OT: alcohol based perfume removal?

The problem compound is D-Limonene oxide, which is one of the worst allergens known. Lemon and orange oils contain D-Limonene which slowly oxidises when exposed to air. Fresh fruit presents no danger, but stale rind and oil are quite nasty - a friend of mine lost all the skin off her face when she was exposed to to oxidised limonene.

In the US, perfumes containing D-Limonene have to be safety tested straight from and unopened bottle, so they pass the FDA tests. In the UK they can be tested from a bottle which has been opened and then closed again (and they fail the safety tests), but the FDA tests are the ones that are always quoted in the safety leaflets.

And how about after being begged and pleaded with from someone who you routinely put in the emergency room by your callous behavior turned around and charged you with "assault with a deadly weapon"? Would serve you right to spend some time in court and in the grey bar motel.

That depends on whether or not the neighbor is a considerate person or an insensitive ass hole.

You seem to also be ignoring the facts I have discussed in my posts. I see you have deleted the relevant portions. Do you even know which facts I was discussing???

Ok, you refer to this a "poisonous stuff". While you have a very strong reaction, do you believe this fits the definition of "poisonous"?

It is not psychosomatic (caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress). Anything you say about psychosomatic illnesses is not relevant.

how can you rules out it is psychosomatic? the mind can do weird things, and smells are already know to be powerful triggers of for example memories

which product for hunters did you try?

"Natural" doesn't necessarily equate to "benign". A lot of plants seem to have evolved the ability to generate volatiles which are quite effective insecticides. Orange and lemon oils are very effective ant repellants and killers, and mint oil is apparently neurotoxic to many insects (it's the key active ingredient, along with soap, in some "green" wasp killing sprays).

Here's an interesting research article (from 2018) citing evidence that natural emissions of volatile oils from plants can be a significant contributor to asthma problems:

I can handle them OK, as long as the skin isn't abraded - the volatile oil is contained mostly in oil glands in the skin. My main sensitivity seems to be by inhalation - I can't recall ever having a problem with skin dermatitis from the oil.

When my wife eats an orange I ask her to peel it outside and throw away the peel.

I can get away with eating a small amount of citrus, or drinking a small amount of orange juice, occasionally... my sensitivity to it seems to worsen after repeated exposure and retreat with time.

Different species of citrus affect me differently. The common oranges (e.g. naval) seem to be the worst. Lemons are intermediate, and I have good tolerance for lime and for blood oranges. I presume this is due to differences in the volatile oil chemistry of the different species..

It's a shame - I love the flavor of citrus and I would eat it more often than I do, if I could get away with it.

No, fortunately, the amount of volatile-oil transfer down the wires (capillary action) or through fiber-optic or microwave links is quite negligible :-)

How do "I" rule out it being psychosomatic? I don't. If it were psychosomatic, it would be characterized as such. This is a recognized condition. I don't need to rule it out smell sensitivity since the researchers consider it to be a physical disease.

I never said "natural" means benign. I am surprised because most natural scents are common and I've never found them to be offensive even while many scents in products are very offensive to me. There's something that is often used in mop water that is hugely offensive to me, I typically have to leave the room. It's not pine scent, but something that smells more chemical. Nasty!

And yet I often handle lemons and oranges and even eat them as well as their zest! I love mint in my mojitos.

Good thing they never perfected smell-o-vision.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com:

I can't speak for everyone, but in my case some of the chemicals in perfumes act as neurotoxins, causing confusion, nausea and making my eyes unable to focus. This has happened on occasions when I was unaware of any smell but later discovered that an odourless 'air freshener' had been installed without my knowledge.

Where there is a psychological element, it is when I avoid perfumes I can smell in case they contain substances that are toxic to me. I would rather do that than wait to see if they make me ill. It's called 'learning'.

Don't remember. They all gave a member of my family asthma and skin rashes

I had no idea you were affected so profoundly. Is there anything about this in the MSDS for the substances you are talking about?

You research and test it.

Here you go:

Abstract

Objectives: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a chronic acquired disorder characterized by non-specific symptoms in multiple organ systems associated with exposure to odorous chemicals. We previously observed significant activations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during olfactory stimulation using several different odorants in patients with MCS by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) imaging. We also observed that the patients with MCS did not adequately distinguish non-odorant in the late stage of the repeated olfactory stimulation test. The sensory recovery of the olfactory system in the patients with MCS may process odors differently from healthy subjects after olfactory stimulation.

Methods: We examined the recovery process of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) after olfactory stimulation in patients with MCS. NIRS imaging was performed in 6 patients with MCS and in 6 controls. The olfactory stimulation test was continuously repeated 10 times. The study also included a subjective assessment of the physical and psychological status and of the perception of irritating and hedonic odors.

Results: After olfactory stimulation, significant activations were observed in the PFC of patients with MCS on both the right and left sides compared with controls. The activations were specifically strong in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Compared with controls, autonomic perception and feelings identification were poorer in patients with MCS. OFC is associated with stimuli response and the representation of preferences.

Conclusions: These results suggest that a past strong exposure to hazardous chemicals activates the PFC during olfactory stimuli in patients with MCS, and a strong activation in the OFC remains after the stimuli.

Yup. It is real.

Sounds like a family of wackos. No advice will help these folks.

I haven't been able to identify the substances because the manufacturers aren't under any obligation to disclose them ('perfume' is unique in this respect). I believe some research bodies have conducted independent tests and found banned carcinogens and other known toxins, but I don't have copies of these results.

Smells and taste are primitive senses and go very deep into the lowest levels of awareness. There are reflex actions like sneezes that trigger well before the brain has time to classify what the smell is or even recognise that it is present. Bitterness and some revolting smells are there as a warning. Covid has been shown to scramble sense of smell.

Not good if you make your living as a food taster or whiskey blender.

I think you are making up word salad here. I am very sensitive to smells at a level where I can identify many organic chemicals by smell alone. I can also match worn clothes to their owners quite reliably.

I was allergic to tobacco smoke and perfume counters as a child but I grew out of it. The only remaining thing is that on exposure to an unexpected strong (to me) smell I can sneeze violently a full 2s before I can smell it. Sometimes I cannot quite smell it but know it is there.

Most times people with me cannot smell it at all and the odd one can identify something that makes their nose tingle but no smell as such. Bad ones sometimes bring tears to my eyes but I can live with that.

The weirdest thing is that my mum had no sense of smell or taste (nor did my great aunt) and one of my female cousins is also a super taster. The genetic difference between being a super taster and can't smell at all must be almost a hard on/off genetic switch somewhere.

They are not truly toxic to you unless you go into anaphylactic shock. I do have such a vulnerability but not to any smell. I wear a medic alert bracelet and have an ICE warning on my mobile phone lock screen.

Most natural flavours and smells are intended by the plant as either a fungicide, pesticide or sunscreen. The fact that some of the stimulant neurotoxins that plants use to kill insects have a very different effect on us in trace doses makes them interesting to human cultivation.

Of the things in the Alnwick poison garden the henbane was the only thing I found unbearable to remain near. I found its smell overpowering. Daturas by comparison only smell bad if you bruise the plant - the flowers smell absolutely divine (once used as a soap fragrance).

I'm sure that is true. Especially in places where there are lots of trees growing that exude hydrocarbons. The blue haze around certain Australian forest trees like eucalyptus is an example

How about grapefruit? That is a known problem for anyone on statins since it contains enough of a compound furanocoumarins that radically alters drug uptake rates to cause potentially serious problems.

It might be worth looking to see which compounds are present in the ones that you find acceptable. Limes are considerably less aromatic than most lemons. There are many hybrid citrus fruit to try in all shapes and sizes so that you may be able to find some that you can eat OK.

Stay away from the bruised skin of citrus fruit. That is where you are most likely to have a problem.

Increasingly limonene is being used as an eco friendly cleaning solvent. This may pose a problem for people who are sensitive to it (or rather to the oxidised impurities present in it).

I think you are being dismissive of something you don't understand. You are not "sensitive", you have a good "selective" ability. That's not remotely the same. Since you don't understand the issue, you are not qualified to discuss it.

Again, a failure to understand and insisting your personal experience is the only relevant fact. Do you wear a medic alert bracelet to every substance you would suffer a toxic response to?

Please look up the definition of "toxic" before posting again.