One Woman wearing Patchouli can ruin your Day
Posted: Saturday, August 06, 2011
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
Well, for certain it can ruin mine if I have to be anywhere near to her. For those of you who do not know what patchouli is, Wikipedia has this to say about it:
"Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth; also patchouly or pachouli) is a species from the genus Pogostemon and a bushy herb of the mint family, with erect stems, reaching two or three feet (about 0.75 metre) in height and bearing small, pale pink-white flowers. The plant is native to tropical regions of Asia, and is now extensively cultivated in China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as West Africa.
Frankly, I can't imagine putting it in medicines because it has the power to send me straight to the hospital. It hasn't yet. I've been careful and leave the vicinity of anyone wearing it as soon as I can, but you never know.
I was doing my weekly shopping and was at my last stop before heading home when I turned down and aisle and smelled that familiar, and not at all pleasant to me, odor (I will not dignify it by calling it a fragrance). I immediately started looking around because when I found the source, I was going to go the other way. But I was alone in the aisle.
As I continued seeking out the items on my list, the odor became stronger and stronger and I deduced that I was following the same path as the offender. I finally "caught" up to her and I turned right around and went back the way I had come. A little later I revisited that aisle and got what I needed. That chemical lingers seemingly forever. On one occasion, the eye doctor Bernd was working with at the time did an exam on a woman wearing patchouli and her exam room smelled like that for days despite repeated and very thorough washings of the exam chair. It's insidiously persistent.
When I have no choice but to inhale patchouli up close and personal, I start to cough immediately, my throat closes up, my eyes tear, the skin on my face and neck burn and the inside of my nose burns. I have come on a couple of occasions very close to being unable to continue to breathe.
The plant that produces patchouli oil does so in order to repel insects. A lot of plants produce chemicals that are intended to repel and even kill insects and in many cases, this is what makes the plant so tasty to us humans. But personally, I think I would be happy if no one ever again used patchouli for any purpose. If you just absolutely feel that you have to wear an insect repellent, try citronella. That doesn't give me half the trouble that patchouli does.
The Wikipedia article I looked at earlier also said that silk traders would pack their silk fabrics with patchouli leaves when they shipped them to keep moths from laying their eggs on them. So that when the silks reached the western world (chiefly Great Britain at that time), the silks smelled of patchouli and so the odor was associated with "opulence." Too bad.
I remember it was quite popular in the Sixties with the Hippies and then it died off for a while. What a relief that was. It made a resurgence some years ago and was the favored smell of individuals wanting to proclaim their inclusion in the counter culture of your choice. Unfortunately, recently it has started making its way into the mainstream. The woman that was wearing it most recently was middle-aged and very normal in appearance, unlike the young Goth woman with the multiple facial piercings. As far as I could tell she wasn’t wearing any kind of fragrance at all. Good for her.
I'm not one for restricting personal behavior and expression, but I honestly would cheer if someone made it illegal to wear patchouli in public. That will never happen because those of us so negatively affected by it are few (although I have a few friends that also cannot tolerate it, as well as my husband). Still, it's a lovely thought.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)LOL- I associate Patchouli with Janice Joplin- along with Southern Comfort liquor- personally, I can't stand the smell, and wouldn't have it upon my person. You are obviously allergic to it Dianne-hope you are able to avoid encountering it in the future. I wear Euphoria by Calvin Klein- haven't found anyone who is allergic to it yet, but.... you never know-Hi Ella.
Most likely I am allergic to it. But even if I were not, I still think I would find the way it smells to be obnoxious.
I'm glad my article wasn't so unrelievedly gloomy that someone couldn't find a laugh in it. :)
Thanks for readin'!
Hugs,
Dianne
Now that I have had your history lesson I get it. A repellent that got associated with opulence, a bastardized mint that was used as a deodorant. I say its the last herb to go. So many purposes for something that basically stinks! Ain't history grand? Nice article. Thanks for starting out my week.Hi Christofer.
It's kind of weird sometimes how things work out. I also cannot tolerate sandalwood and have often wondered why people think it is so wonderful. But I figure that at one time it actually was used to make sandals and helped to disguise the smell of dirty feet. But then what do I know. :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Dianne
Patchouli, as a body fragrance, is devastatingly delicious and attractive to me, when worn by women; I am sorry about your 'allergic' revulsion to it.
More than any other essential oil's smell, it is a 'turn on', to me.
I shall avoid wearing any when we eventually meet.
Paul
Hi Paul.
I appreciate that immeasurably. Do you really think that we will eventually meet, because that would be nice.
Thanks!
Hugs,
Dianne
I never did like the stuff and it was definitely there during my "coming of age" years - ugh! Go figure that Paul loves it...GRINHi Marijo.
I think there are a lot of people who like it otherwise it wouldn't still be around. I think I'd rather smell a skunk. Well ... not up really close. I got sprayed once when I was younger and it made me throw up. Nasty business!
How do you like the new SW Spaces? Do you miss "rating" the articles?
Thanks for reading!
Hugs,
DianneI think I have only stumbled on Spaces once - how do you get there (I clicked on someone's article and it was posted there - all the new stuff boggles the mind...GRIN) The colors are very pretty - are you moderating this site?I think that in order to find someone's spaces page other than clicking on an article, you have to use the new url assigned to it. Bruce wrote a couple of articles about this experiment in getting around Google's Panda. I think Bruce's "space" is Bruce(dot)SearchWarp(dot)com
I volunteered to be part of the experiment. In time, supposedly our spaces page will become customizable to a certain extent. If you click on my name it will take you to my new Spaces home page.
We'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out. Oh, the colors are Bruce's doing. I do like them.
I once had a severe asthma attack after smelling a musky perfume at work. I wonder if that was the same thing you smelled. I don't have the same reaction with any other perfume. I can't handle smoke, diesel exhaust or cats......:)Hi Krista.
It might just have been patchouli. But it could also have been Egyptian musk or something like that. My sister wears the Egyptian musk and it gives me a huge headache but not the big trouble that patchouli does.
I tolerate wood smoke fairly well, but anything having to do with hydrocarbons is bad for me. I'm always assured a headache after filling the tank in my Jeep.
But cats ... we have one and she's a doll. Luckily I don't have any animal allergies. Well, none that I know of. I've never been right smack next to a water buffalo so I can't say for certain. :)
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hugs,
Dianne
I am unaffected by most scents and consider myself immensely lucky about that. I have never heard of patchouli and now I want to smell it so I'll know it. Some women literally douse themselves in perfumes and it's never a good thing because others are allergic. When it wafts around long after the person wearing it is gone, then someone ought to nicely tell her "Hey you biddy. You put too much junk on today, yuck yuck". Fine article, Dianne, as usual.Hi Heidi.
I've encountered a lot of people who have never heard of patchouli. Unfortunately for me, it seems to be making its way into other perfumes besides just plain old patchouli.
You are lucky that perfumes do not bother you. I've often joked that I'd rather smell a fart than someone's perfume. A fart might be unpleasant, but it's never hurt me. :)
Thanks for reading and for commenting.
Hugs!
DianneIf it holds the scent as long as you discovered that it does, companies are probably using it like a base or mixing it. That is really unfortunate. When you have allergies that's serious. I just had this rather funny thought - if you encountered someone who has doused themselves in Patchouli, you could whip out this little painter's mask and put it on then and there. She'd look at you strangely but it would then dawn on her. You think?I knew someone who was so sensitive, she wore a carbon filter mask wherever she went.
No, I don't think the patchouli wearer would get the connection between me putting on a mask and her smell. Most people are woefully unaware of the significance of smells in general. They seem to think these days that the more the better and the more powerful and lingering the better. But this is my pet peeve. It doesn't have to be others'.
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