Former sheep farmer Josephine Wadley-Evans was diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) in the late eighties and said she's now allergic to perfumes, deodorants, washing powders and more.
"I sort of remain as much as I can inside my house," she said.
"All sorts of things set up an impact and I can go into anaphylaxis. The chemicals make me allergic to paramedics and allergic to hospitals."
"The only way you can take care is to isolate yourself from the impacts and control your own living area."
Ms Wadley-Evans, formerly of Ballarat but now living in Sydney, started getting sick after being exposed to chemicals on her farm.
"I got sicker and sicker but I just tried to work over and above," she said.
"We were using deodorants, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides and the high use of sheep dips."
Her illness forced her to leave the farm, but when her symptoms continued she was ultimately diagnosed with MCS.
"It answered a lot of questions about what was happening to me," Ms Wadley-Evans said.
Cases on the rise
The occurrence of MCS cases has risen by 300 percent in the last decade, according to a new study.
The research by the University of Melbourne looked at cases of MCS in the US, with preliminary results from Australia showing a similar rise.
Professor Anne Steinemann from the University of Melbourne said cases like Josephine's were becoming more prevalent, and she estimated 55 million Americans have chemical sensitivity or MCS.
The research surveyed a national random sample of 1,137 people.
"And that's what was really surprising a dramatic increase in the prevalence and I can say with the Australian study, Australia seems to be on the same path as the US."
The study found 76 percent of people with MCS suffered from severe effects that were disabling.
"Once people have chemical sensitivity then they have adverse reaction to a range of chemical products at exceedingly low levels," she said.
While people with MCS react more severely to chemical products than other people, Professor Steinemann said they are hazardous to everyone.
"So in a way they're a warning system and we would do well to listen to people with MCS," she said.
Economic impact
Professor Steinemann's research also found 60 percent of people with MCS have lost a job or work days because of exposure to chemicals in the workplace and said that had to change.
"I think another powerful force is so many people are getting sick and it really becomes an economic problem," she said.
"When you have people losing their jobs because of exposure to these chemical products."
But Josephine Wadley-Evans said she doubts there will be any recognition of the condition by chemical companies.
"I think one of the biggest problems is the regulatory and statutory authorities like to dumb it down because its inconvenient," she said.
"I would suggest it has a lot of ramifications in relation to insurance and compensation claims."
