The Environmental Illness Resource Blog

Commentary on environmental toxins and chronic illness.

Tag >> fragrances

I thought for my main blog entry this week I'd discuss a subject that has for the past 10 years or so had a major impact on my ability to cope with daily life and plan for events in the future - the daily and seasonal fluctuations in the appearance and severity of my symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, environmental illness, and related conditions. I'll also talk about what I have done to adapt


Today I was contacted by Vivien Pomfrey who has started a peition on the 10 Downing Street website (UK Government site) calling on the Prime Minister to protect UK citizens from artificial perfumes in all their forms.

I have just signed the petition and hope that if you are a UK citizen you will do the same. Vivien and myself also hope that those of you from other countries will petition your own


What is body odor? What makes someone smell clean? In our society, we equate a perfume-y, fragranced smell with clean and normal body odor as dirty.

My boyfriend has not washed with soap in five years. He was nervous when we first met that I would think he smelled bad. On the contrary, I actually really loved his smell. That's because his diet is pure and he has minimal exposure to toxins in


A study that hit the news this past week has caused a bit of a stir in the fragrance industry. Researcher Anne C. Steinemann, PhD, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, revealed that common fragranced products such as laundry detergent/fabric softeners and air fresheners emit dozens of different chemicals, some of which are


Yesterday I reported on a group of students at Stanislaus State College, California, who are campaigning for a campus ban on fragrances. That story can be read here:

Student Group Pushes for Fragrance Ban on College Campus

As I mentioned in that story,