After a while, most people stop noticing them. However, some people have a chemical intolerance which means that the smells continue to be present. This could manifest itself as a headache from the man on the tube's overbearing aftershave or an itchy nose from using a certain cleaning product. Psychology researcher Linus Andersson from Umea University exposed both intolerant and non-intolerant individuals to smells and compared their reactions.
Do cleaning solutions at work make your nose itch? If you have symptoms prompted by everyday smells, it does not necessarily mean you are allergic but rather that you suffer from chemical intolerance.
Normally your smell perceptions diminish rapidly, as when you enter a friend's apartment. Even though you clearly notice smells just inside the door, you don't think about them for long. For people with chemical intolerance, on the other hand, smells seem always to be present.
Psychology researcher Linus Andersson has exposed both intolerant and non-intolerant individuals to smells and compared their reactions. Their brain activity images also differed from those in the other group," he says. The results were observed using methods based on both electroencephalography EEG and functional brain imaging technology fMRI. The EEG method involved placing electrodes on the heads of trial subjects and registering the minute changes in tension in the brain that arise following exposure to smells.
Unlike the people in the normal group, Linus Andersson explains, the intolerant people did not evince a lessening of brain activity during the period of more than an hour they were exposed to a smell. The inability to grow accustomed to smells is thus matched by unchanging brain activity over time. A similar change can be found in patients with pain disorders, for example.
All fragrances can be an irritant. The symptoms that these people experience do mimic allergic reactions — watering eyes, sneezing, difficulty breathing, wheezing, headache, skin rash, but, while you might be allergic to an ingredient in the product, you cannot actually be allergic to fragrances. Miller, explained: "An allergen is a protein that is known to cause an IgE-mediated reaction.
IgE, or immunoglobulin E, is an antibody produced by the body in response to exposure to an allergen. An irritant is a chemical or product that causes symptoms without a known immunologic cause … Only an allergen can cause a true allergy, while irritants cause sensitivities. It has been observed that people who do suffer allergies can exhibit similar symptoms when they encounter an irritant.
It is possible that their system is already primed to react, and the irritant sets them off. It has also been found that many of the medications available to treat hay fever and such like can reduce the symptoms triggered by irritants. OK, so this is not going to kill you, but I imagine your symptoms are an effective passion killer.
I hope you have told your partner about what you are experiencing. If not, you need to raise the subject but try not to make it sound like a criticism. The idea is not to put them in the wrong; it is to help them to understand that you feel ill when you get too close.
It is also important to listen to how they respond so that you can learn more about them. For example, a person who is socially anxious, has a poor body image or believes that the body is dirty, might use scent to mask body odour. You might need to reassure them that you love their natural aroma.
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