Hope this answers some questions for those who showed interest, and enlightens a few more:

People with an exquisite sensitivity to toxic chemicals are often called “canaries.” The name comes from the old practice of miners who took canaries with them into the mines; if the canary died from toxic air in the shaft, the miners had time to escape with their lives.People with chemical sensitivities are the canaries of the modern world.

So how does a person develop chemical sensitivities?

So, what IS that scent you are wearing? There are no laws requiring the manufacturers of perfumes and other scented products to inform you of their ingredients. When byproducts form by combining them, they don’t have to tell consumers that either.

In the US the word "fragrance" on your ingredients list can be up to 200 undisclosed chemicals, from a pool of 2000, that do not have to be tested for safety. In fact, many of them are known to cause health problems.

It is no wonder that 30% of Americans have reactions ranging from noticeable to debilitating to such products and other chemicals. An estimated 4-6% of these people are forced to change their daily lives dramatically due to severe sensitivity to chemicals. These people suffer an invisible illness, that recieves little recognition. Acknowledgement would point the finger at the big business of chemical production and use, and there are 80,000 chemicals in products used by Americans every day.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, or MCS, is a disability that causes individuals to react to even the lowest levels of toxics because of previous chemical exposure. New exposures do not "bother" but further "injure" those with prior chemical injury.

Inundated with pollutants and toxins it is impossible for those affected with MCS to carry on their lives as usual. This includes family and friends. If they want to assist in the better health and maintain a relationship with their loved one, they must make the neccessary changes of eliminating such products from their environment.

Those who develop this lowered tolerance are often industrial workers, occupants in "tight" buildings, residents from contaminated communities, war veterans and individuals with personal exposures to chemicals in a world growing more toxic.

My Story

What just happened??

The donuts are great if you don’t mind choking down a heaping portion of racism first.
We were regulars until today. When my husband smiled and said we’d be getting a small box of donuts, the man behind the counter (who we know to be the owner) smirked and asked if we were Arabic.

My husband responded, “Could be”, and calmly continued to order. The owner laughed and awkwardly explained that he asked because my face was covered. I wear a carbon fiber inside a bandana as a mask because I have MCS, a disability that causes all sorts of health problems from exposure to chemicals, fragrances, exhaust, woodsmoke, etc. Any place I go, which isn’t many, people ask or look inquisitive and my husband or I are happy to explain.

Why would he ask if “we” (including himself in a childish joking way) were Arabic? A joke? What is the joke? What is the purpose? Would he ask “Are you- anything else?”

My best friend is Armenian and right after September 11, his uncle was attacked and beaten inside a record store. This is the context in which we live.

I wanted others to know and I want to know,

WHAT JUST HAPPENED???