Scentsitivities...

I am one of those people who wheezes and coughs and cannot breathe around chemical scents. Lucky me.

Everywhere I go, some man is doused in strong cologne. Some woman is wearing too much perfume. Someone or two or three are smoking cigarettes. Someone poured half a bottle of fabric softener in their wash. The bathroom was sprayed with chemicals. The floor cleaners are sickening chemicals, EVEN at the organic restaurant we once ate at for the NBN Go North dinner, I nearly died of chemical overload in their bathroom! (Okay, so perhaps that is an exaggeration, but that's how I felt at the time!)

This country has majorly assaulted my system. As a result, I spent the first year after we arrived struggling to get my asthma under control. And the second year? Well, I can usually breathe, but I have definitely had some health issues - evidence that my immune system is most likely out of balance.

So today I read about scent-producing food packaging that is about to be introduced in the USA. And I sincerely hope this technology never makes its way to Israel! Please, please, Israel, have some pity on those of us who struggle with synthetic fragrances.

A while back, I heard about an initiative to make it illegal for government workers in New Hampshire to wear scents to work, so they do not cause health problems for people like me. Right now, I'd settle for getting rid of smoking in public, for real. Then I'd love to tackle the perfumes and chemicals! (FWIW, my town's government has agreed to replace chemical cleaners with eco-friendly ones in all the town's public places. This makes me so much happier!)...

What do you think about scents and scentsitivities? Are you also a sufferer?