Why Smelling Good with Perfumes Could Be Making You Feel Bad

In our society, we use perfumes in almost every product we make. Perfumes are in our soap and our cleaning products. We use perfumes to freshen our air, our bodies, and our pets. We cannot escape these scents in our society, yet they could be making you feel much worse than you could ever imagine.

People have used perfumes for thousands of years, but the problems with perfumes have only come about recently. Until this century, all perfumes were made of completely natural ingredients. The combining of these ingredients simply produced a nice scent, not a chemical trail that could hurt others. In recent years, perfumes have become less expensive. As a result, more and more people are able to purchase them in a variety of products. However, as these two things have happened, they have lost most of their natural ingredients and become more synthesized. More than ninety five percent of the chemicals that come in perfumes today are synthetic. They come from things like petroleum. Petroleum is known to have toxins that cause cancer, birth defects, disorders to the central nervous system, and a whole host of allergic reactions. In fact, many of the chemicals that perfumes now contain are the same chemicals that cigarette smoke contains. You wouldn't want to spray cigarette smoke on yourself, your clothes, your pets, or your laundry, but you use most of the same components when you use items containing perfumes.

The use of these chemicals goes completely unregulated because it is thought not to be dangerous. The industries that use perfumes do not have to give anything to the Food and Drug Administration. This includes formulas, testing results, safety data, or any complaints from consumers. Even if you do not notice the effects from the chemicals in perfumed products, someone else in your household or in your surroundings may be noticing them. The chemicals used in perfumes enter your blood stream when you apply the products to your skin. They can also be absorbed into your blood stream if you have residue on your clothing from your laundry soap or fabric softener. When you inhale perfume, the fumes can go straight to your brain. It is the equivalent of huffing gasoline. Your brain can suffer the same serious effects just from a single spray. Moreover, the people standing in line next to you at the post office or anywhere else you may visit may have headaches or sinus problems triggered by your artificial scent. Many people are so sensitive to the perfumes used in various products that the effects can be serious and immediately triggered by one whiff of the chemicals contained in the fragrance you are wearing. Shortness of breath and other asthma like symptoms are a very common reaction to fragrances. Fragrances can cause sneezing, watery eyes, nausea, sore throat, and coughing. If fragrances are absorbed through the skin of a person with an allergic reaction, rashes, hives, dermatitis, and eczema are not uncommon reactions. Sometimes once the fragrance is absorbed in the skin, the chemicals are more powerful than they were before they were broken down.


Many places are starting to institute fragrance free policies because of the serious reactions people can suffer from fragrance related products. For example, Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, has recently asked both its students and employees to voluntarily quit wearing any scented products. The regional municipality in Halifax, Nova Scotia, urges citizens to only use unscented products in their day to day life. One California Company, Alacrity Ventures, encourages employees to use only fragrance free products. They also only use unscented products in their janitorial clean-up as a commitment to a scent-free work environment. Companies across the United States and Canada are trying to create these fragrance-free policies in order to accommodate individuals who have difficulty dealing with these dangerous products because it is easier for them to enact them now than later in time when they are under scrutiny for some type of law suit action.

It is essential to others that you consider a fragrance-free policy in your own home and work place. While you may not be suffering from the serious health damage chemically produced fragrances can cause, be aware that others around you may. Until people as a whole realize that we do not need fragrances to mask every odor around us, it is essential that we, on an individual level, become aware of the serious, negative consequences these fragrance products can have on the world and people around us.

Seven Sleep Aids that Can Help You to Night-Night Land

Do you find yourself lying in bed at night, hoping for sleep? If you suffer from occasional bouts of insomnia, here are seven sleep aids that can help send you off to night-night land.

1. Special sleep-friendly pillows. With the increased awareness of the importance of receiving a good night's sleep, a number of sleep-friendly pillows are now available for sleep-hungry individuals. Some pillows are specifically designed to help reduce the frequency and intensity of snoring. Snoring is one of the greatest detractors to a good night's sleep. The new PillowPositive is a special patented cervical pillow. Clinical trials have shown its efficacy in helping reduce snoring. PillowPositive encourages the user to position their head in order to avoid positions that leave the airway passages vulnerable to snoring.

Another sleep-friendly pillow is the Nelson Sound Sleeper. The Nelson Sound Sleeper is an ergonomically designed pillow that has built-in speakers that allow relaxing music to be funneled to the user. The Nelson Sound Sleeper is made for the whole body. It supports a healthy inclined position that reflects the body's natural curvature, and which supports the spine. The Nelson Sound Sleeper is designed to support and distribute equally the user's body weight, regardless of what side or sleeping position the sleeper has taken.

2. The scent of sleep: aromatherapy sleep aids that will send you off to dream land sweetly. Although many people scoffed when aromatherapy first caught the public's attention, research shows that essential oils can be quite effective in alleviating all sorts of medical conditions. Lavender has proven to be the most popular choice for inducing sleep.


There are several ways you can use lavender to fall asleep. You can purchase a special aromatherapy diffuser that you can use to expel the aroma in your bedroom before bedtime. You can place a few drops in your hot bath, or you can purchase lavender massage oil and rub it into your skin before nighttime. Whatever you choose, you will want to remember that essential oils can be surprisingly powerful—a few drops goes a long way. You can also create a small sachet filled with lavender potpourri that you can place in your pillow. Some people have also reported success with the use of jojoba oil, marjoram, and ylang-ylang.

3. White noise machines. White noise machines can be particularly effective if you need to fall asleep during the day, where distractions and noise are more prone to keep you awake. Popular models include the Norelco Natural Sound Selector, the Burltech Ultra Heart and Sound Soother, and the Marpac line of Sound Conditioners. Most of these white noise machines are outfitted with several modes and sounds from nature that are designed to send you off to sleep.

A simpler way to gain a similar effect is to use a fan on a low setting, or to set the radio on the classical music station at a very low volume.

4. Sleep inducing music. Like essential oils, music is another great way to calm the senses and prepare the body for restful sleep. Many musical CDs specifically designed to send you off to sleep are now available. The SleepNowCD, for instance, contains sonic biofeedback that is designed to minimize anxiety and induce sleep. Another option for insomniacs is the Easy Sleep Tapes for Insomniacs from Hypnosis Concepts. These tapes contain two hypnosis sessions aimed to ease you into restful sleep.

5. Calming, sleep-inducing herbal teas. Certain herbs have been proven to induce sleep. Special nighttime or sleepy time teas can be a powerful yet natural method to induce sleep. Chamomile, valerian, and ginger teas are recommended for sleep-seekers. Make sure to drink these hot teas at least an hour before bedtime.

6. Over the counter sleep aids. If you find yourself experiencing transient insomnia due to travel or temporary stressors, over the counter sleep aids can help you get the rest you need quickly and easily. Over the counter sleep aids are no substitute to natural sleep, and their use should be discontinued as soon as possible. These drugs are designed to provide fast relief from sleeplessness, but they lose their effectiveness if used for too long.

7. When all else fails: prescription sleep aids. With the variety of non-drug sleep aids now available, prescription sleep aids should be avoided, if possible. If you suffer from severe chronic insomnia, visit your doctor to make sure you are not suffering from an underlying disorder or illness. Many sleep aids carry the risk of side effects, and some can even be addictive. Proceed with caution when it comes to prescription sleep aids.