Another serious post because I had a major migraine caused at my second job yesterday by two different substances – I was monitored by a young man wearing cologne, and I was then assigned to work with sealed bottles of lotion and ointments. I can frequently smell the products inside.
I am sensitive to chemical smells, and it’s not just things that smell bad because there’s many pleasant-smelling substances that bother me. I’m also not bothered on a physical level by disgusting smells from things like skunks and my pets.
How I wish I could not work a second job that sometimes puts me in the position of choosing whether to tough it out or go home. Yesterday, I had the aggravation of getting to the work site at 5 am, and if I left, my teen would need to leave with me because I was her ride. If I had known she hadn’t had her driver’s license to get us home earlier, I might have insisted we leave while I was somewhat functioning.
So what’s my problem? Besides the migraines, I am frequently in pain from sinus and tension headaches, neck, shoulder and back problems due to being rear-ended by another car while I sat at a red light three times, and I also sometimes score an earache. I can get pretty cranky when someone gets in my vicinity that can cause me pain because they douse themselves with chemicals.
The scented products are the main culprits, and from trying to research what specifically gives me problems, I found that cosmetic companies are not required to list the ingredients on the packaging. When labs test them, they find hormone inhibiting and carcinogenic substances, perhaps some benzene. Are these harmful to less sensitive people? Maybe they are, and it appears that it could be long-term health risks.
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