Laundry Detergent and other chemicals makes me nauseous now

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dancingwithfibro

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Joined
Jul 27, 2015
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112
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
02/2014
Country
US
State
HI
Does anyone else have serious reaction with their laundry detergent since having fibro? I used to be able to use all kinds of cleaning supplies but my body has become so much more hyper sensitive that now I get nauseous from doing laundry.:confused: It's not like I'm sniffing or drinking or ingesting or lathering myself in the stuff. I'm literally just doing laundry and about 30 minutes later it feels like morning sickness ALL day into next day. Ugh! I also noticed that when I treat my pets with the flea medication, the first day I'm around them I'm nauseous all day into the next day. It never used to be like that. I have not changed any products. Just poof in the past few months being exposed to chemicals makes me extremely nauseous to the point I have to skip medications that can potentially cause additional nausea (ie. cymbalta and tramadol). Has your body become even more hyper sensitive as time went on? If so, when did it peak and did it plateau at any point? This is my 4th year since diagnosis but I've probably had fibro for about 6.
 
Mine is hyper sensitive to smells and chemicals and household cleaners and even cement and wood smell/dust in the DIY stores. my throat swells and i can taste the smell if that makes sense for at least 24 hours and my mouth throat ears all feel irritated sore and i get a migraine..and like you see kind of nauseous although not that part as bad as you describe.

I have to ask my family not to use strong smelling things in the house that linger..like menthol pain creams and i even react if i get close to them when they have been working in a shed or garage where tubes of strong glue or the woody smell of the shed is on their clothing..tbh i think they think i make a fuss about nothing..but it really affects me badly for sometimes 48 hours.

Nice to hear from you dancingwithfibro..i havent seen you on here for a while..hello:)
 
hello willow! yes it's been quite some time =)

yes, i can see how talking to the family is necessary to prevent future episodes. i'm visiting my mother for about 5 weeks and i definitely will have to tell her not to have any smelly products although that's so subjective. my therapist suggested using essential oils that supposedly help soothe nausea and see if that helps.

were you always sensitive to smell or did it come about after fibro?
 
I first remember being sensitive in mylate 20s early 30's..but more minor. and as a symtom on its own i pretty much ignored it....looking back this is the age i started getting bouts of fatigue bad enough to keep me off work sometimes but then i recovered from those too..until fibro hit in my mid 40's.

I didnt make any link until i read chemical sensitivities can be part of fibro along with heightened sense of smell.
 
I've had Fibro for 17 years. Stinks.
I became very sensitive to smells....to the point all
cleaners in my house are now unscented, perfume makes me
nauseous. I can taste the smells for hours after coming into contact,
My body rejects smells and strong lights, loud noise. Fibro can be so
life changing....

soft hugs, Tash
 
Funny isnt how far fibro reaches us in soo many ways....honestly i think my family think i make it up or at least exaggerate...but i really dont and tend to keep quiet these days as best i can.

My Dad has ME and he is the same with smells and light..i have to admit when i was a young girl in my pre fibro days i didnt really understand either.
 
I was born allergic to milk, had to have special milk. Interesting looking back,
I see IBS in my childhood.
Also, in my childhood, my mom would
mop her kitchen floor nightly with Pinesol, back then the smell would
make me nauseous and I wondered WHY she had to mop every night. LOL

After several years of Fibro, my smell sensitivity shot through the roof. We use
unscented detergent. My hubby must use unscented deodorant and soap. Whenever
I went to church, the peoples' SMELLS and perfumes/soaps would just floor me with nauseous...
I needed a bubble to sit in.

Hugs to ya...
 
Hi! So sorry you are experiencing this, but yes, I have reactions to chemicals, too. For me it started around 17 maybe. I always had food allergies and pollen, animals, etc. But when I was 20 I started getting severe pelvic pain (turned out to be endometriosis and interstitial cystitis), fatigue, malaise, nausea, etc. One thing my mother-in-law who had cancer taught me to do was to clean with very mild or natural cleaners with little or no odor, like baking soda. There are ideas online. There are more options now than back then. At first I didn't get why my mil was teaching me that, but when I tried going back it was obvious: bleach, nail polish, heavy cleaners, even the plastic odor a new shower curtain liner used to have. Perfumes, fragrances, etc. I am very blessed, though, that my family is very careful to respect this. They keep these things away from me or don't use them. I will get the nausea and fatigue but also now I get migraines. I can't use regular shampoo or body wash. I will get sores. I have to buy the very mild soap-based or coconut oil kind. I made my own for a while. I drink and shower in filtered water and eat organic and no preservatives if I can (about 1/2). I used to work in pesticides for many years and my family before that. Sometimes I wonder if that has anything to do with it, but I don't think there's much research. But since I lost my job in the cornfields I am not quite as likely to react to an accidental exposure. I can have some pure essential oils. Maybe that would be okay for you? I hope you get something that works for you.
 
Hi dancingwithfibro,

I notice since I've had Fibro I'm more sensitive to smells, kinda like when I was pregnant.

I can smell things that other people can't at times.I do laundry but as of yet, that has not affected me.But other strong chemicals like bleach,aerosol sprays and perfume do.For awhile I stopped wearing perfume.I make sure it's a light scent or I can't tolerate it.

I went to a bridal party the other day for my future daughter in law,and decided to get a pedicure. I haven't been to one of those places in a couple of years.
As soon as I walked in the smell of the nail polish chemicals almost made me leave.Meanwhile everyone else was sitting there talking and smiling like it was nothing.

So yes strong smells definitely cause a problem since I've had Fibromyalgia.Just have to be cautious of my surroundings.These changes are hard for all of us to deal with.


Sagey
 
Last couple of years I've become somewhat sensitive. It might have something to do with the medications I take.
 
thank you so much for sharing your stories and your own difficulties! i apologize for the late response i've been in a flare and it seems it's a long one... drinking a few glasses of wine now which always helps with the pain - it's about quality of life at this point, i don't care if it's not "healthy".. neither are all these drugs that i'm taking or fibro for that matter lol

getting reassurance from other fibronites about certain symptoms gives me so much comfort that i'm not imagining these new symptoms. it is really a mindfu** isn't it? the new normal keeps changing. and i don't know if it's a one off until it happens again and trying to figure out .. what did eat? what cleaning products did i use? skin care? drugs? supplements? drink? sugar? gluten? dairy? salt? oh the list seems bottomless. but i did figure out that it wasn't just the detergent.. but i'm also very sensitive to handling cockroach baits. i live in hawaii so cockroaches are our state flower =) again i'm not lathering the stuff on myself. i'm just literally picking up the plastic bait and strategically placing it. and then boom, 15 minutes later, nausea. new normal. so i've learned i need to start wearing gloves when handling any chemical products. thanks again fibro community you are all in my thoughts and prayers. gentle hugs
 
Nice to hear back from you dancingwithfibro..i so identify with keep having to accept our new normal...each time a nasty symptom rears its head....is it this is it that how can we get rid of it or stop it in future..on and on until our brains get total overload...lol then the overload makes our symptoms and pain worse.

Its like walking a tight rope every day trying to protect ourselves.
 
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