Formaldehyde

Written by

Mon, May 25, 2009

Hi,

I am 22 years old and have over the last two years been suffering from some progressively awful symptoms. I have previously (as a child) been told I am allergic to Formic Acid, which was found as I have an anaphylactic reaction to all types of ant bites. I also have severe reactions to immunisations which they think is because injections may be attenuated with formalin.

My symptoms over the last two years have been blackouts, absences (where I am sitting staring into space for up to 30 seconds), problems with my circulation, severe headaches, and recently, trouble with speaking sometimes (ie stuttering). I also get very vague and dizzy, shaky, have problems sleeping and severe fatigue, and have what looks like pimples all over my face and torso. I have had all tests to rule out epilepsy, cadiac causes and immunological causes and recently have been looking desperately for an answer. I am starting to add up the facts, and we started building a new house (which we now live in) exactly when this started. I have noticed that formaldehyde is a problem in building products, and new carpets, curtains, etc. Combined with the formalin allergy I am now wondering if I am having a severe reaction to formaldehyde? Can anyone else identify with this?? I am absolutely desperate, have been to so many specialists, and cant even go to work etc at the moment.

Any information would be great, thankyou!!

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EmMy

5/26/09 10:35pm

Hi,

I can relate to your situaiton.I'm 25 year old female, with similar problems, however a lot less severe because I've only been exposed to Formaldehyde for the past 3 weeks, for about 7 hours / week. But, I used to work with it every day a few years back, and I started to feel nausea, heachaches, general feeling of being unwell, anxious for no reason, and fidgety.

Since recently being exposed just these past few weeks, i've felt this typical symptoms straight away. I've had a permanent mild, yet uncomfortable headache, almost like small migraines popping up around differnt parts of my head. I've had a dry throat, irritability, anxiety, upset sleep, and nausea. It has not been bad enough for medication, but the symptoms are clearly there. I went to the doctor assuming I had a virus, or low iron levels so I've had blood taken, but looks normal. The only thing i can think is I developed an allergic reaction and now I'm very sensitive to Formdehyde.

I think the only way is to avoid the horrible stuff, or cover yourself in protective clothing and gas maskes if you have to use it often. I'm going to try these options. Good luck!

Anonymous

6/ 3/09 7:44pm

Anny... I had all of the same symptoms as you and more and had seen all of the specialists and had all of the tests and got progressively worse until I came across information on the internet and read about bras making women sick. (google Victoria Secret bras / formaldehyde) My bras were not from that company. My bras came from two different companies. I stopped wearing the bras and started to get better. It was the high content of formaldehyde in the bra fabric making me so ill. I too could not work. (I had my bras tested by a lab for formaldehyde to confirm it was indeed the bras and their formaldehyde chemical content that was making me so ill for a year and a half.) Medications prescribed for different symptoms would help for a while but the symptoms always came back because the cause hadn't been removed. The only thing that helped me was to stop wearing the bras. Other articles of clothing might also cause similar symptoms.

liz T

6/ 5/09 7:50pm

anny... and all others with this condition, i recomend that you ask your doctor's. to give you blood tests for your glutathione levels, as this is normaly made by the body naturely. but it will become extreamly low when the body is under attac, as yours are at this presant time, due to chemicals in your body. i suggest that you culd do a detox programm, this would help to clense the toxins out of the body. it would be up to you to decide how to detox, you could go to a health food store. i don't know where you live so i would recomend that you go to a repital health food store, or ask your doctor how could you remove some of the toxins out of your body as it will help with symptoms and every thing else you feel.there is a natural remady that i use, and it has helpted me. as i have Fibromyalgia and arthritus, it is called MAX GXL. you can go on there web site and judge the product for your self. go to max gxl international.com, i hope that this information will help all of you get better.

liz T

Anny

6/ 8/09 10:41pm

Thankyou everyone for your feedback, I am so relieved that I am not alone (not that I would wish this on anyone, but it's nice to know this DOES happen). I will talk to my doctor about glutathione levels. I can recommend detoxing, a naturopath has provided me with a detox programme over the last week and it does seem to help. Unfortunately it means I notice more significantly when I do come in contact with formaldehyde-related products and it's not pleasant! Still, it's worth it to have a 'normal' life again.

Thankyou so much again!

Anonymous

6/ 9/09 10:06am

hi Anny,

you will have to remember that not a lot of doctor's know a lot about Glutathione, so go on the internet and resurch it. with information in hand you can helpto Educate your doctor, as well as your self. as i do a lot of reasurch on everything, this includes prescription drugs.as i have reactions to many, many drugs and you have to be careful as one drug can have many differant names, due to differant companies,this includes ginerics.

English rose 24

marymyers9211

8/13/09 12:52am

Did you contact VS? What happened?

Terri T

6/13/09 10:20pm

Hi,

I just happened upon your question while looking up something else . Formic Acid, Formalin, all the same in different stages/forms :Formaldehyde can produce Formic Acid with oxidation, Formalin is the aqueous solution of Formaldehyde.

What type of work do you do? Do you consume alot of diet drinks or reduced calorie foods that contain Aspartame..it is broken down into Formaldehyde, yuck.

Best of luck, and I hope you are feeling better soon !

I would see if any air purifiers would help clean the air in your new home, I really don't know but it would for sure be work the research and investment.

Terri T, MA

testing is the only way to know

6/18/09 5:47pm

Formaldehyde is unfortunately becoming very common in building materials such as baseboard, crown moulding, MDF doors, laminate flooring, partical board, plywood, insulation. Formaldehyde is also in consumer products like closet organizers, furniture, closet shoe hanger sheves, flet covered hangers and the backs of nearly all entertainment centers, desks etc.

My strong recommedation is to test the areas you spend the most time in. This would be your bedroom near the bed, test a drawer of any furniture near the bed, test the closet, turn a large shallow pan upside down on an laminate flooring. Do the kitchen cabinet, family room etc. You can get 10 testers of $99. You can even do a second reading on immidiately following the first test if it is negative.

Increase the amount of fresh outside air that you bring into your home.

Get the more expensive air filters that remove chemicals not just pollen and other particulates. Honeywell has a line of HEPA filters that also has a CPZ chemical filter. These are slightly more expensive than a standard HEPA filter but can be purchased for less than $400 and often about $200.

There are several more ideas and articles available at IndoorAirAnswers.com

orr24

9/21/09 8:23am

I now suffer from, Hyper Sensitive airways and have allergies year round. The formaldehyde is just another irritant for me. any strong smells, whether if be perfumes, household cleaners, even musty smells, strong fabric softners, tree pollens, exhaust fumes..they all are triggers for me..I used a no-fume oven cleaner to clean my oven and wearing a mask, it ate the linning out of my nasal passage, ate my tonsils and adenoids off. They thought I had strep since I ran such high fevers and could not get out of bed..I get a respiratory infection if I am exposed to any strong chemical odor. Your allergies will just get worse over time and the sensitivity will worsen as well..be careful, and I woud like for you to go to the sight NVIC..national vaccine informatin center..these vaccines have deadly chemicals such as mercury in them..please read the pages of ingredients in the vaccines we take and the doctors recommend..

Anonymous

11/15/09 9:30pm

The summer of 2008 I built a new enclosed front porch and used the plastic house wrap to enclose the framework. It is now Nov 2009 and if I spend one hour inside the front porch, the next five to six days, my pulse drops my blood preasure sours as high as 189 over 135 and my heart pounds. Blood preasure pills make it worse. I just have to live through it. I avoid the front porch like poison.

Richard@networksgonewild.com

disabledsfcvet

8/22/10 12:27am

I can relate to all your stories about exposure to FORMALDEHYDE since i have been exposed in 2006 when I purchased a custom handicapped van in Fl from a FORD Dealership brand new. Thru research I did we found that the vehicle had been built in Miss during Katrina floods. As you can assume yes it was found to be flooded and dried out. Thru extensive research found that they would put formaldehyde in the vehicle to absorb the smell and mold and mildew. How do funeral workers embalm people ...with formaldehyde solution to dry up the rest of the body fluids before the funeral. Car co know this and use this often when selling flooded cars and used to unsuspected buyers.

Now they are trying to build bike helmets for people riding bycycles and when the helmet is to old it will start off gassing and a horrible smell will occure ...but it will be to late for the child becuase they are already exposed to the poison.

They are also putting in to vaccines and hurting our children....

What is this country doing to us giving these manufactory permission to poison our children and families especially since our Van was customed for a disabled child and they knew the poison was in it.... how could they .... I fight each day and everyday to find a cure which there is none....

my family is slowly dying ...my mom 87 yrs old was effected nuerologically, husband in his lungs, my total care handicapped son not sure, myself I have vocal cord dysfunction, restrictive airway disease, lungs, nasal passages and most of all multiply chemical sensitivity to all smell ....perfumes, air freshners, scented candles, bodywash, etc. I can not breath and mostly live in my home or doctors offices.

We had proof of the testing done in the van which is reading at 0.4ppm which we rode in for 6 months and never knew it was there till it was to late....

I can be reached for any other information at Disabledsfcvet@aol.com

Hawkroad

11/29/10 7:42pm

After struggling with extreme symptoms for years, and undergoing all types of tests, I stopped consuming anything containing aspartame. Aspartame turns into formaldhyde if it gets warm, even inside your body. There is quite a lot of conflict over how harmful it is. All I know is that a lot of my worst symptoms stopped or lessened when I stopped using it.

chitowngal

11/30/10 7:46am

Hang in there Anny! When I was your age, my husband and I purchased a new mobile home, to set on our property, and live. We had 2 small children. Within a few days (almost immediately), each one of us started having horrible headaches, rashes, shortness of breath (asthma), fevers of unknown origin, central nervous system abnormalities, and so many medical problems, that it started to feel as if we were being poisoned or something. It broke my heart to see my little girls suffering from something that the doctors couldn't seem to recognize. One of us was in the hospital every few weeks, and one time, one of my daughters and I at the same time. Now, this was almost 30 years ago, when there was not as much information on formaldehyde, made available to the public. After years of suffering from this 'unknown' substance' ( I had never heard of it back then), we discovered from a university toxicologist, that formaldehyde could be the culprit. We had our home tested, and it was found to have extremely high levels, even years later. Then we discovered- it is used everywhere! We have become so allergic, that recently, I walked into a 'new' bank, and my eyes started burning, hives started breaking out, I couldn't breathe, and had to leave. Today of course, you can have an allergy test-(it may even be part of the standard testing now), to see if you are allergic. I wish you the best of luck in your search for relief, and answers.

FormaldehydeIsPoison

2/ 1/12 1:00am

Chitowngirl, my family has been battling this issue the last year due to renovations in our home. I've been searching for the name of the allergy test but can not find it. Neither the ATSDR, our normal doctors, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic nor our pediatric allergist can help us. If you have any information regarding this, please respond to this post. Thanks in advance and best wishes with your personal battle.

If any one else has had knows of the test or has had problems, please join in on this thread. I'm trying to gather names and factual information from individuals who have experience these problems so we might be able to get great insights through sharing our experiences. you can email me at poisonedbyformaldehyde@yahoo.com

Formaldehyde

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