by Jackie Burke-Mcginnis

Created on: April 01, 2010

How Fragrances Can Make You Sick

 Why do the majority of people wear cologne/perfumes?  Scent is used to attract, heal (aromatherapy), and anoint (globalscent.net).  Scent can bring us back to grandma's kitchen thirty years ago by awakening long lost memories.  A baby can recognize it's mother by her smell.  It can also inspire a poet or guide us into the future.  Of our five senses only the sense of smell is directly linked to our limbic lobe of our brain, or our emotional control center.  So it seems that asking people to use scent free products touches not only  on private, but personal matters.  When these scents affect the health and well-being of others, it goes far beyond privacy matters.

 According to the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency), scent also contributes to the poor quality of indoor air.  When you consider that most of us spend 75-85% of our time indoors, it becomes prevalent that our indoor air  can be 2-5 times more polluted than outside air.  For some people the worst "pollution" comes from fragrances are designed to be pleasing to our nose.  Yet perfumes are becoming more and more popular.  It is virtually impossible to avoid scented products, from laundry detergent to cat litter, candles to garbage bags.  Many people I have come in contact with complain of headaches, migraines, nausea, itchy eyes, dizziness, hoarseness and other medical ailments with contact to commercial perfumes.  

Cosmetics that claim they are fragrance free may not be.  According to the FDA website, "Fragrance Free: implies that a cosmetic product so labeled has no perceptible odor.  Fragrance ingredients may be added to a fragrance-free cosmetic to mask any offensive odor originating from the raw materials used, but in a smaller amount than is needed to impart a noticeable scent. "   Also a 1998 revised entry on the FDA website asks people to report injuries or illnesses caused by fragrances.  "By documenting injury and illness, the FDA will be able to recognize patterns of cause and effect."  Due to trade "secrets" the FDA (the FDA cosmetic and colors division holds jurisdiction over this industry, but does not require pre market clearance or approval) does not require ingredients to be revealed to the agency or to be labeled on the cosmetics/perfumes themselves.  The manufacturer must, however, place the broad ingredient "fragrance" in the

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