The causes can be many.  Often there is an initial trigger, such as working in a photographic lab or in a factory with harsh chemicals, or taking certain medications.  But once the problem starts, then all kinds of things can be triggers, including what is in the air, in air conditioning systems, and in products of all kinds in the home or office.

Printers, copiers, toners, glue, perfume, pressed wood board, fireproofing in clothing and mattresses, pesticides, detergents…almost anything can trigger very uncomfortable reactions.  Reactions to various molds can be so severe as to make the person unable to think straight, and actions have to be taken to reduce the toxic load.

A person with MCS not only has to reduce the toxic load in their environment, they also have to reduce the toxic load in their bodies.  This is quite a bit of work and expense.

Some doctors are aware of the problem and ask that patients refrain from wearing any perfumes and fragrances in their office.  This is a small step, but one in which we might all be more sensitive.

Unfortunately, there is not silver bullet.  It takes a rigorous multidiscipline approach.  It involves reducing the toxic load both in your environment and inside your own body.

Your doctor can probably give you some medication to relieve symptoms in many cases; however, some of the medications can not be given over a long period of time and they will increase the toxic load rather than eliminate or decrease it.

For a quick start, you may want to take this free health analyzer to see which of nine body systems are being affected.

http://www.mynsp.com/vibrantenergy/products/healthAnalyzer.aspx

There are suggestions you can click on for support for those body systems, which is a good place to begin until you know more or can do more.

Then, you will find much information and many solutions at the following website involving environmental choices, food choices, health choices and much more.

http://ItsAllAboutWellBeing.com

Take the time to learn, and do whatever you can.  It will be necessary to take each step, one by one, as your home, body and pocketbook can afford to do it.  Please consider which of the suggestions will give you the most benefit initially, and start there.

Airborne pollutants

There are many potential causes of sick building syndrome, and for people who are affected it can be very devastating.  Some people seem to be the “canaries.”  There is not a great deal of recognition or mainstream acceptance about the problem; however, builders are becoming more sensitive to the issues involved.

“Nearly everything we use sheds particles or gives off gases, particularly when new. People shed dead skin and hair all the time. Clothing, furnishings, curtains, carpets etc. contribute fumes, fibres and other fragments. Cleaning processes such as sweeping, vacuuming and dusting may remove the larger particles but often increase the levels of smaller, respirable, particles in the air. Chemicals used for cleaning are often toxic, and office supplies and equipment may also give off harmful chemicals.

Buildings are complex environments which can trap and concentrate pollutants as well as generate them. Outside pollutants find their way into buildings through air intakes and inadequate filtering systems. As long as ample ventilation ensures a constant supply of fresh air, indoor pollution problems may be kept to a minimum. But general ventilation is often inadequate and office equipment may have no local exhaust system venting fumes to the outside.”

The following things can be causes of sick building syndrome:

Ammonia, Asbestos, Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Detergent dust, Ethanol (ethyl alcohol), Fibreglass, Formaldehyde, Hydrocarbons, Hydrogen chloride, Methanol (methyl alcohol), Micro-organisms, Motor vehicle exhaust, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Paint, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), Pesticides, Radon, Solvents, Sterilant gases, Sulphur oxides, Tobacco smoke, Vinyl chloride, Air-conditioning systems, Outside air inlets, Mixing chamber, Filters, Cooling and biological contamination, Control systems, Delivery and circulation of air, Exhaust air, Air quality and thermal comfort, Temperature, Humidity, Ventilation, Air movement, Fresh air, Thermal radiation, Noise, Lighting, Ions, Radiation and visual display units, Stress.

Please view the following link for more details on each of these potential pollutants.

http://www.lhc.org.uk/members/pubs/books/sbs/sb04.htm

All the emphasis is on design and construction in regulations being considered. A Passiv Haus will burn 3 times more fuel than a house built before there were regulations in place.

Log fires are really nice.  In some places there is plenty of wood and hardly any natural gas. So why not burn wood? And you can burn lots of your household waste in a wood burning stove, instead of burying it.

Even if a building has good air quality on opening day, there is no guarantee it will be any better than any other building six months down the road when all sorts of sources of contamination have been moved in.  Furniture, photocopiers and printers can contribute a lot of pollution to indoor air.

People should not assume that all LEED buildings have poor air quality, but it could be a potential problem.

“While the intent of sustainable building certification programs, like LEED, is sound and innovative, there are a few flaws.”

LEED is a points-based system. It is up to builders and designers to decide which particular points they choose to pursue when seeking certification. It is possible for a building to be LEED certified without actually verifying that air quality objectives have been met.”

Combined with the fact that no re-certification is required after a building is initially certified as a LEED accredited building, it could result in poor indoor air quality.”

GREEN BUILDINGS

Not all ‘green’ buildings are healthy buildings

“That new green building, which may have received a lot of positive publicity, might not actually be as healthy as it seems.”

That warning was one of several delivered at an all-day Construction Solutions Conference in Vancouver attended by 125 delegates, many of whom were architects or contractors. Elia Sterling. president of Theodor Sterling Associates in Vancouver was the conference chair. His company has been in the business of providing indoor environmental services for 35 years. The Construction Solutions Conference featured a full day of often technical sessions that generally dealt with the broad field of green construction.

There is a perception that because a building is certified green, people assume it is a healthy building, but, in fact it may well be a “sick” building. “Not all green buildings have good indoor air quality.”

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id31567.