It’s no secret that spraying perfume or cologne and applying deodorant can make you smell and feel wonderful. But if doing them makes your day miserable, then it’s a completely different story.
Some people are actually sensitive to fragrances, and you may be one of them if employing your favorite personal care products can leave you putting up with all sorts of unfavorable signs and symptoms. Fragrances, unlike pet dander or pollen, are not really allergens but irritants. However, it doesn’t mean that they cannot cause allergic reactions.
Problems with fragrances do not begin and end with the use of perfumes, colognes and deodorants. They can also be triggered by anything that contains fragrances you are allergic to. Some examples include room deodorizers, car fresheners, laundry detergents, soaps, shampoos, hand sanitizers — anything that smells great.
Here are some of the signs that you may in fact be allergic to fragrances:
Watery Eyes
Do your peepers become watery every single time you apply a product that has a wonderful scent to it? Then it’s very much likely that you are allergic to fragrances. Just because a nice-smelling products isn’t sprayed doesn’t mean that it is not the culprit — the fragrances it contains are actually volatile, thus they can come into contact with your eyes. By the way, aside from being watery, your eyes may also appear red and feel burning.
Runny Nose
Just like most allergens on the face of the planet, fragrances can leave the nose of someone who is sensitive or allergic to them runny. That’s because fragrances causes the lining of the nose to become inflamed, causing it to produce lots of watery and thin mucus. Naturally, you tend to sneeze a lot if your nose is runny — it is actually your body’s way of trying to get rid of irritating agents that are trapped in your nasal passages.
Breathing Problems
Sometimes it’s not just a runny nose and continuous sneezing that you may experience if you have fragrance allergy, but actual difficulties with breathing. If you are highly sensitive to fragrances, then it’s not unlikely for you to develop symptoms very similar to those that are encountered by a person who is diagnosed with allergic asthma. There are instances, too, in which breathing difficulties are accompanied by hoarseness of your voice.
Rash Formation
One of the most common signs of an allergic reaction is skin rash, and it’s also a very common indicator that you may have fragrance allergy if you end up with red patches of skin after using a nice-smelling product. This happens as a form of localized infection — your skin is trying to deal with an irritant that has come into contact with it. Certainly, rash formation comes with skin itchiness and sometimes burning sensation.
Skin Discoloration
Annoyed that certain areas of your body are darker than the rest? Chances are it’s because of the products that you apply or use on those trouble spots, such as deodorants and feminine washes that contain fragrances to which you are sensitive. Usually, stopping the use of the questionable product can keep the skin from darkening further and in time return to its normal color. Unfortunately, some cases result in permanent skin darkening.
So what’s the solution to your fragrance allergy? For one, you can pop an antihistamine in your mouth after each time you come into contact with products that smell pleasing. Or you can simply opt for a life that’s fragrance-free. Such can be done by going for products that contain absolutely no fragrance.
If you are really, really sensitive to fragrances, then even those that other people use may leave you experiencing unfavorable signs and symptoms. In such case, you may have to let your spouse, family members and friends know about your problem so that they can tone down the use of perfumes, deodorants and others when you’re around.
