Smells and sensitivity to them

smells make me really sick! Some people say it is because im pregnant, but this is my 3rd child, and the sensitivity is like pregnancy x 1000. Oh, man! it is the things that you would never think would smell wierd, like juice, meat, soaps, cleaners, most anything! the only thing that gives me relief is to stick my nose in fresh strawberries. I know its wierd, but its the truth. my mom laughs at how white i am, so i tried sunless tanning lotion and i was sick until i took 2 showers. same with deodorant and icyhot. and its not just a “that stinks” kind of thing; it drains my entire body. so weird! absolutely no lotions, perfumes, etc. let me know if you figure out anything that works. like i said, fresh strawberries and fresh air are the only things that help me.

Jamie,
I buy unscented bubble bath, body wash, lotion, deodorant, dish liquid and laundry soap. I smell shampoo and cleaners before I buy them to get the mildest smell I can get. Perfumes, colognes and fabric softeners are strictly off limits.
If I am around a group of people I must take a bath as soon as I get home to get the smell of their fabric softener, perfumes and colognes off of me. If I don’t bath, I smell and taste these scents on me and get headaches from it, plus my nerves are on edge.
I have been sensitive to smells long before GBS.
Shirley

I have the same problem. I have always had a sensative nose but now it seems like it has gotten worse. When I have my plasma exchange when they flush my catherder at the begining of my treatment not only can I smell the meds but I can taste them as well. I also can taste the benedryl they give me before they start the second part of my treatment–getting my ffp (fresh frozen plasma). I suck on peppermints to settle my stomach.

I also have a problem with certain scents. Perfume [my wifes], new cloths, etc. A little goes a long way. I’m not sure it has anything to do with CIDP. It could very well be related to a sinus problem.

Jim C

Wow! I had no idea others were going through the smell issue until this thread came up! Thanks everybody, for acknowledging this!

Mattey,
Thanks for the pointers. The thing i have the hardest time with is finding cleaners that arent perfumey, bleachy, and like immonia. The one that works best for me is that new “Green Works” by Clorox. It still has a strong citrus smell, but it is natural, so maybe that is why i dont “suffocate” from it. Any suggestions on brands of soaps, shampoos, cleaners, etc? I’ve also done the vinegar and water thing. It sucks a little when im using it , but the smell goes away when it dries.

Never though about showering after i get home from visiting my family. Good suggestion. My family doesn’t realize how much these smells bug me, especially my 13 year-old. He’s such a “ladies man” and loves cologne – lots of it! I made him take his cologne to his grandparents house. And my husband – he finally let go of the plug in air freshener issue! I begged him to stop buying them but he’s do it anyway, and put them out of sight all over the house (like, behind the fridge). I threw every darn one of them away! He finally realized i have a nose like a bloodhound:p

My smell is so keen that one time i was in the front of the church and i had to leave when the ladies in the kitchen added bleach to their dish water. I tried standing by the front door, but ended up almost collapsing.

Anybody know exactly why this happens? Maybe because our other senses are messed up, this one is magnified?

some things taste perfumey to me, like artificially fuit flavors. Jolly Rancher candies, for example, taste like chemicals, rather than fruit. Artificially flavored juices do the same. The smell is just as bad. I don’t do candies or most juices. Hard time with frostings, too, like the strawberry, cherry, and lemon ones.

Jamie ,

It sounds like you have it as bad as myself.
Ok, Here goes.
Seventh Generation dish liquid is unscented.
All Free and Clear Laundry soap, there are others like Tide Free and Clear, Arm and Hammer and Seventh Generation.
I use no fabric softeners, although Bounce makes unscented fabrics sheets. I want me, my clothes and my house to have that fresh clean smell only.
Oust has a fragrance free Air Sanitizer for the home. Works good!
Scott has uncented toilet tissue, Seventh Generation is also unscented.
Aveeno has frangrance free body wash and lotion.
Lander has frangrance free bubble bath.
Shampoo and conditioners, I have to smell each one to get the mildest smell. It is a hit and miss with me and I have given away a lot of misses.
Clorox has a disinfecting floor and surface cleaner, counter tops, refreshing smell, do not use more than instructions say, to keep the smell mild.
Works tub and tile cleaner for kitchen and bathroom sinks and tub.
Works toilet cleaner for toilet only. The Works produts have smells but after I clean and rinse it is tolerable. I haven’t found any unscented cleaners.

Over the years Family and friends may not like it but they respect my intolerance to smells. If the neices stay all night they know not to have products on that affect me. If they do, it’s in the shower they go and their clothes get a fresh wash, then we are good to go.
I don’t eat any candy with fruit flavors and Oranges I can’t have in the house because of the smell or bubble gums.
I use clorox disinfecting wipes on surfaces especially during flu season, smell is not noticable when it dries.
I only use nail polish remover before a bath so the smell is washed off and doesn’t linger.
I’m not crazy and it is not in my head but I am definitely over loaded with chemicals in my body and in the enviroment.
Many of the unscented products did not exist when smells started bothering me in the 70s.
Sorry I rambled on.

Best of Luck
Shirley

P. S.
The Works Glass and Surface Cleaner is the mildest glass cleaner I have been able to use.

Dawn kevies mom,
New clothes are another one of my issues with smells. They always have to be washed and cups made with rubber trim, (the insulated stainless steel ones,) I can’t drink from. I think it goes on and on with more products being made and the chemicals they make them with.
Shirley

wow! thanks for the help. it is hard even getting to the store, let alone reading labels and sniffing every product out there. So you folks giving me your lists of what is unscented in wonderfully helpful! My son has food allergies, too, so going to the store takes FOREVER!! I’ve been avoiding packaged stuff and going with fresh, just because there no mile-long list of ingredients attached to the fresh stuff:) Better for us anyway, right!

Good luck to you all!
Jamie

How I “dislike” smelling anything either than babies and flowers! My house, car, the grocery store, etc. are very unpleasant to me. No one else notices anything out of line. It drives me nuts 😮

This is interesting. I have had problems with smells over the years but attributed it to allergies. Now maybe they aren’t. I do smell things that no one else can. I sometimes smell smoke, or the worst one is dust, as if I am in a very dusty room. No one else ever smells these but they are very real to me. Never thought of them being GBS linked.

As for household smells, I use Norwex products and cleaning cloths. Warm water and a Norwex cloth and my house sparkles with no chemicals. The cloths are expensive but never wear out. I have been using the same ones for dusting and windows for close to ten years now and they still look like new. My glass coffee/end tables come out spotless and no added smells to my house. If I do use a cleaning product, I look for naturally scented stuff. Some of the new “green” products seem to be okay.

I’ve learned to just keep my mouth shut when I smell or taste something that doesn’t seem right. People think I’m weird enough without me walking out into the cool clean air and saying “eeewwww… it smells like bug spray out here” especially if they can’t smell it. Taste does the same thing to me, one day things can taste normal, the next day something I eat all the time can taste nasty.

I’ve always been sensitive to smells though it’s at least ten times worse now, but I’ve never been sensitive to taste – I could eat just about anything and not care, not get sick to my stomach, not even get one little queasy feeling. Now things are totally different and it seems fairly random too, one bite OK, next bite nasty, next bite OK etc.

For cleaning supplies I tend to stick to unscented if possible, I use wet wipes if I need to cover a lot of territory like kitchen counters and bathroom floors. They clean it but they don’t smell as much as a spray, I do use a spray when wet wipes just won’t do the job but I open all the windows. In the bathrooms we bought those automatic shower cleaner thingies. The refills come in a nice spring scent but more importantly my husband can push the button, leave the room, close the door and the shower is cleaned without me even having to set foot in the bathroom until the odor dissapates.

I quit drinking most flavored drinks, I tend to stick to plain seltzer water, it’s not as much fun but its better for me and I rarely taste weird things drinking just plain old water. Oh, and I find it helps to brush my teeth before I eat as well – sort of start off with a clean plate on the taste factor.

and finally I think to myself – well if throwing up from the smell of scrambled eggs is the worst that can happen to me today then I’m doing A-OKAY!

Julei

Never heard of norwex/norwax brand. Can you buy the products at Kmart or Walmart? Thanks for the tip!

The products I buy are from a home party that someone had a few years back. The products are from Norway. If you google Norwex, you should find something and where you can access them in the USA. As I said, I love them and use them for a huge amount of things. They carry mops, toilet bowl cleaners, dusting and bathroom cleaning tools, laundry balls that you use instead of fabric sheets, and the list goes on.

You need to give these a try. My household cleaning products are pretty much nil. I do use a cleaner in the bathroom but that is only because I love the smell of a freshly cleaned bathroom and I have a thing about germs.