Can Scented Candles Cause Headaches: We Investigate
It was another stressful day at work. You get home, and you want nothing but to relax. After you take a shower, you decide to get your scented candle to lighten your mood. After all, they promise a relaxing and enhancing experience.
As you light the candle, the scented perfume takes over the air of the room. Everything smells good, at first. Then, as time passes, you feel some discomfort in your head.
That’s when you ask yourself, can scented candles cause headaches? According to Dr. Gaila Mackenzie-Strawn, the answer is yes. Scented candles, specifically the synthetic ones, can cause not only headaches but also nausea, dizziness, and flu-like symptoms.
The chemicals used in the manufacturing of these candles can be potentially damaging to your health. For instance, these chemicals can cause damage to your brain, lungs and nervous system.
Now, if you do enjoy lighting the mood, and changing the aroma of the room, there are healthier ways to do it. The point is that what you should avoid is synthetically manufactured scented candles. Also, if you have any kind of preexistent allergy, especially the ones related to the respiratory system, you’re more likely to suffer from symptoms from the use of scented candles.
Now, the best you can do to determine if the cause of your headache really is the scented candle is to also pay attention to any other symptom you may have. This is important to pay attention to, so when you go see your physician, you can give a detailed account of what you’re feeling. A perfect way to test things is to notice if you experience the headache when you use the candle and to interrupt said use when you do experience any symptom.
If after having confirmed that indeed you do have headaches not caused by scented candles by your health care professional, it is likely an over the counter or prescription medicine might be suggested. However, overuse of these might cause you other health issues down the road. For non-medicated relief, click here to get the latest pricing from Amazon of a highly rated product I recommend.
Why It Causes Headaches
Now, you do know that the cause of your headache may be the scented candle that you thought was a harmless thing that you were doing. Still, you may be curious to know why it causes those symptoms.
According to an EPA study, there are potentially harmful chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of the scented candles. Those chemicals are acetone, benzene, toluene, and etc. Such chemicals are released as you were burning the candle. The main problem is that those same chemicals can cause asthma, dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, and fatigue.
These chemicals can also cause damage to the brain, nervous system, and lung as pointed out earlier. For those reasons, these candles can be potentially more harmful than just a headache. Now, there are alternatives if you still want to experience a nice aroma to lighten the mood of the room and relax after a long day. The main take away is that you understand that the problem is with those chemicals, and as long as you make sure that the one you’re using has none, you’re safe to do so.
Is It Ever Safe
Obviously, even though we know that there are potentially harmful chemicals in those candles, we still ask ourselves if is ever safe to make use of them? After all, we all want to relax and the scented candle does help with that.
Now, according to any doctor, anything that releases those chemicals, especially through combustion, is potentially harmful and dangerous for your health. So, it’s likely to be always unsafe to make use of them.
Still, there are alternatives to those candles that will do wonders for you. More importantly, they produce the same results without releasing any harmful chemical. Imagine being able to relax and lighten the mood with a product you know is harmless.
So, to recap, the synthetic scented candle won’t be ever safe, according to doctors. They all have a few of those chemicals in their formula and will release them as you light the candle. Then, you’re highly likely to experience headaches, dizziness, and nausea among other symptoms.
What To Do About It
The first, most important, and the best thing that you can do is to interrupt the use of the scented candle in case you experience any symptom. Talk to your physician before resuming the use of the product. It’s important that you make sure, at least, that your symptoms are being caused by something else. Obviously, you should talk to your physician or go see any doctor if you have any of those symptoms.
Now, the main thing that you have to do is to treat those symptoms. Still, they won’t really go away as long as you don’t discontinue the use of such candles. Quite often, we insist on certain habits because they’re pleasant on the short-term. The problem is that this one is potentially quite damaging on the long-term. For that reason, the best you can do is to discontinue the use of scented candles. Again, you do have alternatives to it that will produce the same results without the risks involved for your health.
Other Symptoms
A headache is obviously something quite bothersome. Depending on the intensity and duration, it’s one of the worst symptoms that you can have. It gets on the way of your day and slows down your work.
Now, there are other symptoms that you can experience with the use of a scented candle. For example, after the headache the most common one is nausea. Those chemicals provoke strong nausea in most people. Even if you don’t feel it, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t being affected by them. After headaches and nausea, dizziness is the most common symptom. Especially if you light the candle in a small room or a closed space.
If you ever do anything like that, you’re putting your health in serious danger. Never use those kinds of products with closed windows and enclosed spaces. So, watch out for those symptoms. The best you can do is to discontinue the use of those candles, go see your physician and opt for the healthier alternative.
Serious Consequences
As stated in almost every line of this blog, scented candles release toxins that are extremely dangerous for your health. Those toxins such as benzene and toluene are carcinogenic. Not only that but they can cause real, permanent damage to certain tissues in your body. For instance, those chemicals are capable of causing brain damage.
Now, everyone thinks that those things don’t really happen and that there isn’t real danger in continuing to make use of these candles. Unfortunately, that’s not true. Nervous system and brain damage are not only real but a probable thing when it comes to the release of those chemicals. Especially because they’re released as the candle burns.
Also, the smoke of the candle coupled with the chemicals in itself can cause damage to your lungs. These will present itself as respiratory problems. That’s why you should be aware of those things before considering lighting one single scented candle.
Organic Candles
We said that there is a better alternative many times throughout this text, but never really specified what those alternatives are. There are basically two main alternatives that are super healthy and just as good on their desired effect. The first one is the organic candle.
As you can imagine, these candles are made with organic ingredients, which are healthier and pose no threat to your health. The main popular ones are manufactured from soy or beeswax. Those candles are just as aromatic and relaxing but without ever releasing harmful chemicals.
The best thing is that you can still have a scented candle with organic candles. They’re also manufactured with aromatic substances but that don’t cause any damage to your body. Those candles can be scented but without toxins. As you use organic candles, you’ll notice that you won’t have headaches, dizziness, nausea, and any other symptoms like you had before.
Organic Essential Oils
Another great alternative is organic essential oils. You can diffuse them in your home to produce the same desired effect that you used to have with synthetic scented candles.
The best thing is that you can buy a diffuser and vary the aroma that you get as your mood and tastes change. A diffuser is also better to regulate the time and the amount of aroma that you want to be released in a room. Those things, you can’t do with a candle.
Now, it’s important that you opt for organic essential oils. You can still use non-organic ones because they aren’t damaging like scented candles, but organic is still the best alternative. So, just try it out both alternatives and see what fits your taste better. The important thing that you don’t make use of the synthetic scented candles anymore.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the dangers of synthetic scented candles and that you know of 2 great alternatives for them, you’re better equipped to make the best decision for your health. Don’t forget that the main thing is that you pay attention to the symptoms and consult your physician before doing anything. Then, obviously, discontinue the use of the candles.
So, that’s it. Replace the scented candles for organic essential oils and candles. They’ll produce the same result but without the toxins that the scented candles release every time that you burn them. And if your headaches still persist, you might want to visit a health care professional. If you have already done so, you might want to get a highly rated compression mask that will help give you headache relief. Check it out here to get the latest pricing from Amazon.