Researchers: Perfume is “risk to unborn babies”

Posted on Aug 31, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Research, Susie Collins

Pregnant women are told that using perfumes or scented creams may increase the risk of unborn boys developing infertility in later life

Anyone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity knows that perfume and other synthetic fragrances are toxic. Effects of exposure can range from dizziness and coughing to total loss of cognitive ability (sometimes called “brain fade”) and serious trouble breathing. These overt physical effects alarm us and make us question what else the poison is doing to our bodies. We people with MCS are the “canaries” of the public, sounding the alarm that synthetic fragrance is hazardous to health– not just to people with MCS, but to everybody.

Slowly, peer reviewed research is catching up with us. Here’s a report at the BBC today about researchers at Edinburgh University who believe exposure to chemicals found in cosmetics between eight and 12 weeks of pregnancy may affect later sperm production in male children. Their recommendation: Do not use personal care products with synthetic fragrance while pregnant. Canaries’ recommendation: Do not use personal care products with synthetic fragrance EVER.

Testicular cancer

During tests on rats, [the researchers] blocked the action of androgens, which include male sex hormones such as testosterone.

The experiments confirmed that if the hormones are blocked, the animals suffered fertility problems.

Some of the chemicals which can block the hormones are widely used in the production of items such as cosmetics, household fabrics and plastics.

Prof Sharpe said the chemicals may also increase the risk of baby boys developing other reproductive conditions in later life, including testicular cancer.

He added that women planning on becoming pregnant should avoid putting any cosmetic products on their skin which could then be absorbed into their bodies.

He told BBC Scotland’s news website: “There are lots of compounds in perfumes that we know in higher concentrations have the potential to have biological effects, so it is just being ultra safe to say that by avoiding using them your baby isn’t at risk.

“If you are planning to become pregnant you should change your lifestyle. Those lifestyle things don’t necessarily mean that you are going to cause terrible harm to your baby, but by avoiding them you are going to have a positive effect.

“We would recommend you avoid exposure to chemicals that are present in cosmetics, anything that you put on your body that might then get through your body into your developing baby. [...]

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Tags: Chemicals, Cosmetics, Fragrance, Perfume, Personal Care, Research, Stink, Toxic

6 Responses to “Researchers: Perfume is “risk to unborn babies””

Leslie Royce

01. Sep, 2008

Have had MCS since 1986 when exposed to chordane and heptachlor. Got help from Dr. Allen Lieberman, Charlston, SC. My fear is not just for unborn babies but all those teenagers and young adults wearing the most horrible smelling and chemically based scents. Do they have any idea what they are doing to their brains? Often, in taxis, I warn the drivers to throw out the chemicals hanging from their rearview mirrors. When I point out that their face is in it all the time and it is probably made from petroleum, they usually toss it immediately. How do we get this info to the public? How do we stop them from buying those room deoderizers that spray constantly, from using those fabric sprayers on furniture, shoes, clothes?

I have refused to remove myself from this oh so messy world and am willing to suffer the headaches, joint aches and loss of mental acuity. I do realize that not only do I have great tolerance for pain but a greater than normal desire to be a part of life, my own and my children’s. But I do understand the need to be away and perhaps to stay away. I live in the heart of Philadelphia and must stay in often but I have no intention of going to a safer place.

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Susie

01. Sep, 2008

Those car deodorizers are lethal! I can smell those things in the cars in front of me on the road! Sickeningly sweet POISON. You get great merit every time you get a taxi driver to toss it!

It sounds so weird to people who do not have MCS: those of us with MCS put perfume, cologne, and car deodorizer in the same list with clordane and heptachlor. But I get it that if the person isn’t FEELING sick from the perfume, then they don’t think there’s a problem. Except everything in my body tells me there is a HUGE problem with synthetic fragrance for EVERYBODY.

Kudos to you, Leslie, for biting the bullet and living your life outside the bubble. I really admire that.

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Leslie Royce

01. Sep, 2008

I did not expect to hear from the creator of this wonderful report. A million kudos to you. I have been sending your info off and on to many others. If I deserve a kudo, it is half of one since I also benefit from the driver trashing the hanging poison; it is not just a selfless act. And I am not sure I deserve kudos for being able to do what I want, staying out here and telling people and teaching people and being their canary. What is so sad is that almost everybody complains of headaches, sinus problems, joint pains and they can find every reason in the world except the obvious one, that it is all that junk they are breathing in at work, at home from the cleaning products they use, from their dry cleaning, etc. So they spend a fortune on the latest sinus med or the latest headache pill and wonder why they never feel just right. I am very busy telling people to look at their lives, to notice when they walk into a super store if they do not smell some strange thing, plastics and petroleum, and then to note when they get a headache or a full sinus feeling. I am gaining some converts who are changing their behaviors before they get MCS.

My worst difficulty comes from foods. For the past 20 years, I have not eaten very many things that were not made by me or people I know. But still I can get tripped up by a piece of fruit, even soaked in baking soda, that must have been sprayed with something really intense. Water: I now use a bottle that filters directly from the tap so I do not have to buy bottled water to take with me. I assume that you do not want products mentioned but if you do, let me know. It filters 75 gallons on one filter refill and refills and the bottle are inexpensive. I am so delighted with it and it never leaves my side.

Again, thank you for your instructive, informative and attractive site. If you ever need anyone to search for a quote (my hobby), or write a small essay, or draft a complaint letter, just ask. If I can, I certainly will.

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Susie

01. Sep, 2008

Leslie, email me about guest blogging, see contact pg.

Yes, feel free to mention brand names in comments, what you use might help someone else. I use an Amway filter at my kitchen sink that takes out just about everything including Atrazine, an agricultural chemical found in our community well. My whole house has a double prefilter: one for sediment and one charcoal for chlorine (I get those at Home Depot). It’s important to know what is IN your water, so you know what type of filter you need. People not in an ag area wouldn’t need to worry about ag chemicals.

Thank you so much for all your input!

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Leslie

03. Sep, 2008

i hope one day our products industry gets some regulations- instead of sending all these chemical soups out into the world- without regard for all the other things they will be mixed with—- it’s like perscription drugs and how they dont mix- there’s no warning on everyday products about all the chems we shouldn’t be mixing.
Perfume just STANKS, period.

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Susie

03. Sep, 2008

I’m hopeful that change is coming (political pun intended!). You’re talking about policy and law. I’m thinking we’re ready to catch up with Europe (EU is forcing hand) on standards that protect public health.

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