Where Are You on the Continuum of Environmental Health:

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10?

We are all somewhere on this continuum - no one is a zero!

Anyone exposed to too many chemicals or mold toxins (for example) may become intolerant of other chemicals or scents and this is the phenomenon of Chemical Sensitivity (also called Chemical Intolerance, Environmental Intolerance, Environmental Sensitivity,  Environmental Illness, MCS (old term), TILT or Toxic Induced Loss of Tolerance).

• 3 to 5% of the population is disabled by Chemical Sensitivity in studies conducted by governments across the globe.
• 15% of the population is somewhat Chemically Sensitive in national department of health polls.
• 30% of the elderly are Sensitive to Chemicals.
• 40% of the general population may be affected but does not realize that their symptoms are related to 'toxic' exposures at home, school or work that have added up over their lifetime to make them now less tolerant of many environmental exposures. 
• 60% of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients and similarly of Fibromyalgia patients and Gulf War Syndrome patients are Chemically Sensitive.

So if it so common why doesn't anyone recognize these symptoms of Chemical Sensitivity as the beginning of a syndrome that can progress to neurologic disease and autoimmunity and many other health problems?  First consider yourself . . .

Do you have any of these symptoms of Chemical Sensitivity?

• Are you intolerant of perfume, diesel exhaust, or the detergent isle of the grocery store?  Do you get headaches after having a glass of wine or reading the newspaper or smelling cigarette smoke? Do you smell overwhelming odor of rubber and chemicals when you walk into a tire store. Does shopping at the mall make you exhausted?
• Are you fatigued, have ADD or anxiety. Are you waking up with a sore throat? Do the clothing tags drive you crazy on the back of your neck?
• Is your memory suffering or are you having difficulty reading books and retaining information -- remembering names?
• Men -- Is your face bright red and you are not a drinker?  Are you becoming belligerent?  Do you have a musty basement leading to these problems from mold and mycotoxin exposure? 
• Women -- Are you too exhausted to have sex? Are your arms tired when washing your hair?  Are you requiring psychiatric medication for functional demise of your mind?  Does your husband call you wacky? Does everything you do or smell lead to a headache - like eating peanuts, smelling antique wood, down pillows, fresh paint or cats?
• Children -- Do your kids have food allergies, behavioral problems triggered by foods and additives?  Do certain exposures like new carpeting in the library or mold in the classroom cause problems?  Are they massively depressed or have morning headaches - which are common symptoms of toxic mold exposure in the home. 
• Do you have trouble standing up for long periods or does that lead to panic attacks - this is dysautonomia and arises in many from this 'toxic overload'.  Likewise do you 'pretzel ' your legs when sitting to maintain blood pressure.  When you drive do you see stars and halos at night? Are you exhausted after eating meals and want to lie down?  Are you using caffeine and chocolate (or worse cigarettes and cocaine) to counter act these symptoms and get through the day?
•   Does the cell phone heat up in your hand or do you hate florescent lights? This is Electrical Sensitivity and occurs commonly in those affected by mold as well as occurring in 30% of the Chemically Sensitive.
• Do you tolerate allergens like pollens, molds, danders and dust poorly?

Well, now I will explain why I became interested in this field of medicine.

• In the year 2000, I became deathly ill over time (see Lisa's Story) and thought I was 'just depressed'.  I didn't recognize that I had the symptoms of Chemical Sensitivity because I wore so much perfume and used scented detergent and fabric softener. Once I was treated in an Environmental Clinic (www.ehcd.com) and I stopped using chemical and scented  products I was able to notice all of my intolerances to a variety of exposures - on the street, in buildings, at the grocery store and restaurant bathrooms.
• I did not recognize the symptoms because I had not learned about Chemical Sensitivity at all in Medical School -- no doctors are!
• Now much better, I am trying to educate both the lay public and medical practitioners about the ubiquity of the range of conditions called environmental illnesses. My story has been on Nightline, in dozens of newspapers and I have earned positions on government committees at the CDC and NIH.
• The severely chemically sensitive individuals like myself may be the 'tens' on the scale above but many of us are also affected to some extent by environmental exposures including foods allergies.
• The field of Environmental Medicine is really a misnomer because it deals not only with toxins in the environment (mold, pesticides, formaldehyde) but also with our nutrition, hormones, neurotransmitters, and genetics, leading to immune, neurologic as well as psychiatric manifestations of these conditions.
• In fact once you learn to think like an environmental doctor you see that many conditions like autism, diabetes, hypertension, inflammatory bowel disease, and rosacea are the body's response to these influences which can be altered to make the patient better without the permanent use of medication.
• The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has trained hundreds of doctors in this field over the last 30 years who treat these unfortunate patients who no one else can manage nor believe. Chemical Sensitivity is acknowledged by (HSS) Social Security as potentially disabling but still the AMA does not believe these are valid conditions - we must change this so that the tens of millions of people who need to look into the environmental causes of their disease can find help easily and economically.

The truly Preventive Medicine of the future would incorporate Environmental Medicine techniques and save billions in health care dollars by preventing disability and the progression of diseases that are amenable for treatment early on.  These include:

Chemical Sensitivity    Chronic Lyme     Sinusitis     Psoriasis    Panic   Autism
Chronic Fatigue     Parkinson’s     Atrial Fibrillation   Fibromyalgia    DVT         Diabetes    Multiple Sclerosis    Lou Gehrig's    Asthma    Dysautonomia

We all deserve to know what is making us ill, where to go for care and what we can do ourselves to turn our health problems around.

Please do what you can to help educate others, the country and your colleagues about this field of medicine.  My firm belief is that the field never took off because some of the sickest patients appear to be so odd and ‘crazy’.  We must acknowledge that some environmental exposures can lead to mental ill health and physical ill health at the same time. One does not preclude the other. This division between psychiatry and medicine must end and biologic psychiatry will replace it.

When fully treated the bipolar or anxious behavior totally improves and they become regular folks again. We cannot withhold treatment of the environmentally ill because some doctors refuse to learn about the relationships I have discussed – it is unethical and closed minded. 

The field of Environmental Medicine has been around for 60 years or more and needs to expanded upon, researched and incorporated into traditional medicine immediately. The public is demanding it and your help in doing so would be appreciated.

1.   Donations to the nonprofit The Preventive and Environmental Health Alliance are always needed to promote ‘change’ and can be made to the right with the donate button or by mail.

2.   Doctors  who can help you may be found at www.aaemonline.org.

3.   In my area you may call for an appointment to Vineyard Personalized  Medicine and read more about Dr. Nagy’s credentials, and practice by hitting the top tab to the right.

4.   For the very ill I recommend considering the clinic in Dallas run by Bill Rea M.D. (www.ehcd.com, 214 368 4132) and you may consult with VPM for advice before going there as well.

5.   Free referral and brief guidance available 7 days a week at 508 696 6998 10 am to 5 pm.

             Email: VPM@nagy1.com