General Information:
Basic Medical Requirements
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and its related illnesses are now recognized as a disability under the Ontario Human Rights Code. However, at this point in time, there are no hospitals in Ontario set up to treat or accommodate the Chemically Sensitive patient. Their medical requirements are not covered under OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan); and all across Canada the Chemically Injured are excluded from Universal Health Care. Basic Human Rights and Basic Charter Rights (the right to life, liberty, and security of the person) are being denied the Chemically Injured in Canada.
Some Basic Medical Requirements to accommodate the Chemically Injured patient in a hospital facility are:
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Room with good air quality control
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A ceramic oxygen mask
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Glass I.V. bottles
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Hard plastic I.V. tubing
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100% organic food
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Chlorine-free water
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Non-toxic cleansers
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Medical staff free of personal scent products
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Etc. Etc.
The key in accommodating a Chemically Injured patient is to reduce their chemical exposure. The chemical dose taken in must be reduced in order for medical intervention to be effective. Plastic oxygen masks, soft plastic I.V. tubing, etc., out-gas the plastic vapours and continue to increase the chemical exposure and consequently, to increase the chemical dose. This will either have the effect of making them worse, or making the medical intervention counter productive. The key for effective medical intervention is reducing or eliminating the chemical exposures. To get a lowering of response symptoms, there must be a lowering of the dose taken in. The sicker the patient is, the stricter this rule must be applied.
Sometimes the Chemically Injured patient requires hospitalization to treat the chemical reaction. Other times, they have other health problems, in which their Chemical Injury must be taken into consideration. For example, a ruptured appendix, cardiac arrest, a car accident, etc. There needs to be a way to accommodate these patients in our health system. If someone is diabetic and they also have cancer, you don’t treat the cancer and ignore the diabetes. Medical requirements for both diseases must be part of the treatment plan. The same holds true with Chemical Injury. The medical requirements of a Chemically Injured patient must be part of the treatment plan for any other medical ailment that they might develop.