Exactly right about the fragrances sold which have toxic chemicals in them. I fight this all the time, as I am acutely sensitive to these. I cannot step across the threshold of a store like Bed Bath and Beyond, for instance. One time I stood at the threshold of one of their stores in Encinitas CA, hesitating whether to go in and "sniff". The clerk came up to me and said "come on in!" as if I were just shy. I smiled and just said something to not hurt her feelings, and moved on.
I have lost my work and my church, among other things, because of toxic rug finishes. After years of struggling with chemicals at my work, I finally had to throw in the "rug" when they put in a new rug throughout the building which was toxic even to the other teachers and administrators, and had sent several people to the ER in ambulances while I was gone for the summer vacation. The administrators were cutting windows into their outside walls of their offices so they could have openable windows instead of the toxic brew which circulated through the enclosed air circulation system, into which not enough oxygen was pumped.

I have had to move on from churches I belonged to because of toxic rug cleaner. At the last place I requested of the board of trustees that they use steam cleaning instead of toxic cleaner, but they refused to change their ways. I think they thought I was exaggerating about the problem, because for them it was a minor problem if any problem to smell the rug after such a cleaning. I did come back to sniff and see if I could come in, and thought better of it, and this time, I resigned. This is not the first time I have been unable to attend a church because of this problem.

I am a "canary in a coal mine", more sensitive than most, but everyone is being slowly poisoned by such things and by all the other things mentioned in the article. It is without doubt one of the causes of cancer when a person is exposed to it longterm.

Oh, how I can relate Mariel. The last church that I attended, I threatened to quit teaching so the Pastor asked all those that wore perfume to sit on the right side and not get near me. That worked pretty good until he resigned. Later, one of the women said, "We need to pray for you gerlinda." Are you kidding me? it wasn't my problem, it was hers which could have been reduced greatly by washing off the perfume on her clothes and using only a drop instead of a fist full. I, also have only steam cleaning on carpet. More than once, my very good nose has saved us from consuming something that was bad. Even though it was suppose to be fresh, good to eat, the chemicals in the product, we learned later was toxic.

It is tough....makes us look like nuts with more than one problem. ha!

Thanks for sharing.

g

Yes indeed, Gerlinda, we "look like nuts" to many people because of our "very good nose(s)". My nose is like that of a hunting dog. It does not look like a hound's nose, but it functions as one.

Sadly, some toxic chemical products used today are engineered not to smell. This defeats the nose!

One of the worst offending chemicals is the anti-stain material bonded with new rugs. It is possible to buy a rug without that anti-stain chemical, such as wool rugs, but these are more expensive and they do get dirty more easily, so they are not in much demand. Rugs will "outgas" much of this material over the years, so an old rug is almost always less toxic than a new rug. I believe that nylon rugs without the anti-stain material can be found, as well.

One of the other hidden dangers in building material is composites in shelves and cabinets. This is a huge danger, and it is in new furniture, too, if it's made of composite. The composite can be sealed with Safecoat or some other environmental sealer. Sometimes it is successfully sealed with the smooth material on top of it. If anyone has a composite-lined cabinet which is not sealed, it is wise to send for some Safecoat (see sources online) and seal it.

And yes, most commercial perfumes have toxic chemicals in them, but the pure essential oils do not. I love lavender and orange oils. I also love rose oil, but I could not use it because my husband was allergic to rose.

But as you say, the worst wound in this regard is being thought a "nut" because of our sensitivity.