In this post, I share five healthier home tips to make your home your safe haven from environmental triggers. If you have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), or another chronic illness, then conventional building materials, technology, and cleaning products are problematic for people with sensitive constitutions.
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Table of Contents
Who is Betsy Leighton?
I’m a writer, blogger, and healer dedicated to helping individuals reconnect with their innate peace and wholeness by healing nervous system dysregulation. My personal experience with chronic illness called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) shapes my work, and my content offers tools to empower those with chronic illness to improve their well-being and take charge of their health.
I created the Sacred Self-Healing Method and am a trained and certified Safe and Sound Protocol provider, an author, blogger, and A Course in Miracles Teacher. I hold a Master of Divinity in Spiritual Counseling and am a trained spiritual mentor, with certificates in sound healing, aromatherapy, nutrition, and Sacred Deathcare. I offer a self-study certificate program in the Sacred Self-Healing Method, provide spiritual counseling and coaching, courses, and supported subscriptions for the Safe and Sound Protocol.
What is MCAS?
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a chronic condition that affects all organ systems. It can cause severe, disabling symptoms every day, including potentially fatal anaphylaxis.
The common triggers for MCAS are infections, toxic exposures including mold exposure and EMFs, trauma, concussions, and stress.
MCAS often occurs with other chronic conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Managing MCAS is challenging because many healthcare providers are unaware of it, and diagnostic tests can be unreliable. Treatments include antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers in the form of medications and supplements, along with avoiding triggers. Check out this post on managing MCAS.
Five useful healthier home tips
- Don’t remodel – If you are in the midst of a new chronic illness, a symptom flare, or even if you are starting to feel better after being sick, think twice before beginning any remodeling products. New carpets, paints, flooring, window coverings, and blinds can all contain materials that give off toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Being exposed to these chemicals can trigger or re-activate MCAS symptoms. See more in this post.
- Be careful with furniture purchases. Mattresses and furniture can also off-gas VOCs. One workaround is to buy the floor model of your chosen furniture — meaning that it has had extra time to off-gas before it comes into your home. For mattresses, organic choices can be better tolerated, but it is wise to unpack them and allow them to sit in a well-ventilated area for a week or two before use. Another option is to buy used furniture, since off-gassing has already occurred. However, used furniture and mattresses can harbor unwanted mold spores, pet dander, dust mites, and fragrances, especially if they were stored in a home with air fresheners, a basement, or a moisture-laden area, or if the former owners had pets.
- Speaking of fragrances, don’t use them. Those with MCAS and MCS cannot usually tolerate air fresheners, scented candles or wax melts, essential oils, and the like. Some essential oils can be therapeutic for those with MCAS or MCS. Still, it’s best to take a cautious approach to them: put one drop on a cotton ball outside, take a sniff, and wait 30, 60, and 90 minutes to see if you have any symptoms before using more.
- Clean the air with a HEPA filter (this post lists my favorites). It’s essential to have clean air in your sleeping area, where you spend most of your time. If you live in a newer home, you can add a HEPA filter to the HVAC system to clean the air in the house. Also, for new-construction homes, it is helpful to have an air exchanger on your furnace to bring in fresh air.
- Limit your exposure to EMFs in your home. This post covers some of the basics. Instead of cordless phones, use landlines. Connect your computer and peripherals with wired connections. Don’t use Bluetooth or wifi in your home. Shield yourself from wifi when you can’t control your environment.
The bucket theory
The bucket theory simplifies understanding symptom reactions with MCAS. Imagine your body as an empty bucket you don’t want to overflow. Reactions to various stimuli fill the histamine bucket at different rates, forming the total histamine level (how full your bucket is). More histamine means more symptoms. By managing triggers, reducing exposures, and taking medications and supplements, you can control your bucket’s level.
Know your typical symptom progression
Understanding your symptom progression during a flare is key to developing your rescue plan. This post discusses how to recognize symptom progression so you can be prepared to address them.
Get my free ebook, symptom log, and meal plan!
Want a tool to easily track your symptoms?
Check out these circadian health tools!
I’m an affiliate with Bon Charge, a company that makes tools for circadian health, and you can receive 15% off your order with my coupon code BETSYL.
Bon Charge offers tools such as yellow– and red-tone blue-blocking glasses, red light therapy devices, PEMF mats, infrared saunas, and EMF-blocking products.
Sign up for the SSP!
I’ve found the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) to be the most helpful bottom-up healing strategy if your nervous system has been overloaded with toxic exposures, including mold or non-native EMFs, chronic infections, concussions, stress, or trauma. The SSP is a passive listening therapy that helps heal nervous system dysregulation. Many people with MCAS and other chronic conditions have nervous system dysregulation stemming from infections, toxic exposures, concussions, and trauma. The SSP is an easy-to-use app that lets you listen to specially filtered music for 30 minutes each day as part of a 5-hour cycle. Studies show the SSP has a profound effect on mental health and chronic conditions. Here’s a short podcast describing the Safe and Sound Protocol.
You can sign up for the SSP here!
Heal your mind!
While the SSP is a bottom-up, somatic therapy for healing the nervous system, the Sacred Self-Healing Method I offer is a top-down nervous system-healing modality that focuses on cognition, attention, perception, and emotion, using the mind’s higher functions. The SSP and the Sacred Self-Healing Method complement each other and together produce lasting results. Here’s a short podcast on my self-healing practice.
I provide one-on-one in-person and remote chronic illness and caregiver coaching, as well as Sacred Self-Healing Sessions based on the Sacred Self-Healing Method, a proven, novel co-creative healing modality detailed in my Books.
Order my books!
Here’s a short podcast highlighting my five books.
My latest book, Living In The Light: Healing with Forgiveness, Sound, and Light, is all about the tools that have been most helpful for me to heal: forgiveness, sound, through nervous system retraining using the Safe and Sound Protocol, and light, through entraining my circadian rhythm with the energy of the sun. Living In The Light is available here!
Rocks and Roots chronicles my solo backpacking journey on the Superior Hiking Trail and my efforts to overcome nervous system dysregulation, gut dysbiosis, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome symptoms to complete the 328-mile hike successfully.
The Sacred Self-Healing Method ebook is available here and in most ebook retailers!
The Sacred Self-Healing Workbook is available for purchase here!
Betsy’s first book, Sacred Self-Healing: Finding Peace Through Forgiveness, is available here
Companion Recordings
The companion audio recordings of chants, guided meditations, and sound healing demonstrations that accompany the Sacred Self-Healing Method are available for free on my YouTube channel here
What do you think?
I’d love to have your reply below!
Disclaimer
The preceding material does not constitute medical advice. This information is for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, cure, or treatment.
