New Kid Making Me Sick-Literally :-(

[newtodaycare22]

I get migraines once or twice a month and asthma attacks once every few months. Usually different smells or foods set me off..

New African boy started on Tuesday. I can smell the different scents on his clothes (from their style of cooking). It's not overbearing at all, but it's noticeable.

Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday night-I had a migraine. Today, he came in and I had an instant asthma attack.

Ugh, what do I do

[daysofelijah]

Do you think they would be offended if you explained the situation and asked if it would be okay if you kept clothes for him to change into on arrival? I once nannied for a woman with severe scent allergies. She had me keep a set of clothes at the house and change into them when I got there, then leave them when I left and she would wash them in her special detergent.

Maybe that would help? If it were worth it for you to keep him, or else you might just have to say it's not working out. That has to be a really tough situation!

[Cat Herder]

My best advice would be to isolate the offending spice, instead of the kid.

Pick-up some cumin, saffron, sage, nutmeg, clove, berbere, cardamon, and maybe even a bit of cassava leaf. See if any set you off. They can be found relatively cheap at family dollar stores. (spelling may be off since I rarely have most of those, except clove which is AMAZING for teething pain)

That is all I can think of, but his mom may be able to help you identify any other spice/fragrance it may be.

Good luck, hun...I can hardly tolerate cigarette smoke and have to work around that alot Hopefully since spices are rarely addictive, getting mom to change a few recipes probably wont be too difficult.

[Blackcat31]

My sister is highly sensitive to certain smells as some can give her migraines too, so she puts a dab of lavender on her upper lip and she swears it drowns out any other aggrevating scent she is around. She is convinced that lavender is helpful for her migraines as well. She has also been known to use Vicks Vapor Rub too for those times she has no lavender.

[newtodaycare22]

Do you think they would be offended if you explained the situation and asked if it would be okay if you kept clothes for him to change into on arrival? I once nannied for a woman with severe scent allergies. She had me keep a set of clothes at the house and change into them when I got there, then leave them when I left and she would wash them in her special detergent.

Maybe that would help? If it were worth it for you to keep him, or else you might just have to say it's not working out. That has to be a really tough situation!

That's a decent idea...thanks!

My best advice would be to isolate the offending spice, instead of the kid.

Pick-up some cumin, saffron, sage, nutmeg, clove, berbere, cardamon, and maybe even a bit of cassava leaf. See if any set you off. They can be found relatively cheap at family dollar stores. (spelling may be off since I rarely have most of those, except clove which is AMAZING for teething pain)

That is all I can think of, but his mom may be able to help you identify any other spice/fragrance it may be.

Good luck, hun...I can hardly tolerate cigarette smoke and have to work around that alot Hopefully since spices are rarely addictive, getting mom to change a few recipes probably wont be too difficult.

That would be a great idea but, if I react to several of the spices, I'd rather not subject myself to migraines and asthma on purpose:: Sometimes I can't give the migraine for days and I'd kick myself if that was self-inflicted.

My sister is highly sensitive to certain smells as some can give her migraines too, so she puts a dab of lavender on her upper lip and she swears it drowns out any other aggrevating scent she is around. She is convinced that lavender is helpful for her migraines as well. She has also been known to use Vicks Vapor Rub too for those times she has no lavender.

Exactly the type of trick I was looking for. I'll definitely be trying that...thanks so much! And tell your sister I feel her pain!