Prototype stories of life with Chemical Intolerance – when the environment becomes a threat to health and well-being

Abstract We aimed to explore how individuals living with Chemical Intolerance (CI) describe the onset and progression of CI, and how they live and cope with CI. The participants were recruited via Swedish websites hosted by CI support groups. A postal survey, including a Life history calender, was sent to potential participants. Eleven respondents fitted the consensus-based criteria for CI while not reporting comorbidity. A narrative analysis of their written replies resulted in five prototypical stories based on similarities in the onset and course of CI. All five stories contain descriptions of alienation from society and insufficient social support. Differences in participants’ perceptions of the symptom onset – with regard to suddenness, the point in life and the perceived cause of symptoms – partly corresponded to etiological theories of CI related to stress or inflammation. Further differences between the prototype stories mainly concern the possible effects on health and well-being related to social support and coping. Given these differences, we recommend that medical professionals and others apply a holistic, context-sensitive approach before discouraging or promoting a specific coping strategy in relation to CI.