Home deodorants: The more the scent is, the more harmful

Aromatherapy bags, perfumes, room sprays … are popular products to help deodorize in the home. However, the abuse of the above chemicals is recommended by experts, can be harmful to the health of the user, especially for young children. Therefore, users should take care to avoid bringing illness into people.

Sneezing, runny nose because of the aroma of room spray

During the humid days at the end of March, drizzling rain with high humidity made the space always in a humid state, causing discomfort for many people. Many families use room sprays and scented waxes to deal with the problem, hoping to help deodorize. Ms. Kim Thi Minh (in Trung Kinh, Cau Giay, Hanoi) is one of them.

Experts recommend, should limit the use of products with artificial fragrances to avoid harmful to health. 

 Photo:  Grandparents.

Ms. Minh said that she bought a rose-scented room spray to use for the whole house. Besides, use a bottle of lavender scented wax in the bedroom of the couple and their 3-year-old son. When I first used it, entering the house felt very comfortable with the scent of flowers everywhere.

However, after 2 days of putting aromatherapy in the bedroom, she has a slight headache every morning to wake up. Not only that, her son began to sneeze and runny nose.

“I don’t know exactly whether the cause of these symptoms is the smell of the scent or an allergy to the weather. Just know, after “moving” the scented wax bottle down and put it under the kitchen cabinet, I found her no longer sneezing and I no longer felt sick “, Ms. Minh said.

Sharing ingredients in fragrant products (aromatherapy, aromatic essential oils, room sprays …) Assoc.Prof. Dr. Tran Hong Con – Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Sciences (Hanoi National University) Currently, most of the fragrance products use industrial flavors, only a few use natural flavors.

These artificial fragrances are often created by chemicals such as aldehydes, cetol … In chemical principle, the above scents are formed by benzene rings. This aromatic ring, when released, may have the ability to break cell structures. In addition, when burned, chemicals can be inhaled into the body, causing difficulty breathing and some other respiratory illnesses.

According to Assoc.Prof. Dr. Tran Hong Con, in addition to odorants, people have to use more types of flavoring substances to keep odors on the product. Some industrial colloids have the ability to flavor very well but are toxic, can directly affect the human nervous system, cause headaches, stress … In general, the longer the aroma, the more toxic. .

Very harmful to pregnant women and young children

In fact, doctors at some hospitals in Hanoi said that they have received many cases of hospitalized patients diagnosed with allergies to fragrant products. In which, most of them are the elderly, young children and women with sensitive terrain.

Talking to PV, Dr. CKII Hoang Thi Hong – Head of Internal Medicine Department 3 (Dong Da General Hospital Hanoi) said, Department of Internal Medicine 3 had an elderly patient suffering from asthma attacks after exposure to products with industrial fragrance.

Dr. Hoang Thi Hong shared: “Many people have sensitive locations, so they are easily allergic to industrial scents. These scents can be very pleasant but will have certain health effects when smelling. They can cause immediate harm or can be “absorbed” slowly for a long time causing allergy symptoms, triggering asthma attacks, or even respiratory infections.

Dr. Hong added that the industrial scent “hides” in many products such as: scented waxes, room sprays, aromatherapy bags, fabric softeners or even cheap essential oils. Therefore, before using a product, users should carefully study the ingredients and limit the use of products with too many colorants and odors to avoid harm.

Besides, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong (Department of Neurology, National Hospital of Pediatrics) also said that many children are very allergic to ingredients in some fragrant products, especially towels, paper. wet “soaked” with scent, aromatic school supplies or maybe a parent’s perfume allergy.

Dr. Thanh Huong confirmed, continuous exposure to artificial fragrances for a long time can harm the nervous system of children. Symptoms can range from mild such as dizziness, nausea, fatigue to severe nervous system pain and depression, affecting the child’s intellectual development.

“Depending on the location and the level of exposure to the odor-causing chemicals to make accurate conclusions about the child’s condition, on that basis, to come up with an appropriate treatment regimen. However, it is best for parents to choose fragrant products extracted from nature to ensure the safety of children ”, Dr. Thanh Huong shared.

Experts recommend that, to minimize the use of synthetic fragrances indoors, especially in closed rooms such as bedrooms or children’s rooms. It is advisable to gradually replace synthetic fragrances with natural scents by adding green plants or arranging flowers with mild scents to ensure safety for health.