Synthetic Fragrances & MCS: Smells That Make Us Sick

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I developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) in the OR (operating room) where, for years, I breathed all sorts of low-level anesthetics (halothane, enflurane, and methoxyflurane). I also inhaled the very smelly (highly toxic) bonding glue methyl-methacrylate that we used for hip replacements in adjoining suites.

Several nurse friends had anaphylactic allergic reactions during those cases (and had to transfer to other areas), but we never knew why. As the months rolled by, I developed headaches that lasted 4-5 hours after leaving.

I’ve had to stop asking a sweet older friend over whose clothing smells strongly (sickeningly) of fabric softener. I can’t bring my myself to tell her she can use 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the fabric softener cup or or to use a wool dryer ball.

For someone who is trying to figure out how to heal from long-term disease or why they are sick in the first place, man-made fragrances will be a part of the puzzle and should be understood.

Research shows that chemicals including VOCs (volatile organic compounds) have direct, quick access to the brain through the nasal passages causing central nervous system disorders & allergic reactions. (source)

I believe many of our daily home and workplace smells are in the same category, wreaking damage to us on many levels, often not even noticed until a complex health issue arises!

Artificial Fragrances are Dirt Cheap To Manufacture

Long ago, because of the higher cost of true essential fragrance oils, corporations went to cheap synthetic “imitation” fragrances made in laboratories from petroleum and coal tar derivatives. (source).

The Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973 requires cosmetics companies to list ingredients on labels but EXEMPTS ‘fragrance’. (source)

Fragrance may include VOCs capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders & allergic reactions such as:

benzene derivatives
aldehydes,
ketones,
alcohol denaturants
other known toxics & sensitizers

Corporations can produce these man-made smells at a tiny fraction of the cost. Then they are packaged beautifully, and you think you are getting an amazing product.

Manufactured fragrances enable marketing firms to emphasize their “unique fragrances” and customers develop brand loyalty based on scent as we will see in a minute.

Chemical “fragrance” or “parfum” is found in:

lotions and serums
shampoo
scented candles
dryer sheets
cleaners
cosmetics
air fresheners
plug-ins
wax melts
deodorants
soaps
sunscreens
perfumes
colognes
body sprays
laundry detergent

The Industry’s Toxic Secrets

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity & Fragrances: Smells That Make Us Sick. sickening smells

(Source)

To corporate chemists, these truths are certainly known, but decisions of stockholders and the bottom line – in most cases – is of utmost importance to the company.

“Virtually none of these single or combined ingredients are tested for central nervous system safety despite the fact that chemicals in fragrances are known to be neurotoxic and/or carcinogenic” (source).

Residues of chemicals in laundry detergents and products like Febreze remain on clothing after it is washed.

Clear evidence of this can be found in scented products, because chemical fragrances would be useless if they were simply washed out.

Fragrances Are Addictive

Daily exposure to the chemicals in fake perfumes and colognes creates chemical dependency (addiction).

As with all other forms of addiction, people tend to use more and more fragrance over time and switch to stronger and stronger fragrances, because they don’t feel the desired effect.

There is no “right to know” for fragranced products: Ingredients in fragrances are considered to be “proprietary” or “confidential” and do not have to be revealed to the consumer even when the product has been reported to cause human health problems. (source)

Fragrances God Gave Us vs. Artificial Fragrances

As a researching mom using natural essential oils medicinally for well over 20 years, I now recognize synthetic fragrances when I smell them.

These fakes possess the power to give me a headache or respiratory congestion similar to breathing automobile exhaust. You will immediately discern between imitation fragrances that come from factories and the fragrances that God has given to us.

When I smell the spring Korean spicebushes or the summer butterfly bushes outside my door my spirits lift, and I am captivated by God’s good gifts. Plant essential oils have the capacity to heal, because they preserve the life-giving substances that were naturally present in the plants that heal (Gen. 1:29, Rev. 22:2)

Test Yourself to See If You are Sensitive

In later stages of MCS, when the immune system can no longer handle the toxicity, the sense of smell becomes hypersensitive.

These people (like me) are essentially canaries in the coal mine. This PubMed study is consistent with that.

If you suspect you may be sensitive to synthetic fragrances, or are developing MCS, test yourself in the detergent aisle or lawn care aisle of a superstore.

There is one telltale sign: If the smell of the newly manufactured synthetic products [chemicals] is sickening to you, possibly even bringing on a runny nose or sneezing, slight headache or breathing problems, you can be pretty sure that you’re already chemically sensitive or are on your way to becoming so.

If you stop chronic exposure now, your immune system can still recover. Please don’t wait. You may be in danger of developing an environmental illness.

Is It Possible To Recover?

Studies show that an oral spray into the mouth called TRS removes ~80,000 toxins and metals (all of these are positively charged, which means they are bad for us). See FAQs here.

That would include heavy metals (aluminum, mercury, arsenic, fluorine, barium, strontium, uranium, lead, etc.), herbicides and pesticides, synthetic chemicals, mold and yeast toxins, Candida, carcinogens from smoke and haze, plastic residues, radioactive material in the body, and more.

TRS is the best tool in my medicine chest! To learn more, go here: https://deeprootsathome.com/trs/

TRS is nano-sized zeolite that is bound to purified water molecules. Zeolite is a naturally-occurring mineral that God made to be able to powerfully attract positively-charged particles, encapsulate them, and safely remove them from the body. TRS is a liquid spray that is clear and tasteless like water. (See FAQs here.)

TRS gets to the root causes of fibromyalgia/CFS, regressive autism, MCS, mold, Lyme, neurological/seizure disorders, behavior, bedwetting, processing issues in children, thyroid, diabetes, and other autoimmune diseases – and more: Read Heavy Metals Need To Go

Lists of MUCH SAFER products I’ve discovered and use:

“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.“ ~1 Corinthians 6:20