A growing number of people, including many veterans from the Gulf War, are getting "mysterious" symptoms and illnesses that standard doctors cannot explain but that are caused by exposure to many "normal," low concentrations of chemicals in our environment. These include not only nerve gas (for the veterans), but also pesticides, paints, perfumes, cosmetics, many cleaning and building products, and/or gas stoves. This condition is known as Gulf War Syndrome and also as environmental illness/multiple chemical sensitivities (EI/MCS) or twentieth-century disease, because most of the chemicals in these products did not exist or were not in wide use before World War II.

An excellent source of information about not only the many dangers, but also ways to avoid them, and many safe, positive alternatives, is Staying Well in a Toxic World: Understanding:

by Lynn Lawson. Now there are both an original 1994 version and a new millennium 2000 update. The latter updates all the references and gives current new information for each chapter. You can purchase these books from Lynnword Press at P.O. Box 1732, Evanston, IL 60201. Please make your check payable to Lynn Lawson. For the 1994 version, the price per copy (including shipping) is $20.23 in Illinois, and $18.95 outside Illinois. For the 2000 update, the price per copy (including shipping) is $10.64 in Illinois, and $10.00 outside Illinois. For both books, the price per pair (including shipping) is $26.71 in Illinois, and $24.95 outside Illinois.

In the modern world, we have unconsenting exposures to many toxins. These assaults are allowed to continue. We need to learn how to minimize and sometimes actually avoid these exposures.

A great overall description (in nontechnical language that most people can understand) of the entire field of environmental illness is co-authored by the "father" of this field, Dr. Theron Randolph. It is An Alternative Approach to Allergies: The New Field of Clinical Ecology Unravels the Environmental Causes of Mental and Physical Ills, by Theron G. Randolph, M.D., and Ralph W. Moss, PhD (Harper & Row, revised edition, 1989).

CFS Update/Canary News is an excellent quarterly newsletter for people concerned about Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Environmental Illness. A one-year subscription costs $20 in US ($25 overseas). Make out your check to "CFS Association" and send it to:

Their contact information is by voice mail: 312-409-5363; by email: EditorCCFSA@aol.com ; and by website: www.ChicagoCFS.org

We welcome your questions and/or comments. Please e-mail us at organ1c@aol.com

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