Each food-sensitive person is unusual, but some are very unusual! Shalu’s blood pressure rises with exposure to perfumes! She writes “So it’s not me alone, who is battling this blood pressure problem. Doctors say it’s just your stress which raises BP suddenly. But having BP of 118/70 with medicines, and spiking to level 190/100, only because of perfumes, and odour sensitivity is my problem.
I got this problem after having my baby. Strange!!! I never had any allergy.”
My comment: No Shula, you are not alone! But each of you who have raised blood pressure as your symptom is rare, even for me who sees only people who react to aromatic compounds! Each person has their own reactions and having an increased blood pressure is unusual, but each patient I looked after who had a raised BP after aromatic food was clear in the connection.
The important idea is that your reactions are affected by what I call the Total Body Load of similar shaped compounds. That is aromas in the air (perfumes and any other strong smells) but also aromas in food. You can’t do much about smells in the air, except stay away from where you know they are worse, and stay away from those smells you know you react to most. But you can reduce the aromatic compounds in your food, and that means you don’t react to the aromas in the air nearly as much.
It is an effort to change your diet but it is fantastic to feel normal when you are out an about!
I do meet many food sensitive people who get instant headaches, migraine or nausea from smells and have found that diet makes a huge difference. Do read the article “What’s smell go to do with it?” https://foodintolerancepro.com/category/food-intolerance/whats-smell-got-to-do-with-it/
And then help yourself by buying Are You Food Sensitive? which takes you through the process of getting to your own best diet. You can get it from this site, or to read for $5.50 from AmazonKindle
https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Food-Sensitive-investigate-ebook/dp/B00J7PC5VQ
Getting your reaction after having a baby means it is probably related to hormone changes as well. Think how many women change in pregnancy to feeling nausea, and even vomiting as well, with strong smells. You can use that idea to help others believe your rise in blood pressure symptom.
The good news about having the symptom after having your baby is that changing your hormones, such as after you stop breastfeeding, or using a different contraceptive, may decrease your reaction, though not usually as much as diet. You don’t have to be allergic. Allergy means reacting to a protein; and smells in the air and smells in foods are not proteins. Reactions are part of your metabolic system not part of an allergy. And a bonus! If you use the diet while breastfeeding you may have a more settled baby.
I wish you well in continuing the detective work you have begun to the point where you don’t have such scary reactions. All the best! Joan
My blood pressure will spike too with perfumes and strong detergents. I went to an allergist that was pretty intelligent guy and figured out that it wasn’t allergies but that’s a vasa motor problem from the smell. Put me on a ipratropium bromide nasal solution, and it really does help offset the nerve stimulation to the brain from the nose with odors. And can help bring the blood pressure down.
Dear Charles,
It is always a good to have medical input with any symptoms. And you can look at articles on this site and/or treat yourself to my book Tolerating Troublesome Foods. The more careful you are with the foods that often cause reactions the less you need to use medicine. You work out what suits you! Joan
OMG, I went on a whim and decided to google my concerns and found this article. I was just in the ER this weekend with a blood pressure of the exact amount 190/100! Which is very high for me. I have been baffled at what could have cost it to rise like that, and did not connect my new perfume purchases as I barely wear perfume and was so delighted to have some. Today I was feeling somewhat better, BP still a lil high but coming down, I got dressed and sprayed a few puffs (3) on my clothes to go out with my daughter to the supermarket. Not less than 3 min. later my head starting pounding, my neck starting hurting and I got my BP kit out and yup! It’s very high again. So I googled does this happen to other women! I’m not going to wear it anymore before I kill myself with perfume! I normally wear essential oils and have never had this happen.
Wow Melanie! I am glad I record what we find in food sensitive/smell sensitive people so it is available for people like you! Now instead of doing what I call “diet detective work” you will be doing “perfume detective work”! Perfume and food can be connected as both have aromatic compounds. Gradually see if you can tell which perfumes are small, medium or worrying problems for you. Once on the track you learn which bath salts/perfume shops to stay away from. Increases in BP with smells happen to men too, and, like you, they have particular smells that are a problem. Expect not to be believed as you are unusual even among those who believe that chocolate or red wine can bring on a migraine. If you are unlucky and have it happen more often you can read all the other articles on this site, that mention smell, or aromatic compounds, especially the article Smell – What’s smell got to do with it?
http://www.foodintolerancepro.com/category/food-intolerance/whats-smell-got-to-do-with-it/
and get the book Tolerating Troublesome Foods and just read it applying the ideas to perfumes. See http://www.foodintolerancepro.com/tolerating-troublesome-foods/ The book notes all the different symptoms food/smell sensitive people have. You will be interested in any you have or, even more interesting, which your first degree relatives have! All the best learning more about yourself. Joan