How Smelleze® Got Me Back Into My Bedroom After Toxic Paint Exposure

By Shelley Ervin, Commercial Writer, Southern California

I am a 66-year old woman who has suffered for decades from MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) and other autoimmune disorders, including fibromyalgia, systemic candida, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and endometriosis. I am writing this to help others with conditions such as mine. I was also diagnosed five years ago with a stage 1 malignant breast tumor (“insitu” or encapsulated) and feel a responsibility to inform other women about the dangers of chemical exposures, their connection to cancer, and how natural products like Smelleze® Reusable Odor Eliminator & Air Purifier Pouches can help minimize them in the home.

I am a commercial writer who, in my spare time, researches alternative/natural healthcare remedies and protocols, and donates my time to environmental causes. Over the years, I have learned much about which consumer products to avoid so as not to have my MCS and other conditions triggered by toxic fumes. Of equal importance for me is the environmental safety of products, having been educated during my years as an environmental activist by EWG (Environmental Working Group).

For acutely sensitive people like me, “the canaries in the cave” as we are called, every day is a struggle to survive chemical exposures in a toxic world. And when you have a breast tumor (mine has been diagnosed as “quiescent” at the moment), you learn that many environmental chemicals and food additives can mimic estrogen and other hormones, raising hormone levels in the body that can both worsen and set the stage for cancer to develop. These chemicals are called “endocrine disruptors,” and because most are fat-soluble, the body cannot rapidly flush them out, so it stores them in fat. Click on this link to learn more: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/bendrep.asp

What is MCS?

As described on multiplechemicalsensitivity.org, “Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, in broad terms, means an unusually severe sensitivity or allergy-like reaction to many different kinds of pollutants including solvents, VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), perfumes, petrol, diesel, smoke, “chemicals” in general, and often encompasses problems with regard to pollen, house dust mites, and pet fur and dander.”

There is no consensus on what it is, and what causes it. In fact, most medical doctors doubt that it actually exists.

But for those of us who react with uncomfortable and/or painful physical symptoms to fumes from things such as paint, mothballs, new building materials, exhaust, “commercial” household cleaning products, cigarette smoke, artificial perfumes and candles, and many other man-made toxins in our environment, it’s important to know about MCS, and to have tools to deal with it when an exposure occurs.

Because MCS is poorly understood by the conventional medical community, medical school curricula is very lacking in how to diagnose and treat MCS. All of what I’ve leaned over the years has been taught to me by alternative care doctors – naturopaths, homeopaths, herbalists and MDs specializing in integrative and complementary medicine.

It is up to people like me to spread the word about this debilitating illness and help others find solutions to managing it. That’s why I am glad to have the opportunity to tell my story about Smelleze®, so that others who suffer from MCS will have another tool in their toolbox to avoid toxic exposures.

How I Came to Use Smelleze®

Recently, my husband painted a small area of our ceiling in the bedroom where we sleep. He accidentally used old paint, and although he did not notice any smell, this created a toxic situation for me far beyond usual fresh paint fumes, which I usually have to avoid for up to seven days to be safe.

So I stayed out of the room for a day, and then tested the smell to see how I reacted. My lungs immediately became tight and uncomfortable upon entering, and stayed that way for hours. When we discovered why old paint in particular causes fumes that are dangerous to people like me, we tried every natural solution we could find online to mitigate the toxic fumes. We cut up onions and placed them around the room for days. We put buckets of water with lemons on the floor. We used an essential oil diffuser. We even sponged off the ceiling with hydrogen peroxide several times over three days. Nothing worked.

In desperation, I did more research online and found natural Smelleze® Reusable Odor Eliminator & Air Purifier Pouches. I was skeptical at first, because it was a commercial product instead of a home remedy, but because it was so inexpensive decided to give it a try. Thankfully the product arrived in a few days, and I distributed the three pouches within the bedroom. Within a half hour I was able to fold laundry in the room, completely unaffected by the fumes that had locked me out of my bedroom for 18 days!

Not long after trying the Smelleze® Pouches in my bedroom, I was exposed to a hand soap laden with a synthetic fragrance at a friend’s house. Even though I washed my hands thoroughly upon returning home, dosed them in hydrogen peroxide and painted them with oregano oil, I was still feeling the exposure very acutely in my lungs and nasal passages. I went into my now safe bedroom and put one of the Smelleze pouches next to my hands while meditating. Within minutes I was breathing much easier.

I plan to try the Smelleze® Pouches in my car to help minimize toxic exposure on the road, and any other place I can think of where protection is needed. I also plan on putting a couple in my husband’s office, to protect him from the toxic chemicals in the colored marker pens he uses as an architect.

Do you Suffer from MCS?

I highly recommend that chemically sensitive people consider using natural Smelleze® Reusable Odor Eliminator & Air Purifier Pouches to protect themselves from toxins that can trigger their conditions. There are a wide range of targeted Smelleze® air cleaners available to remove specific harmful odors and toxic indoor air pollutants at their source to make your home a safer place. These eco-friendly products are relatively inexpensive starting at only $12.99, reusable for years, portable, and easy to use. They are made from 100% all natural sustainable ingredients and are chemical, fragrance, toxin, and odor free. I believe that Smelleze® can make a real difference to your life if you are suffering from environmental illness like it did for me.