Is your scent making you ill?

The smell of fresh air is becoming something of a distant memory, thanks to our increasing use of fragrance. From air fresheners to scented candles, perfumed loo roll and bin liners, in-car scents and even scented socks, we live in a miasma of scent.

Share a lift or train carriage and the aroma of spray deodorant and perfume can be overwhelming. Recent figures show seven in ten use air fresheners or scented candles to keep our homes smelling sweet.

Yet recent reports suggest that perfumed products could affect our health, causing problems including allergies, asthma and migraine, and even interfere with sexual desire.

One leading expert suggests nearly a third of people suffer adverse health effects from being exposed to scents. A major problem is so-called ‘contact’ allergy – where perfumes and scented products trigger eczema and dermatitis when they come into contact with skin.

Molecules in the product trigger an immune response, causing itchiness and even scaly, cracked skin.
About one in 20 is thought to be affected by fragrance allergy – though this number may be growing.

‘Allergies are on the increase, and the amount of perfumed products is also on the rise,’ says Dr Susannah Baron, consultant dermatologist at Kent & Canterbury hospital, and BMI Chaucer Hospital.

‘Fragrance allergy can show up as contact dermatitis in the site a perfumed product is applied, or as a flare-up of existing eczema. It can be a real problem.’