Scented ANYTHING.
This means no cologne, no perfume, no scented laundry, fabric softener or dryer sheets, no air fresheners, no carpet potpourri, no candles, no scented "thingys" hanging in the car.......NO FEBREEZE sprayed all over furniture and rooms!!!!!
We are looking for a house as we speak and when we walk in a house that someone Febreezed all over or sprayed air freshener....we LEAVE. In SECONDS.
DO NOT DO THAT TO YOUR HOMES if you want to sell it! If you just have a "scent", put some cinnamon on a cookie sheet in your oven with the door cracked at 250 degrees...will smell like cookies from grandma.
When I eliminated scented laundry products, my husband had an immediate and noticeable improvement in his respiratory health. As a result of that, we take our OWN unscented laundry products with us when traveling and also have purchased such products and have left them at our extended family and have asked them to use those ONLY when helping with our laundry during trips. Because we live a scent-free life as much as possible, even a short trip WITH scents can cause health issues and literal headaches.
So today when I saw this study, I felt validated yet more worried than ever. I knew scents trigger asthma and some behavior issues, but cancer-causing substances?
If this topic fascinates you as it did me, please find and read:
Do scents bother your family?
YES! YES! YES! Scents bother me tremendously. Often when I take walks, entire half-blocks are polluted with the nauseating smell of laundry products coming from someone's dryer vent. What are people thinking of, to smother themselves and their families with these synthetic chemicals? (Can you tell I feel strongly about this?) I don't have asthma, but most perfumes give me an instant headache.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post.
Scents don't bother my family but that is very disturbing news Cheri!
ReplyDeleteOh my.
I have asthma seasonally (I have it right now!)
but it is more triggered to the pollen in the air.
Maybe I should pay closer attention to how I feel around these scents.
Thanks for the update and I do know that the dryer sheets create a sticky film in your dryer venting and if you do not have it cleaned or replaced regularly ---- it is a fire hazard.
Thanks Cheri!
xx
A
Glad to see we're not the only family! Alison, you might just be very surprised to see how much scents (even your favorite ones) trigger issues. There was a story about a lady whose daughter turned in to a mess every fall....and for years, this mother just about pulled all her hair out trying to deal with it. When she read the book I mentioned above and started charting every single thing, she realized it was all the "fall" candles and potpourri that were setting off her daughter....once removed, things returned to normal.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a non-allergic family so marrying my husband has been quite the education and experience...not always fun, to be sure, but since the boys were born with his allergies/asthma, I don't' have a choice but to comply with that keeps them healthier. lol
I am a canary in a coal mine. Put me in a house and I can find the horrible scented product faster than a dog on a dropped piece of meat!
ReplyDeleteAll joking aside, life is very frustrating. I shop and the woman in line in front of me gives me an asthma attack with her perfume, I stay at a friends and my throat closes and skin itches from the bed sheets. I go for a walk and end up using too much of my inhaler because every second house is using scented drying products.
However, I am not shy and tell everyone about it. I do like to give this example. "You know that plug in that is in your wall? Would you take the top off and drink it? NO? Well why do you not have a problem with the fact that you are ingesting/inhaling it in small droplest?" Kind of crazy when you think about it."
The part that burns my butt the most is friends that keep taking their kids to emerg with "lung colds/wheezy chests/ allergies" and the use scented stuff galore! Why do these doctors never think to ask them! Why is it not the standard to recommend unscented products around our most presious people?
My house is scent/fragrance free and I have two cats, 2 litter boxes and you won't smell it! Baking soda is my friend! I also have swited to everything "Nature Clean" Its completly non toxic and you can buy in all scent free. Safe around kids and pets!
http://www.naturecleanliving.com/our_story
Thank you for letting me rant! :)