We all know that there have been widespread smoking bans put into place for the general purpose of health, but for one woman in Detroit, she would like to see fragrances added to the list when it comes to the workplace. Seems like a far fetched idea? While, banning employees from wearing fragrance in the workplace may never come to fruition, another advocacy group and medical charity, Allergy UK, is pushing for the recognition of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as an illness.
Up until now, those who have no physical reaction to fragrance just couldn’t grasp the idea that there are some people who have an adverse reaction to various chemicals found in perfumes, lotions and personal care items. These infractions on one’s health include a severe to migraine headache, skin rashes, muscoskeletal pains and other allergic reaction-type symptoms. This can make it difficult to get through a pain-free workday and affect your performance on the job. I can attest that this syndrome is very real, as my husband will have adverse health affects when around things such as perfume, cigarette smoke, intensely fragrant lotions, shower gels and soaps and so on. He is also severely allergic to a chemical called MSD found in some epoxy flooring. Breathing in its fragrance swells his throat and he has difficulty breathing, with each exposure the reaction seems to get worse. Such is the case with those whose bodies have an intolerance to certain chemicals found in personal care products.
Allergy UK’s mission is to have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity recognized as a true illness and to educate health care professionals and the public about this syndrome. Their Health Care Panel is comprised of General Practitioners, Allergists, Dermatologists, Immunologists, Pediatricians, Nurses and Dieticians to assist in meeting the goal of this mission. They also have a "Seal of Approval" for products they endorse that restrict/reduce/remove allergens from the environment. They feel that once it is a recognized medical illness, then health care providers can properly treat it and there can be medical backup to a person who becomes ill in the workplace due to this chemical sensitivity. No longer can employers feel their employee is making it up or not take their health complaints seriously, such as the case with my husband’s employer despite having his co-workers witness his severe allergic reaction first hand.
While there seems to be chemicals in just about everything, the increasing number of people looking for chemical-free alternatives in their beauty products may just be the key to leading the way to help lessen the affects our favorite lotion has on our co-worker. All natural and organic products may just be another way to revolutionalize an already hugely popular industry that benefits from the interest of taking better care of our health through the beauty products we use.
Do you or someone you know suffer from fragrance sensitivity? What would the recognition of this illness mean to you? What do you think it would mean for the beauty industry?
Posted by Shannon Nelson on August 29, 2007 7:43 AM
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Comments (4)
While those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities are certainly impacted by the wide spread use of scented products, they are not the only ones. In fact everyone is impacted from an air quality standpoint.
The fragrance in products are volatile organic compounds which quickly enter the air and are designed to linger. After all, if they were not in the air we breathe in we would not be able to smell them; fragrance is designed to be smelled. Once in the air they break down, mix with other indoor air pollutants and often form more toxic and allergenic mixtures than the original fragrance.
There are a number of common health conditions which are greatly impacted by fragrance and other indoor air pollutants. These include asthmatics and those with other respiratory conditions such as rhinitis, sinusitis, cystic fibrosis, and emphysema. As much as 40% of those with migraines are also triggered by fragrance.
The lungs are the primary entry point for volatile compounds into the body. Most fragrance chemicals have not been tested for respiratory, neurological, or systemic effects. But is known that synthetic musk compounds bioaccumulate in human tissue, are found in breast milk, and likely cross the placental barrier. Some of these materials have carcinogenic effects in animal studies.
So decreasing the exposure to fragrance is a health issue for us all.
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Betty Bridges |
August 30, 2007 7:11 AM
Posted on August 30, 2007 07:11
I KNOW I have MCS. I work in a large office with as many as 400 others, most of whom wear fragrances and/or smoke. I have required lots of sick time and have lost lots of working hours. Although I require isolation, partitions, and/or fans, I seldom am allowed what I need to get through a workday.
My doctors usually only give a diagnosis of asthma, since MCS has not been classified as a disease, because of its multi-faceted nature, and therefore only ONE ICD-9 code will not suffice. I have to haul around a backpack with a nebulizer and a baggie full of pain meds, eye drops, rescue inhalers, and even epinephrine. I worry that there will come a day when I require a hospital trip.
I have a rather cumbersome air cleaner that I can use, but management does not like my use of such devices (too freaking bad). I have been harrassed, threatened, and even had my reasonable accommodations taken away by managers who should never have done so. Managers frequently insist that I quit my job, and go on disability...something I do not wish to do, but may have to do because of the disabling result of their poor work environment. What's worse, is that it's only an office environment.
The biggest letdown was that the nurse's office had a new "air freshener" installed, which I immediately reacted to upon entering. I was wheeled to another facility on-site, and allowed electric power for my nebulizer....all after waiting nearly half an hour. THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE.
I have become chemical sensitive over the years, where such didn't bother me a mere decade ago. I also noticed a severe drop in critical laboratory test measurements, which definitely indicate that my body is fighting with all its might to just keep me going from day to day.
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PaulH |
October 8, 2008 8:59 AM
Posted on October 8, 2008 08:59
I am allergic to any type of perfume, colonge and cigarette smoke, when Im at work a co-worker sit by me I get a pounding headache, my sinuses start to run down the back of my throat, I get dizzy and my stomach cramps and I have to go take a crap, sometimes certain perfume smells make my lips tingle and fell numb and weird, when someone comes back to work after smoking a cigarette esp if they dont wash their hands, I just feel so bad I wont to clock out and go home, I work in a hospital employees have be told over and over again not to wear fragrances in the work place but they just dont seem to care Ive been on my job for 35+yrs, I dont know how much longer I can hold out , its miserable for me at work, with co workers wearing perfume, and perumed lotions, hairsprays, what can I do ? Is is possible to sue or go out on disability?
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mae williams |
August 16, 2009 6:38 AM
Posted on August 16, 2009 06:38
I suffer greatly and hope the world becomes more aware of chemical sensitivity.It's like dying slowly! And no one understands that fragrances destroy us. But what do you do if your a working person?
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jason ross |
November 23, 2009 3:34 PM
Posted on November 23, 2009 15:34