So you're just trying to make yourself healthier by going to Zumba class, but now you realize you've entered a chemical danger zone. In the beginning of class, the woman next to you, though three feet away, smelled nice and you didn't really mind. But about 20 minutes later, she's getting warmer and chemistry is making her perfumed body lotion even stronger. To top if off, your heart is beating faster and you're breathing harder so those sweet smelling chemicals are now circulating through your body quickly. If you're a student, you could move to another corner of the room or just leave and you're wise to do so. Inhaling perfume products or powders during exercise can lead to serious health problems.
I've had students complain to me after class that they got a migraine because the woman next to them had to much perfume. One student told me she had to leave class because a woman walked in late with enough perfume to trigger her asthma symptoms. At the gyms, I always see signs that read, "Please refrain from using any scented products." In the past, all I did was sent out general emails asking students not to wear perfumed products to class. Then something happened to change my tactics.
About three weeks ago, a student came to my class with such a strong scent of perfume that could be smelled from more than 10 feet away. If I were a student, I would have moved as far from her as possible or even left the class early. Being the teacher, however, I had to remain close to the center of the front row and I surely couldn't just leave. I became so distracted and light headed that I started to forget routines that were otherwise easy for me. I went home and felt light headed, heavy chested and "poisoned" for the rest of the day. For the first time, I felt like my job made me less healthy, not healthier. Through email, I confronted her, told her I loved her but politely asked if she could wear less perfume next time. She said she hadn't been wearing any perfume but she had put a new body lotion on, and yes, that lotion did seem pretty strong. She apologized and said she wouldn't use it again. That's when I started educating myself about perfume. The first thing I read is that inhaling perfumes can affect your short-term memory. That would explain why I couldn't remember my routines that day.
I was fine for a couple weeks. Then, last week, I noticed obvious perfumed scents coming from two different students. When I started to experience the same symptoms again, light headedness and inability to remember my routines, I decided that I didn't want to poison myself. So I canceled my 1 hour class after only 40 minutes and asked everyone not to wear scented products to my class. It was an act of tough love, but I had to make students realize that I won't teach if I notice perfume. One lady thought it was her fabric softener or scented deodorant; she promised to change them. Another claimed she didn't use perfume because she was allergic to it but she was using a corn starch baby powder on her armpits. I went home and read about corn starch and baby powder and found out that the powder gets in the air and we inhale the irritating particles As a result, I made a new waiver that reads, "I will not wear scented products or powders to class." All my students initial this statement and sign the new waivers. Plus, I've posted a sign about perfumes at the studio and on my website.
The next couple days were hard for me. I seemed to have developed a heightened sense of smell. I was noticing everything, and everything was distracting me from teaching. I even worried I wouldn't be able to teach Zumba anymore. I even noticed all the detergents and cleanser smells at the grocery store. Luckily, I could walk away from those. I might have developed hyperosmia. I read that this increased olfactory acuity can be triggered by environmental factors but can also go away if the environmental factors are removed. So I went to Whole Foods and purchased fragrance free shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion, deodorant and hair mousse. I was desperate! I even borrowed a small air purifier from a dear friend and brought it to the dance studio along with another fan to blow the air around the room. If all these efforts don't work, I guess I can shell out for a larger air purifier for my studio. (update: I just bought this: Winix PlasmaWave 5300 Air Cleaner Model
)
I read that if you apply deodorant in front of one or even fart in front of it, the fan will kick in and start purifying the air. Having it helps me psychologically.
At one class, a concerned and long-time student told me she hadn't put on any perfume that morning, just for me, and she asked me to smell her to make sure there was nothing. I didn't notice anything. Twenty minutes into the class, however, I suddenly noticed perfume coming from her corner of the room. That's when I learned that increased body temperature strengthens any perfume you are wearing. Perfume Originals, a perfume manufacturer, admits, "Increased body temperature causes perfumes to expand and the scent becomes stronger." When I asked the sweet lady after class if she could wear less perfume next time, she was annoyed that before the class started, I had told her that she didn't smell of perfume. That was before I knew about this perfume chemistry
At another class, one student admitted she had applied perfume at 8AM, went to work and came straight to Zumba after work. "Am I supposed to take a shower before I come to Zumba?" Where are you putting it on your body? If it's just a small area, can you wash it off? If you're getting warmer, and the fragrance is becoming stronger, the people next to you will be suffering, no matter what time you put the perfume on.
My husband suggested I was having a reaction to cleaning products used in the studio, but the truth was I only had problems at particular classes that particular students attended. And if I taught another class right after it, with different students, the air seemed clear, and I felt fine. One friend gave me advice to spray Febreze in my my studio before class to kill any other odors in the air. Well, Febreze itself is just a another chemical that traps the odor molecules. Let's go green and have clean air quality Zumba!
It's hard to imagine how much your scented shampoos, hairsprays, lotions, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, etc can disturb others until you have had an experience such as I have had in the past few weeks. Even if it doesn't bother you, note that many of these products are made with synthetic chemicals that can lead to all sort of problems for you and your neighbor, including lung cancer, pneumonia and yes, hyperosmia.
References:
Is Perfume the New Second Hand Smoke?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-seo/is-perfume-the-new-second_b_503114.html
Scent of Danger: Are There Toxic Ingredients in Perfumes and Colognes?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/toxic-perfumes-and-colognes/
Why Go Fragrance Free?
http://invisibledisabilities.org/educate/chemicalsensitivities/whygofragrancefree/
Perfume in the Workplace
https://canadasafetycouncil.org/workplace-safety/perfume-workplace
Scent-Free Policy for the Workplace
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/scent_free.html
Perfume Originals
http://www.eimi.com/perfumeoriginals/perfumefaq.htm
I've had students complain to me after class that they got a migraine because the woman next to them had to much perfume. One student told me she had to leave class because a woman walked in late with enough perfume to trigger her asthma symptoms. At the gyms, I always see signs that read, "Please refrain from using any scented products." In the past, all I did was sent out general emails asking students not to wear perfumed products to class. Then something happened to change my tactics.
About three weeks ago, a student came to my class with such a strong scent of perfume that could be smelled from more than 10 feet away. If I were a student, I would have moved as far from her as possible or even left the class early. Being the teacher, however, I had to remain close to the center of the front row and I surely couldn't just leave. I became so distracted and light headed that I started to forget routines that were otherwise easy for me. I went home and felt light headed, heavy chested and "poisoned" for the rest of the day. For the first time, I felt like my job made me less healthy, not healthier. Through email, I confronted her, told her I loved her but politely asked if she could wear less perfume next time. She said she hadn't been wearing any perfume but she had put a new body lotion on, and yes, that lotion did seem pretty strong. She apologized and said she wouldn't use it again. That's when I started educating myself about perfume. The first thing I read is that inhaling perfumes can affect your short-term memory. That would explain why I couldn't remember my routines that day.
I was fine for a couple weeks. Then, last week, I noticed obvious perfumed scents coming from two different students. When I started to experience the same symptoms again, light headedness and inability to remember my routines, I decided that I didn't want to poison myself. So I canceled my 1 hour class after only 40 minutes and asked everyone not to wear scented products to my class. It was an act of tough love, but I had to make students realize that I won't teach if I notice perfume. One lady thought it was her fabric softener or scented deodorant; she promised to change them. Another claimed she didn't use perfume because she was allergic to it but she was using a corn starch baby powder on her armpits. I went home and read about corn starch and baby powder and found out that the powder gets in the air and we inhale the irritating particles As a result, I made a new waiver that reads, "I will not wear scented products or powders to class." All my students initial this statement and sign the new waivers. Plus, I've posted a sign about perfumes at the studio and on my website.
The next couple days were hard for me. I seemed to have developed a heightened sense of smell. I was noticing everything, and everything was distracting me from teaching. I even worried I wouldn't be able to teach Zumba anymore. I even noticed all the detergents and cleanser smells at the grocery store. Luckily, I could walk away from those. I might have developed hyperosmia. I read that this increased olfactory acuity can be triggered by environmental factors but can also go away if the environmental factors are removed. So I went to Whole Foods and purchased fragrance free shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion, deodorant and hair mousse. I was desperate! I even borrowed a small air purifier from a dear friend and brought it to the dance studio along with another fan to blow the air around the room. If all these efforts don't work, I guess I can shell out for a larger air purifier for my studio. (update: I just bought this: Winix PlasmaWave 5300 Air Cleaner Model
)
I read that if you apply deodorant in front of one or even fart in front of it, the fan will kick in and start purifying the air. Having it helps me psychologically. At one class, a concerned and long-time student told me she hadn't put on any perfume that morning, just for me, and she asked me to smell her to make sure there was nothing. I didn't notice anything. Twenty minutes into the class, however, I suddenly noticed perfume coming from her corner of the room. That's when I learned that increased body temperature strengthens any perfume you are wearing. Perfume Originals, a perfume manufacturer, admits, "Increased body temperature causes perfumes to expand and the scent becomes stronger." When I asked the sweet lady after class if she could wear less perfume next time, she was annoyed that before the class started, I had told her that she didn't smell of perfume. That was before I knew about this perfume chemistry
At another class, one student admitted she had applied perfume at 8AM, went to work and came straight to Zumba after work. "Am I supposed to take a shower before I come to Zumba?" Where are you putting it on your body? If it's just a small area, can you wash it off? If you're getting warmer, and the fragrance is becoming stronger, the people next to you will be suffering, no matter what time you put the perfume on.
My husband suggested I was having a reaction to cleaning products used in the studio, but the truth was I only had problems at particular classes that particular students attended. And if I taught another class right after it, with different students, the air seemed clear, and I felt fine. One friend gave me advice to spray Febreze in my my studio before class to kill any other odors in the air. Well, Febreze itself is just a another chemical that traps the odor molecules. Let's go green and have clean air quality Zumba!
It's hard to imagine how much your scented shampoos, hairsprays, lotions, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, etc can disturb others until you have had an experience such as I have had in the past few weeks. Even if it doesn't bother you, note that many of these products are made with synthetic chemicals that can lead to all sort of problems for you and your neighbor, including lung cancer, pneumonia and yes, hyperosmia.
References:
Is Perfume the New Second Hand Smoke?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-seo/is-perfume-the-new-second_b_503114.html
Scent of Danger: Are There Toxic Ingredients in Perfumes and Colognes?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/toxic-perfumes-and-colognes/
Why Go Fragrance Free?
http://invisibledisabilities.org/educate/chemicalsensitivities/whygofragrancefree/
Perfume in the Workplace
https://canadasafetycouncil.org/workplace-safety/perfume-workplace
Scent-Free Policy for the Workplace
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/scent_free.html
Perfume Originals
http://www.eimi.com/perfumeoriginals/perfumefaq.htm
