I went to the gym this morning. I probably shouldn’t have gone. I’ve had a cold and spent most of yesterday feeling pretty miserable.
All of my regular cardio machines were occupied, so I went on the treadmill.
After a few minutes, a lady got on the machine next to mine and started it up. I noticed she was wearing a heavy black turtleneck sweater. She started to take it off. She tried pulling it over her head (mind you, she was walking on the treadmill this whole time) when she suddenly stumbled and fell against the safety bars.
“Are you okay??” I asked.
She pretended she didn’t hear me. So I continued my walk in silence.
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It took another minute or so before I realized she was wearing perfume. There was no mistaking it.
Did you know that the word perfume used today derives from the Latin “per fumum”, meaning through smoke? (via Wikipedia)
No guff.
You know, I used to pooh pooh anti-perfume signage. How ridiculous! But my dear friends, I’m here to say that I can’t take it anymore. My tolerance for perfume has disappeared. And this is coming from someone who used to wear perfume regularly.
You see, over the past few years I’ve become mildly asthmatic – not serious enough to require the use of a daily puffer – but bad enough that I develop a wretched hacking cough whenever I get a cold. (Like now.) Perfumed samples in magazines leave me short of breath too.
This is interesting… also from the Wiki:
“In some cases, an excessive use of perfumes may cause allergic reactions of the skin. For instance, acetophenone, ethyl acetate and acetone while present in many perfumes, are also known or potential respiratory allergens. Persons with multiple chemical sensitivity or respiratory diseases such as asthma may be responsive to even low levels of perfumes.
The perfume industry is not directly regulated for safety by the FDA in the US. Instead the FDA regulates the ingredients in the perfumes themselves and require that they be tested to the extent that they are Generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Protection of trade secrets prevents the listing of ingredients that might or might not be hazardous in perfumes. In Europe, the mandatory listing of any of a number of chemicals thought to be hazardous has just begun.”
So there I was, doing a healthy, brisk, walk next to a walking bottle of perfume. I didn’t last long. I still feel like the smell is trapped in my nostrils.
I’ve been stuck next to heavily-perfumed people on the bus, trapped in elevators with them, eaten lunch with them etc… but working out next to someone who’s wearing perfume? That takes the cake.
So I’m off to make a coffee. Have you ever wondered why they keep coffee beans behind the perfume counter? It’ll clear your nose out.
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