WHICH CHEMICALS AND WHY CAUSE ALLERGY?
It is worth taking time to sort out some preconceptions about chemicals and to make clear the terms of this discussion. A ‘chemical’, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is ‘a substance obtained by, or used in a chemical process’. The adjective ‘chemical’ means ‘relating to the science of the elements and compounds and their laws of combination and change’. So, the element oxygen, which humans need to breathe and survive, is a chemical. So is water, which is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen.
When people use the word ‘chemical’ in everyday life, however, they mostly do not use it in this neutral sense, but rather with overlays of values and attitudes. Most people use it to mean chemicals that are potentially harmful or toxic (to the environment or individuals), or wasteful of natural resources; and often also to signify synthetic chemicals, rather than natural.
To understand chemical sensitivity, you need to be as objective as you can and to clear your mind as far as possible of your preconceptions about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ chemicals. The concern of this section, and the book as a whole, is with any chemicals that are potentially harmful to individuals at low levels.
Some environmentally friendly chemicals can be harmful to chemically sensitive or allergic individuals, as can some natural chemicals from plants or trees, while some synthetic chemicals are fairly harmless. Some chemicals never cause reactions, and these are the building blocks of life – oxygen, pure uncontaminated water and carbon. Some people apparently react to water and to activated carbon (for instance in water or air filters) but this is more likely due to minute contaminants.
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