Health and Temperance

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 20, 1887

Health and Temperance.

DANGER IN SCENT BOTTLES.

THE business of the hygienist, some folks think, is to find something dangerous to health in everything, and to frighten them so they shall not dare to eat, or sleep, or move, for fear of injury to their health. Such a state of things would be very bad indeed. The last danger found seems to be in smelling-bottles, and that the prevalent use of smelling-salts is injurious; they produce irritation the same as any powder or snuff inhaled frequently. This constant irritation in many cases destroys the sense of smell. One day a lady went to her physician to be treated for sore throat. He had a large bouquet of fresh-cut flowers in a vase. She smelt them and said: "Doctor, those flowers are beautiful, but entirely devoid of odor." The doctor knew then what was the matter, for the flowers were especially fragrant. "Madam," said he, "here is a piece of quartz that has no odor; if so it is peculiar." He gave her a small lump of asafetida. She smelt it and declared it had no odor. Then when he told her that her sense of smell was gone because she used a smelling-bottle too often, and her throat was sore from the result, she came near fainting. That was six months ago.

To-day the power of smell has returned to a degree, but her olfactory nerves will never be as perfect as before. She confessed that she was a slave to smelling-salts, and kept a bottle with her constantly. The treatment was simply to leave off smelling-salts. What other results follow beside sore throat and loss of smell? Violent headaches and red noses. The ladies do not mind the headache, but the red noses are too much for them. They consequently use paint and powder to hide their blooming probosces. Why do they use the smelling-salts? Solely because habit or folly dictates it. Let them get a little fatigued, or overheated, or too cold, or jostled in a crowd, and out comes the smelling-bottle for relief. A nose with iron olfactory and brass membrane would become worn-out by such constant use. There is a limit to every habit, and beyond it serious effects are to be expected.—Herald of Health.