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Ever walked past someone wearing perfume and felt your head start to pound within minutes?
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Let's unpack why those everyday scents might be sadly triggering new migraines.
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Welcome to Migraine Heroes, a podcast for people living with chronic migraines with years of pain,
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misunderstanding and lack of answers. I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped more than a
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thousand people reduce the burden of migraines and feel more in control.
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My mission in life? To help a million people. Each episode brings you grounded insight
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into what your body might be asking for and what can truly help. Just to keep you fully supported,
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this podcast is educational. For diagnosis or medication, always work with your doctor.
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Now take a breath and let's dive in.
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In this episode, you will learn why your brain reacts so strongly to certain smells
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and what that says about your migraine threshold, the hidden chemicals and fragrances that may be
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overstimulating your nervous system and simple practical strategies you can use today to reduce
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scents-triggered attacks. Stay with me till the end because at the end of this episode,
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you will have a simple effective plan to protect yourself from scents-triggered migraines without
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needing to control your entire environment. If you ever felt frustrated or even isolated
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because something as common as perfume can derail your entire day, you're not alone.
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It can feel unfair, like the world is filled with invisible landmines. Because it is. Offices,
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public transport and even loved ones' homes suddenly become triggering spaces. And that
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constant vigilance? It's exhausting. So from a Western scientific perspective,
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fragrance-triggered migraines are very real and very, very well documented. And I want to share
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with you the five reasons why fragrance and perfume smells are triggering your migraines.
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The reason number one is the heightened sensitivity to smells. There's even a term for
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it. It's called osmophobia, which simply means a heightened sensitivity to smells.
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And it's incredibly common in migraine sufferers. Up to half of the people who suffer from migraines
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report that certain odors can actually trigger an attack. But here's where it gets interesting.
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Reason number two, the direct activation of pain pathways. Perfumes don't just sit in the air,
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they interact directly with your nervous system. Strong scents can activate something called the
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trigeminal nerve, which plays a central role in migraine. And this nerve is designed to detect
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irritants. And when it's stimulated, it can set off pain signals and inflammation in the brain.
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This has been explored in the Journal of Neuroscience, for example. And at the same time,
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your sense of smell is deeply connected to your limbic system, the part of your brain involved in
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emotions and memory. And in people with migraines, this system can be more sensitive, more reactive.
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So a fragrance isn't just something you smell, it can trigger a much broader neurological response.
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This connection has been described in the journal Brain. Reason number three is the chemical
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irritation. Then there's the chemical side of things. Many perfumes contain what are called
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volatile organic compounds, things like aldehydes and benzene derivatives. And these aren't just
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neutral, they can act as irritants in the body, increasing stress at the cellular level and
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potentially contributing to a migraine response. This has been discussed in Environmental Health
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Journal, for example. Now, reason number four is a sensitized nervous system. All of this is going
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to sit on top of something we call central sensitization. In simple terms, the migraine
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brain is already on high alert. It is more sensitive to input. So repeated exposure to strong
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smells can gradually lower your migraine threshold, making it easier for a migraine to be triggered
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over time. This concept is really well established. Reason number five is the impact on brain chemistry.
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We also know that these exposures can influence the brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine,
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both deeply involved in migraine. So when you put it all together, something very important
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becomes clear. Your brain is not overreacting. It's responding exactly as a sensitive, finely
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tuned system does, when it's pushed just a little bit too far. Now let's take a step back, because
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across both Eastern and Western traditions, scents were never meant to overwhelm. They were meant to
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support. If you think of Eastern traditions, Buddhist temples, Taoist practices, and ancient
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rituals, incense was used very intentionally, not to project, not to impress, but to calm the mind,
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to guide the breath, to create presence. And these incense sticks were made from natural materials
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like sandalwoods, herbs, resins. They were soft, subtle, grounding. And the idea was simple. A scent
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should bring you inward, not pull you outward. There's a quiet wisdom that says when the senses
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are calm, the mind can settle. Now compare that to today. In the West, perfume evolved differently.
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From early natural vrai parfum, crafted by what the French called le nez, the nose, perfume was
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once an art form, balanced, evolving, almost alive. But over time, especially with industrialization,
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perfumes became stronger, longer lasting, more complex. Why? Because synthetic ingredients allowed
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for consistency, for projection, for intensity. And slowly, the purpose shifted from something you wore
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to something that announces you. And then it went even further. Today's scent is no longer just
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personal. It's environmental. You find it in hotels, in shops, in laundry products, in cleaning
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sprays, in homes, in the clothing brands of your teenager. Spaces now have their signature scents,
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not to calm you, but to influence how you feel, how long you will stay, how you remember a place.
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So the exposure becomes constant, layered, unavoidable. And for a sensitive system, that is a
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completely different world. So when your body reacts, it's not rejecting scent, it's responding
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to intensity, accumulation, and lack of space. Or as simple a proverb would say, when the cup is full,
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even a drop will overflow. Now from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, sensitivity to smell
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can be linked to what is called the kidney system, which is in these traditions
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seen as your body's deep reserves of energy, resilience, and stability. And when this system
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is strong, you tend to feel more grounded, more buffered against stress, and external input. So the
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Buddhist temple scents, in many ways, were designed to reinforce that system. But when that system
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becomes depleted through chronic stress, anxiety, overwork, simply long periods of pushing through,
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your overall sensitivity increases. It's a bit like your internal reserve tank is running low.
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And when that happens, your migraine threshold drops. So smells that might once have felt neutral
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can suddenly feel overwhelming, especially if they're full of toxins. And in that sense, heightened
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sensitivity to fragrance isn't random at all. It's a reflection that your system has less capacity
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to absorb stimulation, and is asking quite clearly for more support, more rest, and more balance.
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So what can you actually do? How can you keep your cup not too full so it doesn't overflow?
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So let's bring this back to something simple and real. First, create a low scent environment
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at home. Reduce artificial fragrances. Open windows. Simplify your surroundings.
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Then, there's something I love. My co-founder, Hélène, lives in the south of France. And we worked
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together for three weeks, non-stop, me living under her roof. So she would place just a few drops of
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lavender essential oil into the compartment next to her laundry powder in the washing machine.
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So the place where you normally put the artificial softener. And when you would open the
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washing machine after a wash, oh my god, it smelled like Provence. Soft, natural, calm. It made you
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want to do laundry. It wasn't overwhelming. It was supportive. So this is your invitation.
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Move away from strong artificial scents and reconnect with gentle, natural ones used sparingly.
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And most importantly, start noticing your threshold because your body is speaking to
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you early, not to restrict you, but to guide you. And remember, every small step you take
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moves you close to freedom. You are powerful. You are resilient. And you're not alone.
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Keep rising, Migrant Hero.
