Struggling… everywhere stinks! Toxic scent - is it just me?

Are you pregnant?!

Fully agree! I have extremely bad migraines and scents set them off. I really struggle in day to day life.

Not to mention radium, which was considered a bit of a novelty when it was first discovered and was used in luminous paint and even cosmetics!

Oh I'm with you OP. I can't abide the strong smell of detergents these days, I don't understand why it has become so prevalent. I have to put my clothes through an extra rinse cycle in an effort to reduce the pong. I used to use M&S washing powder as it had a gentle perfume, but alas they stopped making it.

And scented toilet paper and sanitary pads

Not over the top for anyone suffering from a chemical sensitivity like myself.

I have this, it has got worse since I had kids but I remember always being sensitive and choking on air fresheners when I was a child. When I was pregnant cosmetics were my worst vomit triggers. I had to change shampoo, conditioner etc and even then would often vomit in shower. I couldn’t walk down the laundry aisle at all. We went through duty free in airport and I vomited.
Since then (and def not pregnant) it has remained pretty bad. I can smell EVERYTHING immediately and my husband can’t notice a thing but I will always turn out to be right. He changed deodorant and the new one made me sick, I can smell it everywhere. Same with a special new detergent soap he got. We had to bin it and even now I’m still hit by the smell every time we open the cupboard. If I walk past someone smoking now I’m struggling not to retch. My neighbours did building work and I could smell the varnish - I know what it was because I had to go and ask them as it was effecting me so badly.
its clearly something hormonal and it’s awful to live with. I don’t understand the people who think someone is lying just because they can’t smell it. We are all different!!! And I also hate normal bad smells too, but there seems to be some chemical note in certain cosmetics and products which literally makes me sick.

You are completely right. The amount of scented stuff people use on themselves, their clothes, their belongings - it’s unbearable. In your own home, fine, but don’t spray that rubbish when you’re on train carriages, buses, work, or in my house.

Nearly everyone can agree that liking perfume is subjective (ie not everyone will pick out the same one if you go to a perfume store), but somehow if my neighbours burn a rank scented candle or incense (full of toxic chemicals) and it comes into ours all day long, that’s completely fine? It boggles the mind.

I can only think that some people genuinely have almost no sense of smell, or are so terrified of their own body odour that they want to douse everything in scented products.

I genuinely find scent pollution as offensive as noise pollution - with the cherry on top that you don’t have any recourse to file a complaint about it like you could with persistent noise pollution!

Just to answer your question lower down op, we followed the advice in ‘It Starts With The Egg’ and that was to cut out as much fragrance as we possibly could, change all washing cleaning products to eco ones and bunch some of which we were doing anyway, but even more. I even changed the ones at work since I clean a lot as part of my job. That, alongside all the vitamins and a more whole foods diet got me pregnant within 3 months (they say it takes 3 months for the effects to come into place with the eggs) and I’d never had one pregnancy test in 2 years of trying. I was able to cancel my IVF appointment- best feeling ever.

Don’t notice it myself, I’m happy that there’s nice smells rather than bo and other horrible things

I absolutely love the smell of fairy/bold/persil but I avoid using it as much as possible, going to eco (and therefore low/no scent) wherever possible. I have a set of scented sticks in our downstairs bathroom and occasionally dab a bit of essential oil on a card in our living room to make a gentle fragrance. I really miss more scent (I don’t really wear perfume anymore either) but when ttc I cut everything out due to health reasons and fertility advice. It’s really worrying how much stuff we all do/eat/use that is 100% affecting our health.

I do however, hate plug ins, glade things, fake chemical scented rooms etc.

This might interest you, OP:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/14/kids-sunscreen-lotions-phthalates-study

I am not as sensitive as the OP but do have problems with lots of different smells. Sprays such as deodorant and air freshener can cause an asthma attack. Lots of chemical smells and even natural smells, such as lilies, can cause a migraine. Smells on public transport or taxis can cause travel sickness. If I buy something from Vinted or Ebay it can take several washes to get rid of the unpleasant, strong smell of perfumed washing products.

Oh OP, this is excellent information.

I'm aware of endocrine system disruptors too, in the form of things like BPA in plastic or something like medication (such as antifungal creams that would make my movement disorder symptoms worse).

It's great you are so clued up. They reckon children can be affected by things like hand cream etc if used too often, ad the chemicals in these can affect their less mature endocrine system too.

I have a particular hatred for aftershave. When I cycle home from work on a Friday night, the reek of it on our streets with all the men off on their night-out is foul. And if there's a game at the local football club.. the stench is unbearable 🤢

I can't stand perfume. It smells horrible and gives me migraine. I really think spraying it in an enclosed space is on a level with microwaving fish in the office. Utterly inconsiderate of everyone else who has to smell it.

Sounds like you have sensory issues, much better than than people with bo.

@DiscoBob marks & Spencer do an unscented non bio laundry liquid which is good for eczema/sensitive skin, does 50nwashes and only £5.50 too.
I have to be careful as appear to be allergic to most perfumes, faith in nature brand is good for toiletries as only perfumed with natural essential oils.🌻

YANBU! I too can't abide strong perfumes and fragrances.

I find it very stressful sitting next to someone in close proximity (for example, in a theatre or on a plane) who is drenched in strong perfume.

Perfumes often make me feel a bit sick and give me a headache. Certain types of perfumes (and I've no idea which ingredients cause this) can additionally completely block my nose and give me an incredibly "stuffed up" feeling in my sinuses, forcing me to breathe through my mouth.

Needless to say, I never use perfume myself and neither does DH. I never use air fresheners or reed diffusers or scented candles or any of that sort of thing. I find the heady stink of a sprayed air freshener to be far more unpleasant than a "just been poo'd in" toilet smell!

I think it is the predominant chemicals rather than the fragrance, although the fragrance is what grabs the attention and perhaps there are things in washing products and perfumes that serve to slow down the volatility of the fragrance molecules.
I had this in pregnancy and now again at perimenopause. Body-wise, have also become much more sensitive to deodorant and hair dye where this never came up before.

I smell weed and body odour and that’s about it, would quite like some nice artificial scents!

My sense of smell diminished when I had small children with dirty nappies. Defense mechanism?

I can still smell strong smells and find perfume and perfumed items unpleasant.

i bought some crease release spray before going on a cruise (with no irons allowed). Thankfully tried it before I went and my god it was an assault to the senses and I had to avoid that room for a few days.