Chemical Sensitivity List

Found in: Formula 409, Clorox Clean-Up, Expo (and other) whiteboard cleaner; a more comprehensive list can be found here.

AKA: Ethylene glycol butyl ether; 2-butoxy-1-ethanol; 2-Butoxy ethanol; monobutyl glycol ether; n-butoxyethanol; Butyl Cellosolve or n-Butyl Cellosolve; poly-solv eb; o-butyl ethylene glycol; 3-oxa-1-heptanol; Beta-butoxyethanol; BUCS; butoxyethanol; butyl glycol; Butyl oxitol; 2-Butoxyet; glycol butyl ether

Immediacy/severity: I can tell almost right away, but not before damage has been done. More mild exposures may not trigger any flags until I've been exposed to a great deal.

Interval after use: One week (indoors); one day (outdoors).

Symptoms: When particularly fresh: unthinking panic. At all times: severe brainfog, exhaustion, muscle weakness, anxiety attacks, Parkinson-type tremors, twitching, difficulty speaking, digestive disorders. Severe symptoms stick around for at least a week, muscle weakness and fatigue persist for three weeks or more.

Rescue: Get me out of there if I seem to be getting vague or panicky. 3g vitamin C, a B-50 tab, and some charcoal caps ASAP to combat immediate effects; for ongoing reactions, more C (for exhaustion and muscle weakness) and B vitamins (for nervous system effects) can help. Rubbing alcohol or vodka for wiping down my skin during detox can be useful.

Alternatives: 50-50 rubbing alcohol in water is a very effective whiteboard cleaner. For windows and counters, I recommend Bio-Kleen (Whole Foods and some other places carry it), but any of the more "natural" spray cleaners tend to be all right. Windex is questionable (see next entry).

Found in: almost all Windex, Swiffer WetJet; more products are getting it all the time, mostly surface cleaners.

AKA: Butoxy propanol

Immediacy/severity: Much like for EGBE.

Interval after use: Approximately 3 days (indoors); outdoors unknown.

Symptoms:This is the larger, milder cousin of EGBE. All the same symptoms but to a lesser degree, and they pass more quickly (about 3-4 days rather than a full week). Lingering effects are gone in about 10 days.

Rescue: As for EGBE.

Alternatives: As for EGBE. One type of Windex ("Mountain Berry", the reddish-purple one) does not contain any ethers and is safe, as are the Windex wipes. I have no idea whether the generic blue window cleaners have ethers in them, and I suspect it varies by store brand. A rule of thumb: if it mentions ammonia (e.g. "Glass Cleaner with Ammonia") it's more likely to be safe. Windex traded ammonia for ether as its grease-cutting agent, and I suspect no one uses both.

Found in: RoundUp

AKA: I'm not sure whether it's glyphosate itself, or the other junk Monsanto adds to RoundUp that they aren't required to list on the label; as a result, I can't offer any other search terms.

Immediacy/severity: I know within about 10 minutes. Since I don't usually hang around where spraying is being done, exposure tends to be brief, but so long as the stuff is still wet I can get blindsided without knowing. My first hint is brainfog, which is notoriously difficult to notice right away.

Interval after use: Several hours, preferably a day. I can handle very brief exposures after the spray has dried, but I don't want to linger, and I shouldn't come in contact with sprayed items (including stuff in any drift radius) for a couple of days.

Symptoms: Brainfog, Parkinson-type tremors, twitches, muscle weakness, exhaustion. It lasts for a couple of days, depending on how severe the exposure was; when I walked into some spray in 2005, I was weak for about five days.

Rescue: Get me out of there if I'm getting vague. 3g of vitamin C to start with, and I may take more than that if necessary. B vitamins are worth a try if the tremors get annoying.

Alternatives: There are lots of other weed-killing methods out there for common weeds... but for some things (*cough*Bermudagrass*cough*) RoundUp is the only one that even comes close. If you must, use it, but consider using a paintbrush instead of a sprayer, and warn me if I'm likely to come into contact with it.

Found in: I have no idea what this stuff is. The main place I run across it is newly-remodeled retail stores, such as Safeway and Longs; it isn't a common substance, I think, as I haven't had as much trouble with other newly-renovated buildings. The best guess I have is that it's either a new type of pressboard they're using for endcaps and shelving, or whatever glue is associated with it. I used to think it was some sort of flooring adhesive, but the Longs stores that got me haven't redone their floors recently.

AKA: No clue.

Immediacy/severity: No immediate reaction, which is very rare. I truly don't know I've been exposed until much later, usually 8-12 hours. It's what causes this one to make the list, as I can get very severe exposures without even knowing it.

Interval after use: Approximately two years. My local Safeway remodeled at least that long ago, and it's safe for me now.

Symptoms: None for 8-12 hours. After that: brainfog, severe anxiety attacks, depression, self-injurious impulses (I can handle them), flashes of anger, Parkinson-type tremors, muscle weakness. Thankfully, the whole cycle is usually done within 18 hours, but it's ruined a few weekends.

Rescue: B vitamins sometimes help a little. Mostly I just retreat to solitude and ride it out.

Alternatives: None.

Found in: Lysol and similar disinfectants (not to be confused with Pine-sol).

AKA: I haven't tracked down the specific ingredient.

Immediacy/severity: If it's fresh, I know within seconds. Residue a few hours old may trigger the feeling that something's up, but accumulated exposure doesn't seem to add to the reaction.

Interval after use: Ten to fifteen minutes in a well-ventilated room, more like an hour otherwise. Mostly I tell people not to use it in my presence unless I have a mask.

Symptoms: Brainfog and a touch of anxiety. (The latter may just be due to the nightmares I've had from time to time.) Tremors may show up with a particularly severe exposure.

Rescue: Fresh air, 3g of vitamin C, and some B vitamins if the tremors show up. I'll recover fairly quickly once I'm out of there.

Alternatives: The usual pack of disinfectants: bleach, ammonia, alcohol, soap and water; if you need an anti-microbial that isn't harsh, look into grapefruit-seed extract, which is what Bio-Kleen uses. Tea tree oil is effective, but it's a sensitizer (as is pine oil), so it may exacerbate any sensitivities the user already has.

Found in: Raid and other standard insect sprays, bug bombs

AKA: cyclopropanecarboxylic acid. I suspect labeling laws require that they specifically refer to these as pyrethrin or pyrethroids.

Immediacy/severity: If it's fresh, I can taste it. Generally, if it isn't used right under my nose, I don't notice it; the worst reaction I had in recent memory was when I ate some food that hadn't been removed from the cupboard when someone sprayed for ants. (Don't do that!)

Interval after use: Long enough for the smell to go away; about 30 minutes or so for sprays, a couple of days for bug bombs. Don't bomb a house I'm spending a lot of time in.

Symptoms: Typical pesticide exposure: muscle weakness, exhaustion, brainfog. I know this one by the bitter taste in my mouth and excess salivation, which are trademarks for insecticide exposure. Basically, I have typical symptoms with a really low threshold.

Rescue: Fresh air and 3g of vitamin C. After that I get to wait it out.

Alternatives: There are a few "natural" bug sprays out there; my friend Jack found one he's especially fond of and refers to as "minty death" (active ingredient is mint oil): Victor Poison-Free Ant & Roach Killer. Gel and solid ant/roach baits are no problem. There's a host of nontoxic flea control methods out there, if you do a little searching.