How Corona Virus and perfume allergies are connected? The answer is simple if, for instance, the coronavirus started form Pakistan would it have been detected? May yes, maybe no. Most probably It would have gone undetected. Firstly no one goes to a doctor in Pakistan in case of flu-like illness. Secondly, if the condition had worsened the doctor would have examined the patient in 5 mins declared it as simple flu or pneumonia. The reality is that in Pakistan there are people suffering from allergies that can be avoided by simple regulations and laws. The sufferings of many people are gone undetected and uncatered for due to negligence and unconcern.
So what are basically these frangrance allergies. Well If you are a resident of Lahore then you would be familiar with the "fragrance allergy" or "perfume allergy". Or else If you sneeze when you smell perfume or room deodorizer you may have fragrance or perfume allergy.
It is a reaction of the body to smells like ittar and perfumes in the air. What happens in this allergy is that when someone wearing ittar enters a room or a shopping plaza the person with the allergy may start experiences sudden any of these symptoms like headaches, change in mode, water running from eyes and nose, developing mucus and swelling of the nose and face, plus difficulty in breathing. The symptoms one may get depends on the level of the allergy. Most people have allergies and do not know what they are allergic to.
Why are these allergies more dangerous than before? These allergies would have been prevalent in our ancestors too but the level of environmental pollution which most European geologists think is a result of industrialization in addition to experimentation, the earth environment is not the same as before.
You might have heard that people with respiratory diseases shift to a hilly area where air quality is good. Especially in the case of TB patients. The same principle applies here the pollution index is always a hazardous level, as if we are living in a factory. Although the lockdown has made it moderate. The respiratory problems developed by those working in factories like for example paint-related jobs are common for the general population.
Even if one has not developed the allergy one should be cautious about it. We can all live without perfumes, oud and ittar, scented insecticides, mosquito repellents, scented candles, and cleaners. These substances natural or unnatural can trigger an allergy even if you didn't have it in your entire life. Mostly the products found in the markets are made in China.There is no regulation on the ingredients of these products. What harm they might cause and the allergies they may develop. We have seen there is a food authority that checks Halal and Haram in Food ingredients, unlike in the case of these products: perfumes/ ittars /oud they are flourishing in the markets and society unchecked causing problems undetected. This is an epidemic.
The social stigma is that unlike developed countries in Pakistan people are (a) Not aware of the allergies (b) There is no laws or regulations (c) No moral obligations are imposed.
Allergies may cause death in many people. The well-developed countries of the world do not take this lightly. We read now and than cases where murder charges have been imposed on people attacking others with substances, they are allergic to. In Pakistan, if you say to your co-worker that: "Please avoid wearing perfume as I am allergic to it", you are likely to hit back with a stronger perfume the next day or simply a laugh and that's all. While our social attitude should be to take care of the "neighbours problem" and to jump to "help when someone asks for it", many people prefer not to bath or clean and wear a perfume instead.
While in Pakistan mostly people use these perfumes to hide bad smells. They cause more severe problems to others.
It is a well-established fact that fragrance allergies is a disease and can be life-threatening to some asthma prone people. With a 22 crore population and unbearable pollution from neighbouring countries like china and India (the country where nonsmokers are dying from the lung cancer), we must be vigilant to the undetected health suffering caused by these pollutants to mass population and care for the sensitive groups of the society. These sprays of poison should not be allowed to stealthily infiltrate and cause sufferings to the mass population.