Chastised Over Detergent

Chastised Over Detergent

I am meeting people so much more affected by chemicals than I am.

I was told not to use Tide Free, or even detergents bought at Whole Foods, except for Seventh Generation Clear.

People react to these detergents when they wash their clothes after I wash my clothes.

People with extreme environmental illness/chemical sensitivity react to minute amount of chemicals, when their immune and detoxification systems are damaged. I believe this. It's just alarming to meet people who are worse off than I, and whom I might one day resemble if I get worse instead of better.

I went out today and bought Seventh Generation Clear laundry detergent. Someone told me that Tide etc. often use masking chemicals, to mask the chemical smell of their fragrance-free detergents. I do have a friend who is not chemically sensitive, but she reacts very allergically to Tide Free, etc.

There is a man here who says I smell like fragrance, and it bothers him. We've been trying to pin down what he is reacting to -- most likely my 'natural' deodorant. I'm going to switch to an unscented, or just try something very natural like baking soda under the arms. Or a crystal.

He was very nice. I don't want him to have to stand 10 feet away from me when we talk, as he did today! Do we all sound crazy? This is the world of chemical sensitivity, and we are not crazy, we're just the canaries in the coalmine of humans' inability to deal with the manmade chemical environment.