The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast

Brain fog is something many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) experience.
In this episode, we explore what brain fog is, how it affects thinking, memory, and what research reveals about its links to distress and quality of life.
Aaron Goodman's guests are researchers Tara Packham, PhD, and PhD candidate Ronessa Dass from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
It's always great to hear from listeners!
Please share your experiences with brain fog and MCS or about anything you hear on the podcast.
Listen now:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/18821290-brain-fog-mcs-ronessa-dass-and-tara-packham-phd
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/j4PulfsHX_U
The podcast has a new webpage!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about MCS.  
Links:
Ronessa Dass - email: [email protected]
Pain and Movement Research in the IMPRinT Lab, McMaster University:
https://painmovementresearch.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/people-2/
Understanding the Experience and Impacts of Brain Fog in Chronic Pain: A Scoping Review - Ronessa Dass, Tara Packham, et al. (2023):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37441085/

DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a supporter!
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Listener advisory: This episode includes discussion of suicide.
Many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) trace the start of their illness to exposures like pesticides, fragrances, mold, smoke, or chemical fumes.
Others say their symptoms began after taking prescription medications, especially antibiotics.
In this episode, Dr. Stefan Pieper, a functional medicine physician in Germany who specializes in mitochondrial medicine, discusses Fluoroquinolone-Associated Disability (FQAD).
People with the condition develop long-lasting neurological, cognitive, and physical symptoms after taking fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Some also develop chemical intolerance that closely resembles MCS.
Could medications trigger long-term chemical sensitivity? And what might this reveal about MCS?
Listen now:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/18803337-antibiotic-injury-mcs-dr-stefan-pieper
Watch on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Mjn-ggsZA&t=1s
The podcast has a new webpage!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about MCS.  
Link:
Stefan Pieper — Fluoroquinolone-Associated Disability (FQAD): Side-effects of Fluoroquinolones
Springer Nature, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-72123-0
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 
Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a supporter!
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
Instagram
X
BlueSky
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In Japan, many people report developing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) following exposure to fragrance in personal care and household products—and increasingly, in laundry projects, especially fabric softeners. 
Some are forced to leave their jobs. Others can no longer attend school. Many struggle to access medical care or even safe housing. Yet despite the profound disruption to people’s lives, MCS remains poorly understood and often invisible.
Is Japan facing a Multiple Chemical Sensitivity crisis?
Today’s guests, journalist and MCS advocate Yasuko Kato and sociology scholar Seykyoung Jung, bring firsthand insight into this urgent question.
Thank you for listening!
New episodes twice a month. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. 
Check out the podcast's new website to listen and learn more:
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Grqs9wS0mMs?si=xhaGuTCFpQDd_NNb
Get in touch:
[email protected]
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 
Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a supporter!
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
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BlueSky
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Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is often seen as a condition that mostly affects older people. However, recent studies indicate young adults may be especially affected by MCS.
Research suggests young adults have the highest prevalence, may be more likely than other age groups to develop the condition, and seem particularly vulnerable to the mental-health impacts of living with chemical intolerance and the social isolation it can bring.
This episode's guest, Abby Steeves, recently completed her PhD focused on MCS and its impacts on young adults. As a former gymnast, she struggled to train and compete while living with the condition. These experiences led her to explore how MCS is challenging—and shaping—the lives of many other young people.
Listen and subscribe:
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/

Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/9r95nuwOKfc
Abby’s dissertation:
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8845&context=doctoral

#MCS #multiplechemicalsensitivitypodcast #multiplechemicalsensitivity #ChemicalIntolerance #ChronicIllness #InvisibleIllness #Youth

DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 
Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a supporter!
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

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You’re listening to The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast. I’m Aaron Goodman.
In this episode, we discuss illness memoirs as evidence, resistance, and survival. We explore the seminal 1994 memoir by Australian writer,  Diana Crumpler, Chemical Crisis: One Woman's Story, Humanity's Future? 
I speak with Roxana Delbene, PhD, a linguist and medical humanities scholar who studies how people with so-called contested illnesses, including Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), use language and storytelling to tell their personal stories of lived experience. 
Exciting news! Check out the podcast's new webpage: http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/mZwUxbYKTOg
Get in touch:
[email protected]
Link to Roxana's recent essay on illness memoirs:
https://medicalhealthhumanities.com/2024/10/23/the-patients-productive-imagination-the-reportability-paradox-in-narratives-of-contested-illnesses/
Apologies for some subtle clicking sounds in this interview.
#MultipleChemicalSensitivity #MCS #MCSAdvocacy #InvisibleIllnessAwareness #SafeHealthcareSpaces #ChemicalIntolerance #EnvironmentalDisability
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a supporter!
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
Instagram
X
BlueSky
TikTok