Killing them softly with fragrances, lotion, scented candles
by Carol Vanpell
reporter
When you spray or splash on that perfume or cologne each morning before you leave the house, perhaps you should stop and consider the consequences.
Your perfume or another scented product could be making you or someone around you sick.
Fragrances can cause allergic reactions in some people that can be life threatening.
One in five asthma attacks are a result of exposure to perfume,” according to recent studies by the Louisiana State Medical Center.
Most perfumes contain a long list of chemicals considered toxins by the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration and other health and environmental organizations.
Georgia Kasper, NE Campus senior secretary, is allergic to fragrance and avoids contact if possible. She said she steers clear of stores like Garden Ridge, where the scented candles permeate the air.
“ I get an instantaneous headache when I come in contact with perfume, cologne, hand lotions, soaps and other scented products that people wear everyday,” she said.
Luckily, Kaspar has cooperative colleagues.
“ The people in my office know about my allergy and have stopped wearing fragrance to work,” she said.
Kasper said this cooperation has really helped.
According to Kasper, her boss, Dr. Jane Harper, NE humanities division chair, also has an allergy to fragrance.
“ Dr. Harper requested the automatic air freshener in the ladies’ room be removed because it was making her and others on the floor sick,” she said.
Some allergy doctors believe the reaction some people have to fragrance is not an “allergy” but a “normal” reaction to a toxic substance.
Eternity, a popular fragrance, contains approximately 42 chemicals: one severe irritant, 6-Pcten-1ol,3,7-dimethyl; 23 irritants too numerous to list and one toxin, Acetic acid, phenyl methyl ester.
These chemicals are classified and listed in the Toxic Substances Act and the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances.
The Environmental Health Network of California has petitioned the FDA to declare Eternity misbranded.
The FDA cannot regulate the ingredients in perfume, but it can require warning labels that let the consumer know the safety of the product has not been determined.
The EPA has also classified acetaldehyde (a common ingredient in perfume) as a probable human carcinogen.
According to the National Safety Council Web site, “When ingested or inhaled, acetaldehyde can irritate the eye, nose and throat; cause conjunctivitis, coughing, central nervous system depression, eye and skin burns, dermatitis and delayed pulmonary edema.”
Lynn Heisey, administrative accounting clerk in NW Campus business services, is also allergic to fragrances.
She gets a headache within two minutes of contact with some fragrances. Because of her problems, people in her office have stopped wearing certain fragrances.
“ Sometimes, if they are wearing a scented lotion, they will ask me if it is bothering me,” she said.
Some environmental groups are proposing bans on fragrance in the workplace—citing air pollution from cigarette smoke as the precedent.
TCC officials are aware of this problem and, at a student’s request, will assistant with difficult situations.
“ The NW Testing Center will try to make special accommodations for students who are allergic to fragrance,” Merilynn Howard, student development coordinator for testing, said.
Students must have a letter from their doctor stating their allergy to fragrance, Howard said.
It is important to remember that just because something smells good, it does not mean it is good for you.
If you, or someone close to you, suffers from headaches, burning eyes, constant coughing, sinus problems or asthma, it could be the fragrance you are wearing. Cut back on cologne and save a friend.
Last Updated: 4/21/2004
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