ASEQ-EHAQ

Resources for Environmental Sensitivities

ASEQ-EHAQ has three other websites

• Environmental Sensitivities – education and awareness project
  www.EnvironmentalSensitivities.com
• ECOASIS – Affordable, healthy housing for people suffering from environmental sensitivities
  www.ecoasisquebec.ca
• Eco Living Guide
  www.ecolivingguide.ca

Documents on environmental sensitivities

• Environmental sensitivities: Biological, legal and social aspects
• Care Now An Action Plan to Improve Care for People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Fibromyalgia (FM) and Environmental Sensitivities/Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (ES/MCS)
• Time for Leadership: Recognizing and Improving Care for those with ME/CFS, FM and ES/MCS
• Environmental sensitivities / Multiple chemical sensitivities
  Marshall, L., et al., Environmental Sensitivities-Multiple-Chemical Sensitivities Status Report. Environmental Health Clinic – Women’s College Hospital, Toronto (Ontario), 2010.

Diagnostic tools

• The Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI) is a validated questionnaire for chemical intolerance and the most widely used screening instrument available for personal use. Researchers and clinicians around the world use the QEESI to document symptoms and intolerances. People who use the QEESI find it helpful for self-assessment. It’s also a useful tool for you to take to your doctor to explain your exposures and symptoms.
• Taking An Exposure History: A mnemonic (CH2OPD2) helps to organize the history, and the forms below can be given to patients to be completed at home and reviewed at a subsequent educational counseling visit.

Hospital Protocol

A Practical Guide for Hospital Staff

Part 1: Pollution Prevention

Part 2: Environment-Sensitive Care

Documents for good management of environmental sensitivities

Managing the Illness

• SEEDS of health
• Checklist
• Journal of Exposure and Symptoms
• Tips on how to choose healthy products
• Recommended fragrance-free products
• Resources for fragrance-free information

Legal Information

• Jurisprudence Guide (CNESST)
• Right to Reasonable Accommodation
• Letter from the Human Rights Commission of Québec
• Letter from ASEQ-EHAQ to the Human Rights Commission of Québec
• Model letter for Request for Accommodation

Healthy solutions for everyday living

• Fragrance-free health care
• Ecological solutions for everyday living
• Ecoliving Guide
• Environmental Working Group
• Think Dirty

Human Rights Commission

• Accommodation for Environmental Sensitivities: Legal Perspective
• The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities
• Canadian Human Rights Commission, Policy on Environmental Sensitivities
  (Policy on accommodation of persons suffering from environmental sensitivities)
• Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission (Québec)

Information on fragrances and their effects on health and how to establish a fragrance-free policy in healthcare and other establishments

• The case for making health-care in Québec fragrance-free
• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
• Artificial scents have no place in our hospitals
• Scent-Free Buildings

Personal Needs

• Masks and/or air-purifiers for MCS
  https://www.modernalchemyair.com/

Websites for indoor air quality

The Canadian Committee on Indoor Air Quality and Buildings.
Guides for Indoor Air Quality

• Module 6: Scent-Free Buildings
• Module 10: Management Strategies for Moulds and Microbiologic Agents
• Module 13: Addressing Chemical Sensitivities. 2019

Research on fragranced product emissions, exposures, and effects : 
Dr. Anne Steinemann

(1) The Fragranced Products Phenomenon: Air Quality and Health, Science and Policy*
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(2) Pandemic Products and Volatile Chemical Emissions
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(3) Volatile Chemical Emissions from Essential Oils with Therapeutic Claims
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(4) Volatile Chemical Emissions from Car Air Fresheners
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(5) Evaluating Air Quality with and without Air Fresheners 
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(6) Emissions from Dryer Vents during use of Fragranced and Fragrance-Free Laundry Products*
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(7) Migraine Headaches and Fragranced Consumer Products: An International Population-Based Study
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(8) Fragranced Laundry Products and Emissions from Dryer Vents: Implications for Air Quality and Health 
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(9) Exposures and Effects from Fragranced Consumer Products in Germany
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Also included are six recent articles, all open access, that may be of interest: 

(1) Fragrance-Free Policies and Indoor Environments*
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(2) International Prevalence of Fragrance Sensitivity*
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(3) International Prevalence of Chemical Sensitivity, Co-prevalences with Asthma and Autism, and Effects from Fragranced Consumer Products* 
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(4) Fragranced Consumer Products and Effects on Asthmatics: An International Population-Based Study*
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(5) Air Fresheners and Indoor Built Environments*
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(6) Green Buildings and Indoor Air Quality*
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