I have respiratory sensitivity to common fragrance chemicals.  When trying
to pinpoint the specific chemical I was sensitized to I became very
interested in the effect fragrances have on health.  This is a definite
problem in substantial numbers of people. Unfortunately, people feel they have a 'perfect right' to use excessive perfume and to spray perfumes, particularly in shared workspace. Please support Betty Bridges in her effort
to collect information which helps people who are made ill by inconsiderate use of fragrances. Her website is informative.
This site is so very informative about hazzards and sensetivities of perfumes and chemicals.
We all need to read to understand exactly how bad the problem really is.
It also goes by the name of MCS which is (Multiple Chemical Sensetivities)

Allergy to Perfume in the Air
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Click also on my MCS Web SITE
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THE BRONCHIAL TUBES
Acute bronchitis is responsible for the hacking cough and phlegm production that sometimes accompany
an upper respiratory infection; in most cases the infection is viral in origin, but sometimes it is caused by
bacteria. If you are otherwise in good health, the mucous membrane will return to normal after you've 
recovered from the initial lung infection, which usually lasts for several days. Chronic bronchitis, like the
lung disease emphysema, is a serious long-term disorder that requires regular medical treatment. People
who have chronic bronchitis tend to be obese and lead sedentary lives, and most are heavy smokers; they
typically have emphysema as well, which accounts for some of the overlapping symptoms. If you are a
smoker and come down with acute bronchitis, it will be much harder for you to recover. Even one puff on a 
cigarette is enough to cause temporary paralysis of the tiny  hairlike cells in your lungs that are responsible
for brushing out debris, irritants and excess mucus.
If you continue smoking, you may do sufficient damage to these cells, known as cilia, to prevent them from
functioning properly, thus increasing your chances of developing chronic bronchitis. In some heavy 
smokers, the membrane stays inflamed and the cilia eventually stop functioning altogether. Clogged 
with mucus, the lungs are then vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections, which over time distort and 
permanently damage the lungs' airways.  Acute bronchitis is very common among both children and
adults. The disorder often can be treated effectively without professional medical assistance. However,
if you have severe or persistent symptoms or if you cough up blood, you should see your doctor. If 
you suffer from chronic bronchitis, you are at risk for developing cardiovascular problems as well as
more serious lung diseases and infections, so you should be monitored by a doctor.

SYMPTOMS
Acute bronchitis:
Hacking cough.
Yellow, white, or green phlegm, usually appearing 24 to 48 hours after a
cough.
Fever, chills.
Sore....ess and tightness in chest.
Some pain below breastbone during deep breathing. Some shortness of
breath.
Chronic Bronchitis:
Persistent cough producing yellow, white or green phlegm 
(for at least three months of the year, and for more than two consecutive years).
Wheezing, some breathlessness
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a discovery that may lead to new drugs, researchers have identified a molecule
that has a crucial role in causing asthma, a breathing disorder that affects 15 million Americans.

Two teams of scientists experimenting independently with laboratory mice have found that a reaction 
triggered by a molecule called interleukin-13, or IL13, is a primary element in causing the inflammation,
restricted air flow and breathing problems of asthma.

The studies appear Friday in the journal Science.

At Johns Hopkins University, researchers treated asthma-prone mice with a drug that blocks the
action of IL13.

When the mice were exposed to an allergen, a substance that normally caused asthma attacks, the animals     developed no breathing problems. Mice not treated with the IL13 blocker, however, had the inflammation
and restricted airways typical of asthma.

In another study, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco applied IL13 blocker to the
nasal passages of mice and then exposed the animals to an asthma-causing protein.

Animals treated with the IL13 blocker had few asthma symptoms, the scientists report.

The University of California team also found that another molecule  interleukin-4, or IL4, also played a role
in asthma.  But, said David Corry of the university, "IL13 may be more poten."  If the mouse experiments 
can be duplicated in humans, they could give new targets for drugs that treat asthma at the cellular level. 
Such drugs, in effect would stop an asthma reaction at its source instead of treating just the symptoms of
the disorder.
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