heiwalove
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6467
posted
so, my roommate is painting her room, and despite the fact that the fan is on, her door closed, and her windows open, i can still smell it and it's making me nauseous & headachey & (worst of all) brainfogged.
no one else in the apartment smells anything out of the ordinary, of course.
it's getting so bad i think i'll have to find somewhere else to stay for the next few days/nights.
posted
I know what you mean. After being in the automtive field for a long time after I got sick I moved into light construction working for myself so I could make my own hours. When I first started paint fumes didn't bother me much even though I was sick. After a year or two whenever I was painting or near it I would get fogged, dizzy, headache and such.
Here's what I think. For me at least, I believe that due to my body being out of whack I am not able to detox things like airbourne chemicals and such the way I used to. Therefore I already have a level of these in my body which makes me very sensitive to them.
I can hardly handle being in the house when someone uses the swiffer on the kitchen floor or windex.
The only thing that seems to help is getting out and away from the source. Hope you feel better.
Posts: 413 | From nj | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Oh yea I almost forgot about perfume. I am super sensitive to that.
Posts: 413 | From nj | Registered: Nov 2005
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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If you can stay somewhere else for a while that would be best.
Good luck. sorry she picked winter to paint. Not good for anyone, even if they don't smell it.
Do whatever else you do for chemical exposures as far as liver support and detox measures. and lots of water.
If your roommate can "cook" it dry, turning up the heat, that is best. Tell her you'll pay a little extra for heat if that would keep her from doing it. But then be sure she does. It has to "cure" to dry. Frequent airing out with fresh air, too.
Did she use low VOC paint? Even that gets me for a long time.
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Ozone Machine ?
If you can rent an ozone machine that might help, BUT NO PERSON OR ANIMAL SHOULD BREATHE OZONE IN WHILE IT'S AT HIGHER LEVELS. Put machine next to front door, preferably near a window. Turn on the machine, get out. Stay out for several hours.
Just before opening up door, take in a big breath and hold it, open door, turn off machine, open window, get back out for a few minutes before going back in - the place must air out for a while so you don't get the ozone into your lungs. It can be damaging at the levels needed to do its work.
This is what a doctor had me do when I moved into an apt. with new carpet 8 years ago.
Where ever you would rent such a machine, get instructions from them - there may be new and better information. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Yes! I am very sensitive to paint. I painted our dining room last year and I was sick for weeks after. I am very sensitive to laundry detergent too. I have to buy the free and clear detergent. We bought a front loading washer a few weeks ago and it requires high efficiency detergent. The store that I was at did not carry it in free in clear so I bought scented detergent. Never again! I washed my sheets in it and attempted to sleep on them. They made me sick. Anyone overly sensitive to detergents?
Posts: 36 | From Greenville, SC | Registered: Feb 2007
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CaliforniaLyme
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 7136
posted
I got that with Lyme, I got MCS. Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. It started like that but it got worse to where if I was around paint or perfume or laundry detergent I would get a terrible headache, get clammy, pale, faint feeling, and nauseous- and then I would vomit convulsively. It started like you describe and never stopped, just got worse. I hope yours does not get worse, I really do. It SUCKED!!! it really, really REALLY sucked.
All gone onw, thank goodness. I remember the first time I tried out PAINT after I had been so sick- and painted a whole room- and was WAITING for the sick feeling- but it never came! I was free of it. Thank goodness.
I hope yours does not continue or get worse. Take care,H- Sincerely, Sarah
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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regarding the front loading washer needing special soap . . .
Bi-o-kleen and Seventh Generation are just two companies that make safe soaps for kitchen/ laundry use. Grapefruit seed extract is one of the main ingredients.
You might google and go to their links to see about good stuff for your washer.
Even some of the big names that say they are perfume free still used scents and lots of chemicals. Same with dishwasher detergent. Not only does it stay on our dishes, we are breathing that it from the hot steam.
posted
yes, me too; winter is not time to be painting even in NY !! i don't envy you.
you've gotten good advise. also, if you are renting or buying a home, you do NOT want to have them GLUE DOWN CARPETING!!
THEY MUST TACK IT DOWN! ***********************
someone at work moved into my office 4-6 years after we were relocated; they tore out the new carpeting in there due to 1 person who COULD SMELL it still after all those years! i didn't smell it, but i also had my window open as much as possible!
other smells really get to me:
cigarettes and especially on THEIR CLOTHING!; perfume, cologne, after shave, hairspray; diesel fumes; cleaning and office supplies some foods!
best wishes, and yes, pay a few extra $$ to fumigate place before you come back to live there!
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