WebMD
Fragrance Allergies: A Sensory Assault
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/fragrance-allergies-a-sensory-assault
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/fragrance-allergies-a-sensory-assault
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The use of fragrance in products is on the rise -- and so is the number of people affected by them. WebMD offers ways to protect yourself if you're sensitive to scents.
The use of fragrance in products is on the rise -- and so is the number of people affected by them. WebMD offers ways to protect yourself if you're sensitive to scents.
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?
You catch a whiff of a co-worker's new fragrance, and within minutes, you have a whopper of a headache.
You pop open that new bottle of dish-washing liquid, and by the time you've washed the pots and pans, your hands and arms are covered in hives.
You walk into a friend's home and smell freshly baked pumpkin pie. Only after you start sneezing uncontrollably and feeling dizzy, weak, and sick to your stomach do you learn she hasn't been baking -- she's been burning a scented candle.
Your favorite fashion magazine arrives, and as soon as it's out of the mailbox your eyes are watering and you're sneezing nonstop. The culprit: scented fragrance advertising inserts.
If this sounds like you, you may be one of a growing number of people with fragrance allergies or sensitivities that can have mild to severe health consequences.
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Experts theorize that one reason fragrance allergies appear to be increasing is that fragrances themselves have become such a prominent part of our world. According to the AAD, some 5,000 different fragrances -- and countless other fragrance combinations -- are used in products today. And they can be a powerful, toxic brew.
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And that is precisely the logic behind several recent legal actions aimed at cleaning up our personal air space.
In July 2007, a government worker from Detroit sued her employers under the Americans With Disabilities Act for what her lawsuit claims is "fragrance toxicity" in the workplace. Her claim: Exposures to fragrances also means increased exposure to chemical neurotoxins that adversely impact brain function. The suit is pending.
In the fall of 2007, a group of students from California State University, Stanislaus, became so concerned about these same chemical exposures they asked campus officials to institute a fragrance-free policy. Their request cited headaches, nausea, and inability to concentrate, all caused by overpowering fragrance use among some students and faculty. The students are waiting for the administration's decision.
Workers in the Portland, Ore., Bureau of Emergency Communications were recently banned from wearing fragrances under what has become one of the nation's first government workplace "fragrance-free" policies. Portland State University followed suit, and now similar programs are in place at Cecil College in Maryland.
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For Most people, fragrance allergy symptoms abate once the scent is out of range. But this isn't always the case. For some, repeated exposures cause an increase in symptoms that occur more often and last longer. According to the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, a small but growing segment is affected by a little understood and even somewhat controversial condition known as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).
For people with MCS, Dalton says sensitivity to one fragrance or odor can snowball into a crippling multiple chemical sensitivity that leaves its victims defenseless in the face of an ever-widening number of chemical odors and fragrances.
To further complicate matters, doctors can't quite agree on what's behind any fragrance reaction, and whether it's even a true allergy or simply a response to an irritant.
-----
Some experts aren't even sure if it's the fragrance itself that is the real culprit, or just one part of a mix of chemicals -- as many as 200 or more -- that are used to create both fragrances we smell and the masking agents used in unscented products.
"Because the 'fragrance' is what we smell when we have an onset of symptoms, we blame the fragrance. But, in fact, it's possible that the reaction we are getting may instead be the result of the many chemicals used in the formulation of the fragrance," Dalton tells WebMD. This, she says, includes both products we can smell and those labeled as "unscented," which frequently rely on a whole host of chemicals to dampen the scent.
-----
Regardless of what is behind your fragrance allergy, experts agree that reducing exposure is key.
"The most important thing you can do in that respect is to remove yourself from the offending fragrance." Avoidance is really the most effective treatment, Slankard tells WebMD.
You catch a whiff of a co-worker's new fragrance, and within minutes, you have a whopper of a headache.
You pop open that new bottle of dish-washing liquid, and by the time you've washed the pots and pans, your hands and arms are covered in hives.
You walk into a friend's home and smell freshly baked pumpkin pie. Only after you start sneezing uncontrollably and feeling dizzy, weak, and sick to your stomach do you learn she hasn't been baking -- she's been burning a scented candle.
Your favorite fashion magazine arrives, and as soon as it's out of the mailbox your eyes are watering and you're sneezing nonstop. The culprit: scented fragrance advertising inserts.
If this sounds like you, you may be one of a growing number of people with fragrance allergies or sensitivities that can have mild to severe health consequences.
------
Experts theorize that one reason fragrance allergies appear to be increasing is that fragrances themselves have become such a prominent part of our world. According to the AAD, some 5,000 different fragrances -- and countless other fragrance combinations -- are used in products today. And they can be a powerful, toxic brew.
------
And that is precisely the logic behind several recent legal actions aimed at cleaning up our personal air space.
In July 2007, a government worker from Detroit sued her employers under the Americans With Disabilities Act for what her lawsuit claims is "fragrance toxicity" in the workplace. Her claim: Exposures to fragrances also means increased exposure to chemical neurotoxins that adversely impact brain function. The suit is pending.
In the fall of 2007, a group of students from California State University, Stanislaus, became so concerned about these same chemical exposures they asked campus officials to institute a fragrance-free policy. Their request cited headaches, nausea, and inability to concentrate, all caused by overpowering fragrance use among some students and faculty. The students are waiting for the administration's decision.
Workers in the Portland, Ore., Bureau of Emergency Communications were recently banned from wearing fragrances under what has become one of the nation's first government workplace "fragrance-free" policies. Portland State University followed suit, and now similar programs are in place at Cecil College in Maryland.
-----
For Most people, fragrance allergy symptoms abate once the scent is out of range. But this isn't always the case. For some, repeated exposures cause an increase in symptoms that occur more often and last longer. According to the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, a small but growing segment is affected by a little understood and even somewhat controversial condition known as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).
For people with MCS, Dalton says sensitivity to one fragrance or odor can snowball into a crippling multiple chemical sensitivity that leaves its victims defenseless in the face of an ever-widening number of chemical odors and fragrances.
To further complicate matters, doctors can't quite agree on what's behind any fragrance reaction, and whether it's even a true allergy or simply a response to an irritant.
-----
Some experts aren't even sure if it's the fragrance itself that is the real culprit, or just one part of a mix of chemicals -- as many as 200 or more -- that are used to create both fragrances we smell and the masking agents used in unscented products.
"Because the 'fragrance' is what we smell when we have an onset of symptoms, we blame the fragrance. But, in fact, it's possible that the reaction we are getting may instead be the result of the many chemicals used in the formulation of the fragrance," Dalton tells WebMD. This, she says, includes both products we can smell and those labeled as "unscented," which frequently rely on a whole host of chemicals to dampen the scent.
-----
Regardless of what is behind your fragrance allergy, experts agree that reducing exposure is key.
"The most important thing you can do in that respect is to remove yourself from the offending fragrance." Avoidance is really the most effective treatment, Slankard tells WebMD.
