On various occasions, we test the patient’s reaction to the odor of fresh carpeting, which is kept stored in jars, or to torn shreds of carbonless carbon paper, which ordinarily reeks from petrochemicals and is increasingly used in business receipts of all kinds. Patients look for reactions to these chemically impregnated substances and record them the same way they do their reactions to foods.

It has been found that if a patient reacts to one of the common chemicals, he is likely to react to a broad range of petrochemical products. The percentage of patients reacting to chemicals increases year by year as the quality of the environment as a whole declines.

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Pineapple and papaya both contain very powerful protein-breaking enzymes that can attack the membranes of any body cell, including mast cells. This again may cause the mast cells to degranulate. It is not certain whether some individuals are more susceptible than others, but it is not advisable for anyone to eat raw pineapple or papaya on an empty stomach because of the damage done to the stomach lining by these enzymes. Tinned pineapple is safe because the heat used in canning inactivates the enzyme.

Yet another group of foods contain substances that appear to trigger mast cells but whose chemical identity is unknown. The foods in question are buckwheat, sunflower seeds, mango and mustard. The offending ingredient -which is assumed to be a peptide or protein – binds to the IgE of susceptible individuals.

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Acupuncture is taken very seriously as a therapy now in certain quarters of Western medicine and is used for anaesthesia; for pain relief; and for complementary treatment by a number of general practices. For people with allergies and sensitivity, acupuncture treatment can be very helpful and many people respond to a course of treatment. It can be relaxing and invigorating, even if specific symptoms do not respond straightaway. The only materials used are the fine needles inserted in the skin, so the therapy does not cause reactions in itself.

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If you are sensitive to nitrates, use a reverse osmosis system for preference. Alternatively, look for a nitrate-reducing version of KDF, AC and jug filters.

If you are very short of money, but want something more convenient and effective than a jug filter, then your best choice may be a smaller plumbed-in undersink activated carbon filter at around £50 before plumbing costs (supplier Berglen), or an end-of-tap activated carbon filter which costs between £11 and £90.

If you are sensitive to water you wash with, a showerhead KDF filter at about £50 (supplier: Environmental Water Supplies) is a cost-effective way of reducing problems and inconvenience. Users report that these are not always effective so may not be useful if you are very sensitive.

If you want a system for your whole house, there is currently no ideal solution. There is an activated carbon filter system available for about £100 which will serve (supplier: Opella), but it is not designed for that purpose, and is costly and inconvenient in terms of filter replacement. Some suppliers are now just introducing purpose-built all-house AC filters – keep an eye out for new products coming on to the markets.

If money is no object, suppliers will quote to plumb in RO, KDF or AC systems to supply multiple or different parts of your system – for instance, drinking water and sink, laundry, bathroom, or even lavatory. This could easily cost you upwards of £1000, so you need to be really sure it’s worth it.

If you are not short of money, and not so sensitive that you really need RO water, a compromise solution may work better – say, with a good quality KDF or AC plumbed-in filter in the kitchen for drinking and cooking water, with a portable tap filter or jug filter available for other situations, and a showerhead filter for showers. Coverage of this kind would be possible for between £300 and £400 (before plumbing costs).

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The contents of tapwater vary considerably across the country, and even within water company regions. This is partly because the level of industrial or agricultural contaminants differs according to the nature of the local economy. It is also because of local differences in the age and quality of water treatment plants, and mains and pipes. If you live in an area with relatively new treatment plants and pipes, or with little industry, or with low fertiliser use in farming, then your tapwater will contain lower levels of chemicals than that of other places.

Furthermore, some tapwater supplies come from groundwater, drawn direct from springs or boreholes. This often differs little from bottled waters in purity and needs little disinfection and filtration before supply. One third of water in England and Wales is supplied from groundwater, and if this applies to you, you may have few problems with your water apart from chemicals used for disinfection.

Water that is drawn from other sources (lakes, rivers and reservoirs) is subject to more pollution and needs greater purification, especially water from lowland rivers and reservoirs.

The chemicals found in tapwater which are particularly associated with chemical sensitivity are:

• chlorine

• nitrates

• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

• trihalomethanes

• organic solvents

Aluminium, found naturally or added to purify water in some areas, is linked to some health problems, and lead, found sometimes in lead pipes within the home, is a known health hazard. If you are concerned about lead within your home, ask a plumber to check your system and replace pipes if you need to.

Traces of other heavy metals are also found in tapwater – metals such as copper, zinc and cadmium. Metals do not cause specific sensitivity reactions, but it is thought that absorbing them can depress the immune system, deplete vitamin and mineral levels, and thereby reduce your ability to cope generally with chemical load.

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If you are using sexual aids of any kind, stop for a while to see if your symptoms improve, and stop using them permanently if they are the cause of reactions.

If you are allergic to pets and animals, or to house dust mites, you may get reactions if you make love on a surface where pets often sleep or rest, or which are full of dust mites – such as a carpet, rug, sofa, car seat or bedcover. Cover surfaces with a clean cloth or towel, or try somewhere else.

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Boots the Chemist stock a selection of waterproof protective gloves in several materials. Their Sensitive Skin glove is made for people who react to latex. If you tolerate latex, but react to synthetics, they make a pure latex glove without lining. They also have gloves of other materials which are well labelled. Try each kind if you need to.

New rubber or protective gloves often smell strongly at first and give off fumes. Wash thoroughly inside and out and leave them to air for a while before use, until the fumes disappear.

Thin protective gloves for delicate manoeuvres are also sold by Boots the Chemist. These are made of polyethene. As an alternative, Mates gloves are sold in most chemists and some supermarkets. They have a choice of materials – Handi-mates are made of vinyl, Medi-mates are made of latex. They make types of other materials as well: contact them for brand names and details if you need them.

For thicker protection, try cotton calico gloves or thick leather or suede gloves. These are both sold in most garden centres.

If you still cannot find a protective material that suits, wear a thin liner glove of cotton or silk inside protective gloves.

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If you tolerate foods reasonably well after a while, you can move to a two-day diet, eating foods in rotation every other day. This is pretty close to normality and easier to live with.

If you are extremely sensitive and have very few foods, you may have to reduce your rotation to less than four days, although this has the risk that you build up sensitivity again and find that you start to react to the foods that previously were fine. If this happens, lengthen out the rotation as far as you can, eating foods that you have not eaten for a while, and give the foods you have been eating intensively a rest for a short time.

It is best to start strictly with a rotation diet and then, once you feel well enough, experiment with what you can tolerate, and work out your own compromise. If you feel worse, you can always go back to the strict rotation, get things straight and then try again. It takes time but, provided you are not eating things that upset you badly, you can generally work out something acceptable.

Remember that everyone is different. What suits you may not suit someone else with food sensitivity. Work out your rotation for yourself and do not worry if it is not the same as anybody else’s.

People often get worried about their nutritional balance when on a rotation diet. The individual days of a rotation often look to be lacking in important nutrients. A doctor or dietitian will have taken this into account, however, and what they look for is an adequate supply of nutrients over several days of the diet, rather than on specific days, or at individual meals. If there is inadequate supply of an important nutrient, they will propose a supplement. They will advise you if there are specific foods that you should always eat on the allocated day. A well-constructed rotation diet will also give you a good balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat, so that you feel nourished and full.

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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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Tailored Cotton Clothing

Next Directory usually sell a wide range of pure cotton tailored clothes, available by post. Pure cotton poplin shirts are widely available in High Street shops. If you are very chemically sensitive, the fabric finishes on even a well-washed shirt will affect you; some people also find finishes on shirt collars a problem. Look for shirts with softer feeling collars as you may be able to tolerate these better. Seymour’s Shirts will make pure cotton shirts with soft collars on request.

Untreated Cotton Clothing

Cotton On and Schmidt Natural Clothing sell by post pure cotton casual clothes for men which have not been treated with formaldehyde, nor bleached with chlorine bleach. Natural Facts sell by mail order pure cotton clothes made from organically grown cotton, and free of bleaches, dyes, and formaldehyde. The Green Catalogue, Next Directory, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace sell unbleached, undyed cotton clothes free of formaldehyde; some of these are made from organic cotton.

Silk Clothing

Alternatively, you may find silk clothes more tolerable. Patra sell men’s silk shirts, and silk jersey T-shirts at reasonable prices, by mail order. James Meade and Complete Essentials also sell silk shirts by post. Orvis sell silk jersey polo necks by mail order. These, like the silk T-shirts from Patra, can be very useful as a means of keeping warm if you cannot wear synthetics or wool. Orvis also sell silk and cotton blend knitted sweaters which are reasonably priced and exceptionally warm.

Linen Clothing

Look for men’s fashions in linen as an alternative fibre. Next Directory, Racing Green and Complete Essentials commonly stock linen and linen/cotton blend men’s clothes in their summer range.

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