Student rushed to ER from exposure to Axe Body Spray; School reacts with ban

High school student Brandon Silk  has been treated by his doctors for allergies to Axe Body Spray for a few years. Recent exposure to the fragrance in the hallways of his high school caused him to be rushed to the hospital when his throat swelled causing him to have difficulty breathing. His throat swelled twice before when exposed to the same smell at school. Now his mother is scared to let him go back to school and wants Unilever to disclose the ingredients of the body spray to help determine what is causing his allergic reaction.

Brandon and his mother talked to local TV station WFMZ. Please watch their story and read the article by WFMZ for details….

http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/Mother-hopes-to-find-a-cure-for-son-s-allergic-reaction-to-AXE-deodorant-body-spray/-/132502/19404082/-/crdsgw/-/index.html

The Bethlehem Pennsylvania school where Brandon attends has put out a statement to parents on their website urging students not to wear Axe body spray due to Brandon’s allergy.  This is a great gesture by the school. I wonder how it will be enforced and for how long?

I am also scent sensitive and am touched by the reactions of many of the students at that school. Some suggest lobbying Unilever to disclose the ingredients for Brandon by posting to Axe’s Facebook page. Check out a video of reactions of students created by a local newspaper. I love their comments.

Smell Inc supports Brandon’s mom, Rosa Silk, and her quest to get the ingredients disclosed by Unilever. Unfortunately it’s an uphill battle. There is no legislation requiring these cosmetic companies to release the ingredients of the fragrance. The Environmental Working Group has proposed the safe cosmetics act to try to get this changed in the cosmetic industry.

Rosa isn’t the first mom to take on Unilever regarding severe allergies to Axe.  Read about the 2010 lawsuit filled in Indiana from an earlier post here at Smell Inc.

Something must be done. Body Spray, fragrances, perfumes, colognes…. it’s getting more and more obnoxious and it’s affecting others. When did it become trendy to reek? And when will these fragrances be considered second-hand scents and treated with the same regard as cigarette smoke. It’s affecting people the same way.

Perfume Obsession: What will they think of next?

For someone who gets ill from fragrances, I’m keenly aware of how scents are everywhere. Our perfume obsessed society can’t get enough. Most people wear fragrances in their shampoo & lotion & deodorant & laundry detergent & then add some perfume of choice. In the spirit of excess, here are new unconventional ways to get even smellier.

DIGESTIBLE PERFUME– Yep, you eat garlic and it seeps through your pores later giving you that lingering smell. Well, there is a company called Beneo that is working on this concept for perfumes. It’s perfumed candy is Deo and it creates the smell of roses once it is digested. It is made from beets.  Rose smells from beets might not be too bad but I can just imagine how this could evolve.

http://www.beneo-group.com/A-Sweet-Scent-sation

It sounds like this trend started in Japan. Fuwarinka in Japan has PERFUME GUM that when chewed exerts its fragrance of peaches or roses through the skin. In 2002 another Japanese company called Tsuge Pipe Company created an EDIBLE PERFUME for cigarettes. A smoker could add the drops of mint, peach, strawberry or orange to their cigarette to change the smell.

Beneo doesn’t seem to be the only ones developing the sweating fragrance method for the western world…. Lucy McRae with biologist Sheref Mansy is creating “Swallowable Perfume”.  They have a slick video ad that shows a woman popping a capsule and sweating out metallic beads that supposedly give off a unique odor. They are still in the developmental phase. While the photography is done well… I think the ad is a little creepy. See it for yourself.

http://youtu.be/X9cVAZrY_9E

http://www.lucymcrae.net/swallowable-parfum/

If you’d rather wear your perfume than sweat it perhaps Lisa Hoffman’s new FRAGRANCED JEWELRY is for you. She has created wooden bead bracelets that when exposed to air release a perfume. Each bracelet comes with a  container with extra beads so the jewelry can always transmit odor. She has five scents to choose from…. Japanese Agarwood, Tuscan Fig, French Clary Sage, Madagascar Orchid and Tunisian Neroli. These are being sold at the Home Shopping Network.

http://www.hsn.com/beauty/lisa-hoffman-perfume-jewelry-tunisian-neroli-beaded-stretch-bracelet-with-refill_p-6642912_xp.aspx

If jewelry is too subtle, you could wear PERFUMED GLOVES instead. L’Artisan Parfumeur offers gloves that will give off a floral scent for three years! According to InStyle Magazine these gloves will go on sale ($480) starting October 30 through L’artisan Perfumeur’s website.

Really? What will they think of next?

The perfume obsession continues.

Another Fragrance Free Friendly Place: Tuttle Oklahoma

City Hall in Tuttle Oklahoma has asked that people should not add perfume or cologne when visiting. They may be asked to stand outside if they do.

Thank You Tuttle Oklahoma!

Want to see for yourself… here is a link to their website

http://cityoftuttle.com/

Here is an article in USA Today discussing the trend of workplaces adopting a fragrance free zone.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-07-02/fragance-ban-allergies/55988704/1

Study: Home air fragrance can contribute to asthma and allergy issues

A new study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) discusses how and why air freshners can affect our health.

The study talks about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) being found in numerous home fragrance products. Some VOCs include formaldehyde, terpenes, benzene, alcohols and ammonia. Certain chemicals found in fragrances contain ingredients considered toxic or hazardous under federal laws. VOCs can trigger headaches and respiratory tract irritation. There are also concerns about phthalates being discovered in fragrances which have been reported to cause hormone disruptions and cancer.

Statistics from the study “Is that Breath of Fresh Air Really Fresh? Do air freshners help?”….

• 20% of general population and 34% of asthmatics reported health problems from air freshners.
• 30% of general population and 38% of asthmatics reported problems when exposed to other’s scented products.
• 58% of people with chemical sensitivity report health problems from air freshners.

This presentation suggested that doctors consider fragrance exposure in diagnosis and discuss the problems of fragrances with their patients. They even recommended one patient stop wearing perfume and using home air fragrances as part of her allergy treatment.

Please look at the original study, here is the link

http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/0083-000282_handout_pres.pdf

If you would like more info from the ACAAI conference use this link

http://acaai.omnibooksonline.com/annualmeeting2011/index.html

Top 5 easy, cheap, & natural ways to scent your home

Why spend money on expensive air fresheners when what you need to make your home smell super fresh is in your pantry. Here is our top five suggestions. If you have some other good home remedies for scenting your house, please leave a comment.

1. Add a drop of Vanilla Extract in a piece of aluminum foil and put in a warm oven. Instant smell of home-baked cookies!
2. Put citrus peels in your garbage disposal and run it.
3. Simmer cinnamon sticks, orange slices, cloves and a little water in a pot.
4. Set whole vanilla beans or tea bags into drawers to rid musty odors.
5. Take essential oils like rose or lavender, combine with water in a spray bottle and  mist.

Say NO to Air Fresheners

WHY?

Because there is nothing fresh about them.

My version of hell is being locked in a room with air fresheners in the wall sockets. Even one device might do the trick. They are so strong. They often will invoke a severe headache for me within minutes.

Even if you don’t have my aversions to air fresheners you may want to consider the possible health and environmental risks they could pose.

Here is a posting on Washington Post’s website about some of the ingredients in air fresheners and the possible risks associated with them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/13/AR2010091304543.html

When I want my house smelling good I bake cookies or use a drop of vanilla. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies, yum! Do you have any all natural house scenting tricks? I’d love to hear them!

Proposed Legislation to Mandate Listing Fragrance Ingredients in Products

Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are introducing legislation of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010. This legislation addresses many concerns about what chemicals are in personal care products and suggests that the self-regulation of the cosmetics industry has not been enough. The bill will require that labels of products list the ingredients of fragrances. Ingredients of fragrances have been protected for trade secret purposes and personal care companies have not been required to list the numerous chemicals that can make up a “fragrance”.

It’s no surprise that Smell INC is excited about this legislation. I’ve been wondering which chemicals in certain fragrances are triggering my migraine headaches. If this bill passes and is enforced maybe I can get some answers to my health issues.  This could be a real turning point for my neurological illness.

There are many sides to this legislation…. to be fair, I will post links to many viewpoints including those of the cosmetic companies.

Rep. Markey’s website, has bullet points of the Safe Cosmetics Act  http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=4059&Itemid=125

Cosmetic companies group responds to this bill  http://www.personalcarecouncil.org/newsroom/20100721a

Consumer advocacy group pushing for this legislation  http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/

Article from Bryan Walsh for Time.com regarding this issue  http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/07/21/cracking-down-on-toxic-makeup/

If you think this bill is a good idea I suggest you contact your congressman/congresswoman and ask for their support.