Exposure to chemicals

[lifeforce]

Anyone with scleroderma that was diagnosed after exposure to chemicals/pesticides??

[Tara11]

Yes I had two allergic reactions to chemicals used to make rubber for tires. The first time it burnt my face and the second time it got my hands and arms and after the second reaction my fingers started turning red white and blue which told me something was wrong. I started feeling really sick and did not know what was going on. I know that is where I got this disease, but doctors and people do not what to tell the truth these days. Big companies want to keep everything under raps or they would have to put out lots of money for making people sick. It is just wrong the way all of that works these days. Chemicals are bad exspecially when they get in your blood stream and turn your immune system against you. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

[Dka48]

Hi yes i have been exposed to cleaning chemical through hospital and care homes for over 10 years and i was a pub land lady for 7 years with chemicals from line cleaner etc i was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma two and a half years ago i think some connection xxxx

[Susl]

Yes, I have lived near a landfill for 35 years. Although it has always smelled, we just found out about the dirty air. Many people have different conditions.

[lifeforce]

Thank you for the responses,I worked as a dog groomer for 16 years and dipping dogs in paramite dip was the practice then. With the scleroderma I also have severe lung issues from the fumes.

[titanicus]

On the long and winding road towards my eventual diagnosis of Scleroderma, I started with the chest specialist who said ' you have ideopathic systemic pulmanary fibrosis'.

He then asked 'Have you ever been exposed to Asbestos?' I explained that over the past 30 years of my work history, it was very likely under the circumstances I had been exposed to asbestos on several occasions.

I absolutely believe this to be a major factor for my present condition. The little,tiny problem is....I CAN'T PROVE IT! And this goes for every other dangerous situation you encounter in the workplace.

Employers will eventually pinpoint a particular hazard and rectify it, but it's too late to rectify your health because the damage has been done. Can you imagine how much compensation would have to be paid if these firms admitted culpability? Every business in the UK would be bankrupt.

Like everything in life, the truth will come out in the end, but it's always too late for the people who have been affected by either naiivety or incompetence, or both. All we can do is air these issues, as you are.

Take care.

[adow]

When I suggested that my husbands systemic sclerosis was possibly due to the sheepdip he had to work with in the late 70s and early 80s, the specialist at the hospital said that I was probably correct. I understand that he is not the only shepherd with the illness. Am interested in why you ask.

Best wishes

Amanda

[lifeforce in reply to adow]

I worked as a dog groomer for 16 years and we dipped dogs in paramite cattle dip. Recently I was told that the lung damage I have is not due to my scleroderma but from chemical exposure,i.e. the dip.Good Luck to you!

[joba]

I worked for about 10 years cleaning new construction homes so took in construction dust, fumes from cleaning supplies, and chemical inhalation from new carpeting in the units. When I got sick, the first thing the doctor asked was "Were you exposed to any chemicals?" I said yes and he told me to quit my job and I did! Besides scleroderma, I also have interstitial lung disease, so wondering if that was from the chemical exposure too.

[Leann]

I was in the military & the base where I was stationed had wells that were contaminated with PEC, TEC, Benzine & several other chemicals. So we drank the contaminated water, bathed in it & had our food cooked in it. I was diagnosed with Scleroderma & then breast cancer.