title: We are the canaries: self-care in multiple chemical sensitivity sufferers.
abstract: This ethnographic study investigates the experiences of living with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), a condition increasing in prevalence but medically contested, on which very little qualitative research has been done. Participant observation included two treatment centers, a support organization, an Internet chat room, and conversations with MCS sufferers, activists, and educators. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 33 people with MCS, recruited to reflect a broad demographic range and severity of illness variation. This article describes several methodological issues associated with doing "peer research" and then describes self-care for symptom management. With no known cure, MCS sufferers manage their symptoms through three main avenues: prevention/avoidance, detoxification, and emotional self-care. Implications include education of health care providers and a warning from those who have MCS: "We are the canaries in the coal mine; what has happened to us will happen to many others unless we clean up our environment."
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Lipson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D004782:Environmental Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018777:Multiple Chemical Sensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology