The Perfume Issue (page 2)

FriendlyFellaAL

Mrs R,

I truly feel for your situation as I've known some folks who suffer horribly from this. Going out for a bite to eat or a movie could sometimes prove quite the challenge...I've walked out on far more movies than I care to think about. We eventually caught them on video anyway.

However, I work with a woman who 'claims' to have a fragrance allergy, yet sits at her desk wearing the most fragrant products one can imagine. Her desk is covered with items from Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret, yet she complains that what others wear makes her ill. She's one of those who always claims to be suffering from some ailment or another, basically to keep from staying at work. This particularly troublesome co-worker one day accused a lady in our office of wearing fragrances just to upset her. When she mentioned to the PTC (particularly troublesome co-worker) that she oftened smelled fragrances on her, she replied that she was only allergic to what every one else wore. LOL!

Just re-reading this post and I want to make it clear that I'm certainly not accusing you of doing this. Fragrance allergies can be downright debilitating, as the links below attest.

Honestly, I think we would all be far better off if we each did our best to be considerate of others at every opportunity. Sounds like that's what your co-workers have done and I commend them for their efforts.

http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/1997/October/fragrnc.html

http://www.accessnewage.com/articles/health/chemical.htm

Best wishes to you Mrs R!

Brian

Mommie Dark

Had a smelder's wife tell me one time that I was terribly thoughtless to go to the meeting wearing perfume, as she was allergic and I had forced her to stand in the back. She was awfully peeved when I told her, truthfully, that I wasn't wearing any perfume! She insisted I was making excuses. Obviously she had some personal problem, because she insisted I was lying. She never apologized, either. (Still can't figure out why she insisted I was wearing perfume. I don't wear the stuff because the only scents I genuinely like are the real expensive ones, and I don't spend that kind of money on cosmetic stuff.) Maybe she is one of those nits who believe fat people must stink if they don't drench in scent...or maybe she mistook the smell of line-dried laundry for artificial perfume. Hard to believe that Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap and Purex laundry soap could be mistaken for perfume, isn't it?

Real allergies are dreadful, but I know an awful lot of dubs who seem to diagnose themselves with all sorts of allergies and ailments, and I suspect she was one of those.

Scully

Many work places are instituting a "fragrance free" policy to accomodate workers with health issues like this. The hospital where I work has a "fragrance free" policy out of consideration for employees and patients who are sensitive or downright allergic.

Still, there's a long road ahead for sufferers. Some people cannot get it through their skulls that their hairspray, for example, even though they applied it at home 20 minutes or so before arriving at work, causes my eyes to burn and tear up when they fluff their hair as they sit down beside me. I didn't ask for this "affliction" - the same way some kids don't plan on being allergic to peanuts - but nobody thinks twice about keeping peanut butter away from those kids.

Sadly, I've found that the worst offenders are the so-called "Christians" who can't be bothered to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", or who think their "right" to wear perfume is more important than your "need" to breathe.

Love, Scully

mrs rocky2

Thanks for the kind words Friendly.

I try to manage my fragrance allergy rather quietly. I truly appreciate the folks that know I have some difficulties, but am always prepared with my antihistamine. Haven't missed work, but it's a great 'excuse' for staying away from the poorly vented KH. I don't like calling attention to myself or creating a scene. As I mentioned before, it's usually the florals, price doesn't seem to matter, that bother me the most. Food smells, apple, cinnamon, vanilla, peppermint - these usually only make my nose tickle. Some lavendars are okay, and milder sandalwoods, but I have to be careful with these. It's been real tough because I love flowers, I love lavendar, and I really like sandalwood. And I really like scented candles. But as someone else said, clean is a good smell too. Don't need the heavy perfumes if you bathe regularly and wear clean clothes. Line dryed laundry smells heavenly! And yes, it would be really helpful if we all could be sensitive to each other's needs and a bit more considerate.

Mrs R

Bleep

Not being able to figure out who has what on is not hard to do.

The only people that should change fragrences could be the ones that make me have a huge migraine out when they pass by me.

I am sure soap has just a few things in it compaired to mass produced chemicals.

Bleep

Knowing what the ingrediences of these perfumes might help some people who ware the stuff think twice about it.

Obtaining the list and then showing it to the wearer might be fun.

sunshineToo

aww.....but I love my Samsara.... ;-)

Bleep

It is the same thing with insence smoke (10 times stronger than cigar smoke). If its not good for you why have it on?

Bleep

I found some good research in the watchtower library, enjoy.

According to The Futurist magazine, people line up at a fashionable health club in Tokyo, Japan, for a 30-minute "aroma cocktail" said to relieve the stress of city living. Japanese scientists have also studied the effects of forest air on humans and recommend walking through forests as a remedy for jangled nerves. The terpenes (pine scent) that trees exude have been found to relax not simply the body but especially the mind.

Not all odors are healthful; far from it. What delights one person might well make another miserable. Strong odors, even of perfumes, have long been known to aggravate asthma and trigger allergic reactions in some people. Then, too, there are the malodors that everyone agrees on-noxious fumes spewed from industrial smokestacks and motor vehicle exhaust pipes, rancid odors of garbage landfills and sewage basins, and vapors from volatile chemicals used in many industrial workplaces.

Of course, dangerous chemicals occur naturally in our environment but are usually so diffuse as to be harmless. However, when such chemicals are highly concentrated, overexposure to them can cause even the resilient olfactory nerve cells to degenerate. For instance, solvents such as those used in paints, as well as many other industrial chemicals, have been listed by experts as hazardous to the olfactory system. There are also physical disorders that can impede or destroy the sense of smell.

Do

The Perfume Issue

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