It's A Smelly World

The American obsession with "smelling fresh" is out to kill me.   Well,  not kill, but severely impact my ability to breathe and  give me a migraine.  I am highly allergic to scents, particularly flowery ones like lavender, freesia, and whatever the hell most laundry soap and dryer sheets call "fresh".  Seriously, between Gain, Febreeze, and Glade, I am besieged with chemically altered smells intended to provide a pleasant scent.  They advertise that their products will neutralize all other smells when all they really do is add another layer of scent that is so heavy it covers everything including my sinuses. 

I know this is my problem and I do my best to deal with it.  Fifteen years ago it was pretty easy.  I only had to avoid places that sold scented candles and incense.  Now, it is ubiquitous.  I have to be on the alert everywhere.   I don't expect the world to be conscious of my needs and adhere to them, but a little less of the chemical scents competing with natural scents would be great. 

When I go to the grocery store I avoid the laundry soap aisle.  If I find I have to enter it, I hold my breath.  No, I'm not kidding.  I literally hold my breath and go grab what I need and get out.  The smells are overpowering.  Take a deep breath next time you are in the laundry soap aisle and see if I am not correct.   I buy fragrance free products or unscented products (although you would be surprised how often the store stocks the unscented dryer sheets next to the Spring flower scented dryer sheets thereby infecting the unscented).

In public restrooms I often find the only soap available is lavender or some other flowery scent that is anathema to me.  When did just plain antibacterial soap go out of vogue?  I carry hand sanitizer with me to use in those situations.   And thankfully, many places already provide sanitizer.   

The most recent development is the presence of  a glade plug-in or sprayer that is filling the air with a thick cloying smell that coats the inside of my throat, nose, and lungs.  I can taste the smell. It is everywhere—stores, restaurants, churches, doctor's offices, nail salons.  I have had to leave appointments more than once when my chest starts to tighten, my faces reddens, and my throat starts closing up. 

And don't get me started on people who overload with cologne or perfume.  I have left elevators, rooms, and movie theaters for that reason.  I carry a handkerchief and use it to dab at my nose just to filter when I have to remain somewhere such as a meeting.  I am very lucky to have an understanding husband who is willing to be my scent blocker.  Many is the time I have asked him to switch seats with me because someone with a flowery perfume sat next to me.

All my friends know that I am sensitive to scents and they are very respectful of my needs.  I have some friends who go way out of their way to accommodate me.  It is extremely touching and I really do appreciate it.   Everybody is careful about perfumes and candles and dogs, but the one area no one seems to think about is dryer sheets. 

And dryer sheets, especially a certain scent, are the bane of my existence.  Seriously, I would like to banish them from the earth.   So when I spend the night away from home be it hotels or homes – the towels and sheets are often drenched in a very flowery scent that chokes me.  If you suffer from scent allergies, you know what I am talking about and the lengths to which you will go to protect yourself. 

I carry a spray bottle of white vinegar and when I go to a hotel I pull down the covers first thing and spray liberally.  I carry my own pillowcases and use them to cover the others.  I don't bring the sheets up close to my face.  I really take precautions because the sheets and towels are the place I am most likely to be smothered by scents.  With the vinegar (a neutralizer) usually by the time I am ready for bed the sheets have aired out some.  

A few months ago I stayed at someone's house and I was overcome by their towels.  Now I take my own towel.  More recently, I was at someone's house and the sheets did me in.  I don't feel that my problem should impinge on anyone else's comfort or life, and I don't expect  anyone to have to change their life to suit me.   At the same time, it is almost impossible for me to sleep in that kind of situation.  I cannot breathe.  So I am now adding a washable sleeping bag or a travel sheet to take with me for the bed.  

I want to enjoy my visits with friends, go to appointments as necessary, shop, use public restrooms, go to the movies and a million other things without worry.  And I can, but only when I take responsibility for my comfort and health using all the tools at my disposal.   As long as our society is so fragrance-laden and obsessed with unnatural and conflicting smells, I will carry my magic travel bag of scent  protection.