If you are sick of being sick this winter, you are not alone. Flu season started early in the more populous parts of the United States, Canada and the U.K., with several urban centers reporting up to six times the normal number of confirmed influenza cases by late December 2010. Doctors and heath practitioners in North America are also seeing more viral gastroenteritis and strep throat cases this year. Vaccine numbers are down, hospital admissions for children and the elderly in many areas are up, and with all the storms and frigid temperatures some of us have experienced, we’re trapped inside our homes, schools and workplaces with miserable, germy companions. My extended family spent the holidays passing around a virulent Norovirus. The infection casualties totaled 21 people. Since then my household has seen one bout of hacking cough, two solid weeks of influenza (four consecutive cases, with the result that I also came down with cabin fever), an infant ear infection, two cases of eczema and one four-year-old who apparently needs more liquids and fiber in her diet. The heat rash and insect bites of summer can’t come soon enough.

Being a perfumista doubles the despondency of a stuffed nose. Two or three days last month, I was unable to smell anything properly and I was bereft. During a voluntary fragrance break, you still have access to other scented comforts: food, fresh air, scotch whisky. The last few bad colds I’ve had have served to remind me how much I’ve come to rely on my sense of smell to give color and focus to each day. Every time the congestion has passed, even if I’m still suffering from other symptoms, I’ve returned to my life and my perfume cabinet with glee and relief. The world is in HD again.

There are a number of different approaches to perfuming your convalescence…

Read the rest of this article »