As you pull into your parking space and get ready to start your work day, you can’t help but squint as your eyes begin to itch and your nose starts to run. Noticing the cold breeze blowing this morning, you shrug it off as the start of a harmless set of sniffles. It’s only a few hours later — on your drive home — that you start feeling those same symptoms, this time potentially worse.
Linking car air fresheners and allergies can be challenging at first, but it’s not uncommon to have an allergic reaction to your car air freshener. Your allergies could be triggered by a particular scent or even the air freshener’s container, depending on the materials used. If you’re looking for an allergy-friendly car air freshener that’s as clean as it is sleek and luxurious, look no further than Drift’s premium lineup of car air fresheners.
Are Car Air Fresheners and Allergies Linked?
Allergies are common among the population, so it’s possible to be allergic to one or more car air freshener ingredients. Unless you’re already aware of what you’re allergic to, you might not realize you’re allergic to certain ingredients or materials in car air fresheners until you’ve been exposed to them. However, putting the puzzle pieces together can prove difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
For example, let’s say you experience itchy eyes and a runny nose after being in the car with the new car air freshener you just bought. You might not immediately think of isolating the car freshener as a variable that could potentially contribute to your allergic symptoms. Yet — if the car air freshener is indeed the culprit — identifying the specific element you’re allergic to can inform your future decisions regarding car scents.
Many people mistakenly assume that an allergic reaction indicates the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other harsh chemicals. Some synthetic car air fresheners indeed contain harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, petrochemicals, or dichlorobenzene. However, allergic reactions can stem from otherwise harmless natural substances, like grass or gluten.
How Do You Know if You’re Allergic to Car Air Fresheners?
Most allergic reactions to car air fresheners include itchy eyes, a stuffy or runny nose, sneezing and coughing, headaches, and rashes. In essence, your immune system flares up in response to whatever allergens are present, and these are typical results. Although it may seem obvious after the fact, recognizing that you’re having an allergic reaction to a car air freshener — at the moment — may be difficult to detect.
The trouble is that you could be having these allergic reactions in response to something else in your environment. You might chalk up your symptoms as stress-related, fatigue, or something else entirely. It’s likely only after you don’t feel yourself for an extended period that you start looking into your symptoms.
Natural Alternatives to Traditional Car Air Fresheners
One easy way to identify if you’re allergic to your new car air freshener is to try a natural alternative and see if you get the same results. Popular natural alternatives include baking soda and coffee grounds, along with the following:
- Lemon or citrus peels
- Activated charcoal
- Vinegar spray
- Dried herbs or flowers
- Beeswax sachets
- Natural ventilation
Although these car air freshener alternatives may help you narrow down the cause of your allergic reaction, they struggle to achieve the same scentscape as traditional car air fresheners. Buying and placing scented sachets in your vehicle can help neutralize odors. However, many of these products fail to help create the scented oasis you’re looking for in your car.
How to Choose the Best Car Air Freshener and Avoid Allergies
In most cases, determining if you’re allergic to a car air freshener requires some trial and error. You must keep track of your symptoms and the circumstances in which they occur to compare similarities and narrow down the possibilities to the car air freshener only. Testing a single product for a short time can help you keep the variables to a minimum until you figure out if you’re allergic or not.
There’s also a fine line between being sensitive to a scent and having an allergic reaction. Sensitivity to a car air freshener tends to increase the more you’re exposed to it, but an allergic reaction tends to happen rather quickly. Both can be inconvenient and incur the same result: discontinued use of that particular car air freshener.
If you’re still determined to find a car air freshener you’re not allergic to, opt for fragrance-free products or those with clean ingredients. If your allergies persist, make an appointment to speak with your doctor about your concerns and ask for recommendations or suggestions.
Traditional Car Air Fresheners vs. Drift Luxury Car Fresheners
Traditional car air fresheners often use synthetic blends and harsh chemicals, but Drift’s signature scents incorporate clean, natural ingredients. Our carefully curated essential and fragrance oil blends are free from phthalates, parabens, mineral oils, DEA, formaldehyde, petroleum, propylene, dichlorobenzene, and other harsh chemicals. Some of our most popular scents include:
Drift’s refined formula is cruelty-free, vegan, and kid- and pet-friendly. Our Wood, Stone, and Metal car air fresheners are made from sustainably sourced materials, including alder wood, organic stone, and alloy metal. Designed to last for up to 30 days, our premium car air fresheners retain their scent when sealed and stored out of direct sunlight.
When you’re ready to install your new Drift luxury car freshener, simply remove the scent block from its packaging. Place it on the side of the provided metal visor clip with the squared edge, the “Drift” logo facing outward. Then, install the visor clip in your car to enjoy sumptuous scents for weeks to come.
Drift Car Air Fresheners: Clean and Allergy-Friendly Scents
Determining the link between car air fresheners and allergies can require some detective work. However, Drift’s clean ingredients and sustainably sourced materials make our exclusive car air fresheners ideal for those with allergies. Explore our deluxe car air fresheners to choose a scent that best suits your vehicle — and your immune system.
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