# HOW DO FUMES AFFECT YOU?



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I know this is a crazy subject but I find more and more things affect me as far as smell is concerned. For some time now Cigarette smoke has bothered bothered me to the point that if I smell it on someone I have a headache all day.I've also found things with almost any perfume smell including laundry soap, deodorant, hairspray, hand lotion and many other products.Even the products that claim to be scent free are not. This is a real problem for my wife and my self.We have very dear friends that are the greatest people in the world but the wash there close in Gain a very pefumie Laundry detergent it is so strong when the come to visit the smell from their clothes stays on our upholstery for months after wards and going to their house just kills us and we have tried everything we could think of to neutralize the smell but to no avail. When they walk down the street we can smell them from 20feet away if our windows are open. Are we crazy or do other people have the same problem?


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Sorry I will post the link only


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Sorry I will post the link only


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

http://bing.search.sympatico.ca/?q=smelling%20problem&mkt=en-ca&setLang=en-CA


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

Can't add to the above !
BUT A1jim you are not alone. I leave some grocery store lineups, perfumes give me headache all day. I avoid people that smoke. (I quit smoking 30+ years ago now find it STINKY)


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Thanks for all that information Gman 
How about just posting a link to that information.


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## Tikander (Feb 11, 2012)

None of that bothers me. "I'd say you are crazy."


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Hey Don I'm guessing your a smoker )

And Yes I'm crazy


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## Mikeyf56 (Jul 31, 2009)

Jim,

The older my wife and I get, the more sensitive our noses have become. Maybe that is a defense mechanism since I am getting blind and deaf 

Good luck with figuring how to deal with it all, it is no fun being imprisoned by your own body.

Mike


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## sandhill (Aug 28, 2007)

Jim, I am sorry but I would suggest you go to a Toxicologist or an Environmental Doctor. What it sound like you have is called Environmental illness also known as EI. OR. Chemical sensitivity. Its very real. It is not uncommon these days and the only cure is to avoid what bothers you. It will be a whole lifestyle change.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I became super sensitive when I was overdosed on Topamax. I still have a little hay fever with some smells at times.


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## rustfever (May 3, 2009)

A1Jim
I am with you on some smells. They affect me, by not to the degree of which you speak. And YES, any time I come upon a smoker, I cross the street. No smell more horride than stale cigarette smoke.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

You guys wouldn't want to be around me, then…..I smoke cigrarettes and drink lots of coffee…..bet you don't like the smell of coffee either, huh? I'm with Don Tikender…none of that stuff bothers me, either…..There 's something wrong with ya'll….....lol.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Hey Rick
40 years ago I use to smoke 4 packs of cigarettes a day strange as it might sound. I still drink coffee no problem there.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Hi Jim, I live in the middle Norway's largest farming district, so fresh spring air is sometimes in short supply. Otherwise it is so windy here that we have a constant supply of fresh air with no smog and since most of our heating is electric, no power generation smells either. Also we don't have much heavy industry since the Chinese make just about everything we buy these days. On the other hand I just bought a 3" thick plank Lindenwood which is similar, though a bit harder than your Basswood over there. I have to slice it up in my bandsaw, and I hate the smell of it. Otherwise no problems.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Wow Jim: You were a heavy smoker….I'm about a 1 1/2--2 pack myserlf, and been at it for 51 years….
About 2+ pots of java a day…..I know about non-smokers…..I catch "flack" all the time from my kids, grandkids, but mostly I get it more from all the ex-smokers, like my wife's parents, and anyone else who used to light up….When someone like that is around, I just stay away from them, or go outside if I'm at their home….I try to respect their wishes…..The more they gripe, the longer I puff….!!!


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## littlebear (Mar 23, 2011)

Sounds like you have one hell of a nose indeed.
I do have some smells that bother me to.
When I had cancer 15 years ago the radiation or chemo made my smell and taste very keen , i am not kidding I live up here in Maine and could smell the deer in the woods, and then after that i could taste chemicals in the food.. No B.S.

Now i am back to normal.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Geeezz GMman: Couldn't you just post a link or something to all tha stuff you posted?...takes forever to get to the bottom of the page to read everyone else's post. That's like trying to read a friggin medical report, which I didn't…...


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## donbee (Feb 7, 2009)

Jim,
You're not crazy. No, I'm serious. Neither is my wife who is hypersensitive to a lot of odors.
We were traveling along in the car past a certain place and she claimed to smell gas. Not gasoline, natural gas.
Every time we went by that spot she'd say she smelled it again. I couldn't smell a thing.
Then one day we drove by and there was the local gas company trucks and they were digging like crazy.

Another time she said she smelled gas in the basement. I couldn't smell it, even though i've been known to have a pretty sensitive nose. She told me every day it was getting worst and was starting to make her sick. So, I called the gas company and they came out and their sniffer found gas around the foundation near the gas main connection.
They dug it out and found one pipe that ran below ground to our meter to be thoroughly pinholed from soil contact. They said the gas was following the outside of the pipe and infiltrating our stone foundation. We could have had a terrible explosion had it not been for Marge's sensitive nose.
Then a week later she complained again. I thought it might just be a residue of the stuff in the dirt and stones, but she was adamant. I called. Sure enough they found gas in the loose dirt of the hole they had filled in the week before. They trenched out to the big main that runs past our house and found another leak right where the pipe nipple was welded to the main.
She can't abide smoke and perfume. she can smell a dirty, smelly dog a hundred feet away.
On another note, I love the smell of cherry wood when I'm working it. However, I was working some cherry, making quite a lot of saw dust. The central DC doesn't get everything and a short time later I came down with double pneumonia. It didn't test out for bacteria, I didn't have a fever, either. I believe i was caused by inhaling cherry dust. That was last September. I still haven't got back to normal.
So, no, you're not crazy.
Best regards,
Don


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Jim,

I don't know if you're crazy or not… probably NOT!

I smoked cigarettes for awhile… and went to a pipe… for close to 40 years… until I stopped Cold Turkey.

I do not crave it at all now… BUT,

If a neighbor is on their patio smoking a cigarette, I know it! I smell it! 
I can smell a cigarette burning from cars in line at a stop sign many cars away!

It does not bother me in any other way…

I can also smell food cooking… and the food that has already been cooked…

I am breathing and Smelling without any problems…

I do disallow anyone from smoking in our house or in a vehicle I am driving.

Good Luck!


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

Hey Jim - Maybe it's because of quiting smoking, and the sniffer became more sensitive to smells around us. I too quit smoking in 1989, 3 packs a day to nothing in one day, and I have the same snuffer problem. I can smell things a long way before it reaches my vicinity. Drives my wife crazy, "What smell? It smells like what? I don't smell anything." The smell of any petroleum product makes me nauseated. I have to stand up wind when I am refueliong my vehicle. Even then I get dizzy!


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## Brat700 (Mar 16, 2009)

I think you have a dogs nose. I have never hear of any thing like this before. Now I can understand the smoking as I can smell it for a long ways off, but soap?


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## AKSteve (Feb 4, 2012)

I know what you mean Jim, I smoked for 27 years and quit 3 years ago and now I can't get near it without getting this nauseous feeling, it smells so bad, I can smell going down the freeway coming from other cars, and other odors too, a friend of mine uses some lotion that has coconut and lime, oh man that stuff is so gross! they should make nose plugs like ear plugs so you can shove something up there to keep from smelling it. Yikes!


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## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

I usually try to hold my breath and get out of the bathroom as quick as I can, shut the door tight and wait to see what poor sucker goes in next.


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

I just finished a project with Lacquer (3 coats). I can usually take most anything but wet Lacquer, WOW. Hard to keep the doors and windows open and still maintain the minium 65 degrees they recommend….............


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Former smoker here too. Quit 13 years ago. Am very sensitive to being around smokers but I do try to cut them some slack. I know how hard it is to quit.
I can appreciate where Jim is coming from and he's certainly right,some of these "perfumes" are nauseating(read stinky)


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

I am a smoker, down to around 4 cigarettes a day now but I also think it stinks and have for a long time! I too have gotten more sensitive to some odors as I have aged, perfume and B.O. being the worst.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

-Folly ever comes cloaked in opportunity!
Need I say more?
Open the windows, turn on the fan, avoid the smokers, delight in your purity.
Where did I put my cigar?
I'm just so glad that we've had some rain to diminish the pollen. My eyes have been in a trauma state for weeks.
Just can't help it. I'm a smart a$$.
Bill


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

roger…your a sick individual…lol…you must be related to me somewhere down the line..lol…although i dont do that anymore…i use to do that in the grocery store…then wait to see who would walk down the isle , but ive grown up since those days…..lol…....but jim, i know what you mean…sometimes certain smells drive my nose crazy…when it comes to cigarette smoke, i cant handle that at all…makes me sick…but your not alone…as we can see from what others have posted here…i know certain woods really irritate really bad..ive noticed the blood wood really makes my sinuses almost burn…


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

*GRIZZ* ???

That was YOU ????

Man.

I needed laundry detergent, too, but had to leave and go back the next day !


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

It's a valid subject Jim. Cigarette smoke has always bothered me a lot, and it's probably gotten worse over the years….can't stand it when someone sucks down those last two cigarettes before church, then comes and kneels behind us….yikes! Seriously, it's like setting an ashtray under my nose.

Perfumes don't seem to bother me as much as they did 20 years ago….there was an era where it seemed like every new designer fragrance smelled like insect repellent….geez, I could taste those perfumes! Haven't noticed it as much lately, but maybe I just don't get out as much!

Air fresheners tend to bother me….many have a thick pungent smell that's choking.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

You and your wife are NOT the only one/s. We've had the same exact problem last year. To our benefit tho, the same friends that were also using really scented things, have come to realize that the smells are now bothering them, so they have also started buying unscented products. I think those hard smelling perfumee, stinkin crap should be banned. My wife and a few o my kids have asthma, and smells are and will trigger asthma related attacks. I feel your pain Jim. Here is a really gr8 product that my wife used to "unscent" the furniture where our friends had been sitting when they were using the scented products…..which took a few days of putting the cushions from the couch & chair/s outside to air out…. It worked really well for us. Here is the link: http://expelproducts.com/ We have been using unscented products for many, many years. I hate when I go to the store, and someone can be in another isle over, and I can smell that stinkin smellee perfume/s made by Tommy, Axe, and products like these. They are the worst. Lets get together and have us a humungeous bond fire and burn up all o these smellee ass products…. GR8 post Jim….Thnx


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## jeepturner (Oct 3, 2010)

Jim, I don't think your crazy. I do think that you are suffering from the effects of quitting the smoking thing. 
If you notice a trend in the comments from the ex-smokers, we all have issues with the smell. I quit eight years ago, after I lost my younger sister to lung cancer. She was forty-two. Since then I have lost two brothers to cancer. We grew up in a family of smokers, and we are paying the price for it. So quitting has made us more sensitive, and we will have to make adjustments. The benefits we gain from our choice to stop far outweighs the costs.
I don't like to have smokers in my house, though I still do, because after they sit on a piece of furniture the odor lingers. They nice thing about the improved sense of smell is that you get your sense of taste back. The bad thing about it is the things you have to smell.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Mel and others that take my smoking into account that part doesn't seem lightly because I quit 40 years ago and my wife has never smoked nor when I smoked did I smoke in the house or around her. This sensitivity seems to have intensified over the last five years or so. I'm glad to hear that others suffer in different degrees with some of the same problems,not because I want them to have them same problem ,but just so I know that this is not just unique to my wife and myself. Lots of interesting input here thanks for all your comments.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

cigarette smoking or quitting those nasty things doesn't have a darn thing to do with what Jim is tryin ta say. He is talkin about all the nasty, nasty smellin scented everything out there. !! I quit smokin myself in 1985. I was a 3-pack a day Marlboro man at one time. I was puffin 2-packs a day when I quit…......cold turkey.! Haven't had one since….. My opinion: cigarette smokin is thee nastiest thing on the planet.. I have nothing against people that DO smoke, BUT, I do wish they would quit…..if not for their family, bu for themselves.


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## DamnYankee (May 21, 2011)

Jim - you ain't crazy. For several years now I get a migraine headache (for those they may not know a "migraine" is not just a really bad headache it is a different type of neurological response) from various scents. I've had it checked, I have a neurological response to variations of vanilla. I can stick my face in a bowl of vanilla ice cream, snort the odor from a bottle of vanilla extract no problem. But perfumes and thing that generate a perfumed smell (candles, air fresheners, etc) all give me a migraine. Turns out vanilla is used in scents like salt in food as a means to accentuate the intended smell. My wife has to buy Yankee Candles as they do not bother me and before she buys perfumes she has me sniff it. Oh yeah…cigarette smoke/smell does not cause a migraine but if I smell it in conjunction with a perfume its like I was hit up side the head with a baseball bat. What made it really bad for years and years was my mother-in-law is a heavy smoker and wears very heavy perfume (heavy to me at least) and she would always complain that I was always irritable around her. I, and my wife, told her for years my issue with scents but she didn't believe it until years later she met someone with the same issue.


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## sandhill (Aug 28, 2007)

Jim, read my post its no joke people have died from this condition. The guy I know has just what you have explained. His case it was brought on by working with exotic woods and the combination of finishes worsened his condition until his his air passage closed from the irritation thats when he found out he had EI when he was in intensive care. He is OK now but has to ware a respirator everywhere.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I don't like cigarette smoke and the smell of pig and chicken farms. Also , years ago when they had anhydrous ammonia plants spewing smoke across I 80 in Nebraska, I would get sick to my stomach if I spent any time at all in that smoke. I buried the needle on the car - about 135- and got thrrough it!
I quit smoking in 8th grade!..............Jim


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Jim the problem is with the smell- not your nose. The easiest way to tell your friends the stink is hurting you is to *say you have an allergy to their perfume*. I don't have the patience to suffer any more, I speak right up, so it's a good bet you have more friends than I do. I've heard chemical exposure/sensitivity compared to "the straw that breaks the camel's back". The last few straws are now getting your attention, but you should be looking at the 100 straws that you have been living with all along too. Good luck. -Jack

P.S. If you are using Kilz or any other quick drying finish this is a good time to stop. Feeling sensitive to perfumes in soap, detergent, deodorant, bodywash, shampoo, dryer sheets etc. means a strong exposure to volatile fumes could really knock you down - hard.


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## RickLoDico (Jan 7, 2010)

I don't know about crazy but it sure aint normal.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

There were a couple of good sensitive nose stories there… But, one of my old neighbors told me his wife could smell a mouse fart next door!!


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

I can't walk into a yankee candle, head shop, or perfume store due to the smells; the large numbers of competing odors overwhelms my sense of smell and caused headaches. Outside of that I am never bothered by smells unless people bring in competing strong odors. Even then they have to really be strong.


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## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

I think that as some of us get older our sense's get more sensitive. I've had my wife change laundry detergents 3 -4 times now cause I could smell the residue. I also now suffer from allergies and never had an allergy when I was younger.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

When I was in VietNam, I smelled things that I had never experienced before, and most people in their lifetime never will….death and decay, villages burning, naepalm, gunfire smoke, bodies found in shallow graves with lime thrown on them, people cooking fish sause, dogs being cooked, and on and on and on….I think the worst of all was the rotting corpuses of humans. Even though that has been 40+ years, I will never forget it. Other smells don't bother me at all….I can take anything now. Lucklily, I've never had allergies of any kind, so I'm ammune to that….


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Thank you all for your input Rick your post reminds us all of the horrors of war and even more so what solders face while fighting for our country.I never could understand how individuals could disrespect returning troops after the solders time spent in hell.Thank you and all of our solders past and present for your great sacrifice and service to our country.


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## stevepeterson (Dec 17, 2009)

I don't think you are crazy Jim. I have similar problems with chemical sensitivities that are getting worse as I get older. I avoid as many scented products as possible and have only found a small number of soaps and shampoos that I can tolerate. One problem is that I can smell something and it is not so bad at first, but after a few days it gives me a headache or stomach ache or sore throat. After that happens, I have to avoid it altogether.

Currently the worst one is men's cologne. Some of them are so bad that I have to leave work early as soon as someone walks by with it.


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## vman154 (Oct 2, 2011)

i have that trouble there a lady at work the perfume she wore make me sick and if we use any thing but tide to do are washing i brake out in a rash and there i s 1 thing i can smell 5o ft away and i have freak peple out and that pot and i have never done it and win peple come over we burn insince that hellp with the perfume but you juat have to find the right sint


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Jim,

I am a former smoker, and although I find the smell of cigarettes in particular offensive, it is nothing that will take a physical toll on me. Most product perfumes and such fall below the stink radar as it were… The only thing that you mentioned that bothers me is perfumes / colognes etc… This has been the case since I was a kid… I was probably traumatized by some old lady wearing gallons of cheap perfume, because perfumes, particularly cheap, rose type perfume favored by older ladies makes me nauseous…


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

When my wife was pregnant all the smells bothered her. I told her they bothered me too so she'd think she wasn't crazy.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

a1Jim, I suggest you go to an immunologist/allergist for help and suggestions as how to deal with this issue. People don't know how an allergic reaction can mess up one's lifestyle. I'm allergic to bee stings- consequently, warm/hot weather is not on my list of Favorite Things. My wife asked me yesterday if I had my Epi-Pen when I sent out. Forgot it- need to get into the habit for the next 6 months.


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## ben10 (Nov 10, 2011)

Jim, I'm hyper sensitive to cigarette smoke too. Only certain kinds though. Don't laugh. I can be 50 feet away from certain people and my lips start burning. That's right…burning! For up to 4 days after, I can't eat anything salty or spicy. The only relief I get is by sipping water. It started about 4 years ago when I went in for my dental appointment. The dentist noticed my teeth were wearing down and wanted to sell me a mouth guard. I told him it was due to my aging. He laughed and said "no, it's because you grind your teeth in your sleep". I didn't believe him, but ended buying the darn thing. I tried it for about a week and noticed my mouth burning. I stopped wearing it and my mouth would gradually get better. But then noticed when certain cigarette smokers were near me it would start burning again and it has done this ever since. The dentist sent me in to see a doctor. The doctor looked in my mouth and said there was nothing wrong, but before I left, he ordered a colonoscopy for me! That's right, I turned 50 and it was time. I have never smoked cigarettes in my life, but have allergies to pollen, purfumes and some soaps.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I'll trade the burning mouth guard for a Topamax overdose ;-)) My dentist told me the same thing, I wore it for a while, but after he did a filling, my jaw got so sore I couldn't chew on that side. It got sore long enough later that I did not associate it with the filling at the time. Went in, but there was nothing wrong. I finally quit the mouth guard and it cleared up. BTW, we need to tell the dentists we check horses teeth by wear and they should check people that way too ;-))


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## Cozmo35 (Feb 1, 2010)

The smell I can't stand in when the dog cuts loose after a helping of spicy food. SON! That is some bad shturf!!


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Most of the scents used are synthetic NEUROTOXINS and many are proven CARCINOGENS. Yes - there are only tiny amounts in the products , but the exposure is 24/7 from multiple items. *Who's crazy?* You for knowing that you are sensitive to the perfumes or the people who use those products.


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## sandhill (Aug 28, 2007)

*489tad* makes a good point! Jim, your not pregnant are you?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

How did you know LOL


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## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

Easy, 13 routers


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## BillyJ (Aug 18, 2009)

Jim -

A lot of what was said is so true. I have my own theories, but then again everyone thinks I'm a nut, so I'll keep them to myself for now. Anyway, like some have written about their wife, my wife too can smell certain things a mile away. I seem to have a acute sense of smell for cleaning chemicals. Perhaps it goes back to when I was in industry and never bothered to protect myself from those chemicals. Today I can still taste those chemicals if I catch a whiff.

In the end, it probably comes down to age. Our taste change as we age, and with smell directly effecting our taste, both work hand-in-hand making our lives different. But, as many suggested - see a doctor. Perhaps there is something that they could do to help the situation.

Good luck Jim.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

Most of the discount brand laundry detergents make my oldest daughter break out into a rash….

Whenever the first shift foreman in our crating dept. comes into our little engineering office, it makes the place stink like cigarette smoke for a day.

The absolute worste is that the "smokers shack" break area is outside my window….. and after break, I've had to go out and extinguish fires in the butt kit at least a half a dozen times. Even with my window up I can still smell the thing and after dowsing it with a pail of water, my clothes stink so bad I can't stand my own company. The last time I saw it smoldering I kept an eye on it, but didn't go out to extinguish it. And just as I hoped, the company owner saw it and put it out himself…. problem solved…. the next fire in the butt kit, the smokers shack goes away.

But my biggest problem is that they put a Keurig in our office, and now I'm craving a cup everytime I smell it.


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## cutworm (Oct 2, 2010)

Grizz,
We call that a drive by around here.


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## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

I'm a former smoker and although I don't like the smell, it doesn't cause me any problems. My biggest problem is with women's perfumes and hairsprays. My wife puts hers on outside but when she comes in the house it gets pretty strong. I can't go anywhere near a Yankee Candle store, my sinuses feel like they're on fire. This past year my doctor had me on a med that made the smell of food unbearable. I'm no longer on that one!!! There are a lot of smells that bother me but I don't have any problem with any finishes or solvents in the shop.


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