Multiple Chemical Sensitivites

We have included a section for environmental illness as many individuals with M.E. / CFS, experience a beginning or an increase of environmental and food sensitivities.

Reported Symptoms and Syndromes

Skin: Itching, burning, flushing, warmth, coldness, tingling, sweating behind the neck, etc. hives, blisters, blotches, red spots, "pimples".

Ear, nose & throat: Nasal congestion, sneezing, nasal itching, runny nose, postnasal drip. Sore, dry, or tickling throat, clearing throat, itching palate, hoarseness, hacking cough. Fullness ringing, or popping of ears, earache, intermittent deafness, dizziness, imbalance.

Eyes: Blurring of vision, pain in eyes, crossing of eyes, glare hurts eyes; eyelids twitching, drooping, or swollen; redness and swelling of inner angle of lower lid.

Respiratory: Shortness of breath, wheeze, cough, mucous formation in bronchial tubes.

Cardiovascular: Pounding heart, increased pulse rate, skipped beats, flushing, pallor, warm, cold, tingling, redness or blueness of hands, faintness, precordial pain.

Gastrointestinal: Dryness of mouth, increased salivation, canker sores, stinging tongue, burping, retasting, heartburn, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, difficulty in swallowing, rumbling in abdomen, abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, itching or burning of rectum.

Genitourinary: Frequent, urgent or painful urination; inability to control bladder; vaginal itching or discharge.

Muscular: Fatigue, generalized muscular weakness, muscle and joint pain, stiffness, soreness, chest pain, backache, neck and muscle spasm, generalized spasticity.

Nervous System: Headache, migraine, compulsively sleepy, drowsy, groggy, slow, sluggish, dull, depressed, serious, crying, anxious, stimulated, overactive, restless, jittery, convulsive, head feels full or enlarged, floating, silly, giggling, laughing, inebriated, unable to concentrate, feeling of separateness or apartness from others, amnesia for words or numbers, stammering or stuttering speech.

Source: Miller, J.B. Food Allergy; Provocative Testing and Injection Therapy. Springfield; Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, 1972, p.21

Chemical Stressors in the Home

Source: Golos, N., Golbitz, F.G., Leighton, F.S Coping with Your Allergies,New York; Simon and Schuster, 1979, pp. 46-47.

Canada Revenue Agency Tax Deductions

Home Purchase

The Canada Taxpayer, October 10, 2000 - October 23, 2000, published the article Home Purchase as Medical Expense.

"A recent decision of the Tax Court of Canada showed that the court could use liberal interpretations of the law to get to what most people would consider to be an equitable result."

An Accountant whose daughter suffered from pervasive development disorder was advised that his daughter "will need a special environment in which to learn. She will need a controlled environment, which the family are very familiar with, which will allow her to function at an optimal level."

The father deducted the incremental cost of building his new home, taking into account whatever he received when the old home was sold. He claimed the amount as a medical expense under paragraph 118.2(2)(1.2) of the Income Tax Act.

The Act reads: (1.2) for reasonable expenses relating to renovations and alterations to a dwelling of the patient who lacks normal physical development or has a severe and prolonged mobility impairment, to enable a patient to gain access to, or to be mobile or functional within, the dwelling.

"After examining the case law, Donald Bowman, the Associate Chief Justice of the Tax Court, said: All alterations or renovations in some degree are creation of something new. I see no reason why this should not, in the context of this legislation, involve the creation of a new structure where there must be changes and additions to conventional plans to incorporate special features necessary to accommodate the medical needs of a particular person."

Organic Food

You can deduct the cost difference between organic food and ordinary food on your income tax return if you have a physician's order that you require organic food. This may be challenged, but it is possible and may require assistance from your Federal MP.