!

I came across an amazing story this week of an ex-fibromyalgia sufferer who is planning to hike 800 miles across the state of Arizona in the United States.  The 'Arizona Trail' stretches from the state's borders with Mexico and Utah and includes terrain from lowland desert to pine forests.

The woman in question is 33 year old Sirena Dufault, who after a slow recovery from

To those of us who have been affected by multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and related conditions, fragranced products are a major menace. I feel those products rather amusingly called 'air fresheners' deserve special attention because of the way they are advertised to the public.

Manufacturers of 'air fresheners' make out that these products will make the air in our homes

As a chronic fatigue sufferer who has gone through the process of applying for disability benefits I can say without a shadow of a doubt.....the assessment procedures are not set up for conditions such as CFS. I'm sure most CFS patients out there will have come to the same conclusion.

Here in the UK (and I'm sure it's similar in other countries) to apply for any benefits based on you being sick or disabled you must first complete the