THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF ALLERGIES: COSMETICS AND PERFUMES

Closely related to the drug problem is that posed by cosmetics. In fact, as far as the majority of chemically susceptible persons are concerned, the scent of cosmetics is one of the most troublesome features of this problem.

One patient found that she had difficulty riding in elevators or dining out in many restaurants because of her great susceptibility to scents. Sometimes it is only particular perfumes which the susceptible person finds annoying or even suffocating. The safest thing, however, is for such individuals to avoid all perfumes, either on themselves or when worn by others. (The same advice applies to after-shave lotions and colognes, which can be equally irritating to certain individuals.)

Another possible solution is to use only cosmetics and ointments made up entirely of natural ingredients, without artificial colors, scents, and preservatives. Such preparations are more widely available now than they were a decade ago, although use of the word hypoallergenic is no guarantee that the product will not cause adverse reactions. Some genuinely nonallergenic products must be refrigerated, since they contain no artificial preservatives.

Reactions to cosmetics, it should be emphasized, usually occur in the presence of an overall susceptibility to the chemical environment. The inability to tolerate these agents alone is rare.

The overall question of drug and cosmetic sensitivity is one which has received far too little publicity in recent years. In fact, it has required a struggle even to get the facts about acute drug side effects to the public. Yet the question of chronic, disguised, long-term harm may be more important than the more dramatic short-term problems caused by these agents.

Since the drug side of this problem is largely caused by the medical profession, supported by the pharmaceutical manufacturers, it is a highly controversial question. And since it involves multiple symptoms, based on an individual’s unique reactions to his overall chemical (and food) intake, it is not given to mass-applicable solutions. The existence of this drug susceptibility problem highlights the pressing need for a thoroughly new orientation in medical care, employing more individualized approaches to chronic illness.

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