According to the results of a new study that was published in the Annals of Family Medicine, perfume may be linked to depression. While some perfumes are annoying, others can be downright debilitating for some people, and in some extreme cases, the odors can cause depression that may require antidepressant treatments like Paxil or Effexor. This study suggests that this type of incident is more common than might be expected.
“Some people have tremendously adverse reactions to very low levels of chemicals — chemicals most of us can’t even smell,” says study author Dr. David Katerndahl, a professor of family and community medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
About two percent of the North American populations have received a medical diagnosis that shows that they are “chemically intolerant.” What this basically means is that these people are extremely sensitive to chemicals to the point of it being debilitating. While the exact of this condition is not completely understood yet, some experts believe that the condition may be genetic. Others however, believe that the condition may be caused by a constant low-level exposure to chemicals that eventually creates the intolerance. People that have the chemical intolerance are also susceptible to panic attacks and even depression.
Serious depressive disorders can be very debilitating to live with. That is why so many depressed patients turn to medications like Paxil or Effexor to help them treat the condition. The problem with these medications is that they can also cause serious side effects that can be deadly. For example, violent and suicidal thoughts and behavior have been linked to antidepressants like Paxil and Effexor. These antidepressants have also been linked to birth defects in babies who are exposed to the drugs in-utero.
If you think that you may be have a chemical intolerance that has caused your depression, think twice about taking prescription medications to treat the condition because simply avoiding these chemicals may help to curb your sadness.
