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Environmental Hypersensitivity

When the environment makes you sick

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  • A Question of Biology
    • Introduction
    • The Environmental Sensitivities Cycle
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    • Physical Reaction to Triggering Agents
    • The symptoms
  • Cultural and Social Response
    • Collective Strength
  • A Question of Law
    • Introduction
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  • Medical Aspects
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    • Getting a diagnosis
    • Facing the Health Environment
  • Managing the Illness
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Pathways into the body

Posted on June 9, 2022June 17, 2022 By ASEQ-EHAQ

Exposure to initiating and triggering agents can take place via the respiratory system, the digestive system, skin contact, contact with infectious agents, injection of products and medical interventions. Exposure can happen as early as mother to child transmission during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

The body reacts differently depending on the type of exposure and whether it is a chemical, physical or biological contaminant.

Table 1 Agents likely to bring about the onset of environmental sensitivities.

Table 1 Agents likely to bring about the onset of environmental sensitivities.

Type of agent

Examples of agents

Examples of sources or products

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Formaldehyde

Urea-formaldehyde foam insulation* Wood glues** (e.g. plywood and pressed wood/ chipboard) Paint

Solvents

Varnishes Paint thinners and strippers, glues Air fresheners

Perfumes

Perfumes, personal care products, Household cleaning products Fabric softeners

Off-gassing mixtures

Equipment (e.g. computers) Furniture

Products containing petrochemicals

Carpets Ink from books and periodicals Fuels, petroleum

Combustion products

Tobacco smoke Vehicle exhaust Barbecue or wood smoke

Cigarettes, Buses, trucks, cars Barbecues, wood stoves, fireplaces

Microbial products

Moulds Mycotoxins Bacteria Metabolites produced by moulds or bacteria

Mould or bacteria in structures Mould or bacteria in ventilation and air conditioning systems
Microbes in older documents Mouldy furniture Soil (plants)

Pesticides

Insecticides
Herbicides
Fungicides
Algaecides

Products to kill insects
Products used to kill weeds Products used to kill fungi Swimming pools products, including chlorine

Natural inhalants

Pollen
Animal dander

Tree pollen (Spring)
Ragweed (August-September) Dogs, cats, horses, etc.

Foods

Allergenic proteins Preservatives Individual/specific flavouring agents

Peanuts, milk, gluten
Sulfites in dried fruits and wine Monosodium glutamate (MSG) Artificial flavours and colours Curry, cinnamon, hot pepper

Electromagnetic radiation

Lighting

Lamps
Screens
Fluorescent light bulbs

Radio waves and microwaves

Wiring problems
Energy-efficient devices Computers

Very low-frequency electromagnetic fields

Television
Telecommunications equipment Power lines

Telluric currents

Power supply systems that let the current pass through the ground, pipes or structures

Other factors

Temperature
Noise

Workplace or home infrastructure

* Now prohibited in Canada.
** Prohibited in new products in many countries.
Source: Sears, 2007.
Non classé

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General information

  • Environmental Sensitivities
  • ​Questions and answers about ES

Legal information

  • Jurisprudence Guide – until 2012 (CSST)
  • Jurisprudence Guide – 2013-2017 (CSST)
  • ​Right to reasonable accommodation
  • ​Letter from the Quebec Human Rights Commission: Protection of the Quebec Charter
  • ​ASEQ's application to the Quebec Human Rights Commission
  • ​Tips for obtaining an accommodation without a lawyer

Managing the illness

  • Tips for taking control of your illness (SEEDS)
  • ​Check List
  • ​Choosing Healthy Household Products
  • Activity and Symptoms Journal

USEFUL LINKS

  • ASEQ-EHAQ – Website
  • ASEQ-EHAQ – Eco Living Guide
  • ASEQ-EHAQ – Affordable Healthy Housing Project
  • www.ewg.org
  • www.lesstoxicguide.ca
  • CSST Toxicological Repertoire – material safety data sheets
  • CHRC Policies
  • Fragrance-free policy
  • Français
What are environmental sensitivities?

People suffering from environmental sensitivities react negatively to all kinds of contaminants (pesticides, cleaning products, solvents, perfumes, mould, electromagnetic radiation, etc.), but at lower levels of exposure that seem to cause no reaction in most people. These reactions can affect multiple systems in the body. In fact, many symptoms can affect several organ systems, such as the respiratory, digestive and nervous systems, as well as the skin. The symptoms can be inconvenient, quite serious, or even debilitating. According to Statistics Canada, environmental sensitivities are becoming an increasingly common health issue.


Are environmental sensitivities similar to allergies?

Environmental sensitivities were first thought to be allergies. In both cases, avoidance of triggers allows the person affected to remain healthy. But with the discovery of allergic-response mechanisms (immunoglobulin E), it became clear these mechanisms were not responsible for causing environmental sensitivities. In both cases, however, chemical contamination is linked to their increased prevalence in the population.


Another ban! Can’t people with sensitivities take into account my right to wear perfume?

In keeping with the “balance of convenience” principle, healthy people should make adjustments to avoid adversely affecting the health of a group of people, no matter how small, especially in cases involving the workplace and shared public places. Accommodating people with environmental sensitivities—no fragrances, better ventilation, least-toxic cleaning products—will improve indoor air quality, and benefit everyone. Smoking is now no longer permitted in the workplace and in public buildings. The same principle should apply for environmental sensitivities. Not only will your fellow citizens and colleagues with sensitivities appreciate the gesture, but so will people suffering from asthma, allergies, and other illnesses such as respiratory and heart diseases.


In Quebec, are environmental sensitivities recognized as an illness?

From a legal and human rights perspective, environmental sensitivities are recognized as being a handicap both in Quebec and Canada. The Commission des lésions professionnelles (CLP) has already recognized the right to CSST compensation for workers who have developed environmental sensitivities after exposure in the workplace.

From a medical perspective, as of 2012, the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services had still not recognized environmental sensitivities and there was no diagnostic code for the disease. Only a few physicians in Quebec are equipped to diagnose this illness. Some Quebecers who suffer from it are sometimes forced to travel to Ontario to receive care. Others increase the number of medical consultations as their health deteriorates.

There are specialized clinics that treat environmental sensitivities in Ontario and Nova Scotia. The European Parliament has asked member-states to recognize environmental sensitivities in their classification of diseases, if they have not already done so. It is time for Quebec to follow suit!


Symptoms are not visible. When people say they are sensitive to toxic substances that don’t affect others, couldn’t it just be “in their mind?”

It is exactly that heightened susceptibility in an individual, whose body is no longer able to defend itself against a multitude of small toxic attacks, which is the defining characteristic of environmental sensitivities. It is true that some environmental sensitivity symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and feeling dazed, dizzy or brain fogged (lack of cognitive function) are imperceptible to others. The person could therefore appear to be physically normal. However, just because the symptoms are not visible does not mean that they are any less real.

Share vos ressources !

Every person with environmental sensitivities is a wealth of information about the resources available in their area of information about the resources available in their area. You know of professionals who are understanding, aware accommodating? The best places to get adequate products or services? or receive services? Why not share them? pool them together?

Send your suggestions

Resources

UQAM - Community Service
TELUQ

Environmental Health Association of Québec

Logo-Quebec inv With the financial participation
of the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.
Translation from French to English was made possible in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage and ASEQ-EHAQ Department of Canadian Heritage
© Environmental Health Association of Quebec (ASEQ-EHAQ), UQAM Community Services, TÉLUQ. All rights reserved.

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