On Thursday evening Aug 25 my sister, who was down from Calgary with her husband, was doing her nails at the kitchen table and I was overcome with the fumes. Hacking and coughing, I went to my room and didn’t come down for the rest of the evening.
On Friday, my brother-in-law came out of his room that was beside mine, reeking of what I think is cheap “Old Spice” aftershave, and I’m sure he also used the whole bottle. It was so bad that I could not only smell it, but taste it. I began to cough and gag as it was choking me and my burning my eyes and throat. It was also giving me a headache and making feel nauseous. He left to meet someone and I went out to pick up my mother and then pick up my aunt from the bus station, who was coming in for my nephews wedding and brought them both back to my sister’s place where I’m presently staying.
My brother-in-law returned around 12:30 pm and he no sooner came in the door and I could smell that he was still reeking of aftershave as I began to cough. I told him to have a shower or wash the stuff off if he was going to stay in the house. He said he was going to go outside to read his book and went out to the deck in the back yard. When both my sisters returned home from shopping, I overheard him ask his wife (my sister) to get him a wash cloth, and then a few moments later, he asked her to bring him a clean shirt and a grocery bag for his old aftershave soaked shirt.
After breakfast on Saturday, Aug 27, the day of the wedding, I was upstairs in my room working on my computer when I noticed that I was beginning to get a headache and also finding it hard to breathe and beginning to cough. Confused, I went downstairs and could smell the fingernail polish remover and nail polish and discovered that my other sister was doing her finger nails at the kitchen table while my visiting sister that I had a problem with her doing her nails a couple of days before, was sitting and watching her. Coughing, I said that I was allergic to nail polish and she replied that it was “organic” and that she didn’t think it would bother me.
I went outside to get some fresh air and stayed out there for a couple of hours. I now not only had a migraine headache, but I also felt weak and exhausted. Later I told them that I was in no shape to go to the wedding ceremony and I went back to my room, closed the door and slept for a few of hours.
By 4:00 pm I felt a bit better so I got dressed and went to the reception at 5:30 pm. At the beginning I wasn’t feeling too bad but as the night went on my migraine was getting worse and I was also feeling more exhausted. Around 9:30 pm I decided I had had enough and told them I was leaving. I went home, had a shower and collapsed on my bed.
On Sunday I still had a slight migraine headache but my throat was now sore. I also couldn’t breathe properly and had little to no energy, much like what I was feeling a few weeks ago when I had the bacterial infection. I realized that being hit three days in a row with these toxic chemicals over-loaded my bodies immune system, causing me to experience what I was now feeling. I began taking supplements to boost my immune system and today (Tuesday) I’m beginning to feel better,. Not good or great, just better.
As I’m posting this on Sept 12, I can now tell you that I’m still not 100%, but at the point where I’m getting back into my exercise program and able to go for a walk, not walk/run, at night.
Saysame (Says-a-me) 