Nikhil S

Resident Reviewer
Death by Oud, And resetting the Oudometer

Sometimes my obssession for Oud takes a harmful turn. I get overexcited at times and tend to go on oud sniffing marathon pushing the very limits of my sniffing capabilities. It usually happens when its slightly humid and the nasal fatigue sets in fast. Also some oils cause fatigue faster like Hindis and some dont cause at all. The nearer you apply to your nose more chances of getting fatigued faster. All these factors combined and a rainbow of region profiles on my skin each causing additional individual fatigues finally leads to a stage which I call "Death by Oud" LOL. I dont know how many of you have gone through this weird phenomenon. Even the moat pleasant Oud after that stage causes a stingy ammoniacal/acidic odour which starts burning the mucosa of the sinuses ;and if wrist is brought closer burning of eyes. It happens most when I am wearning the greenish oils esp wallapatta/gyrinops/kinam oils. So, from a stage of oud ecstasy things turn into a complete aversion of Oud :-( within hours/days.

But luckily this is not as intense as one which happens with perfumes. The "Death by cologne" can cause dry cough, dizziness, fever and allergic reactions. It happened to me once where I had to take intravenous steroids to save myself.

However, with Ouds I have found 2 solutions that work for me in such a disheartening scenario. Hindi Oud...lol...yes swiping a heavily funky hindi causes immediate relaxation of the nasal mucosa. Next, is complete abandon of any scented body product for a day or two. Even light airy citrus saprays help to recover.

For avoiding such headaches in the longer run one can perform nasal saline wash or the traditional ayurvedic "jal neyati". Where u mix some baking soda and mountain salt in lukewarm water and use the neti pot specifically designed for irrigation (Amazon etc should help). It helps so much.

Post-recovery I use very tiny amounts of oil to lower my sniffing threshold. Even with tiny amounts only applied to above-wrists you get nice non-fatiguing whiffs of your favorite Oud. This downgrading of the sensory receptors is one tiny secret to enjoy even the tiniest samples of your non-replenishing Oud legends for a lomg long time :). I would love to know if someone else has experienced such self induced olfactory trauma before ? :)
 
Last edited:

Youssef

Oud Fan
Death by Oud, And resetting the Oudometer

Sometimes my obssession for Oud takes a harmful turn. I get overexcited at times and tend to go on oud sniffing marathon pushing the very limits of my sniffing capabilities. It usually happens when its slightly humid and the nasal fatigue sets in fast. Also some oils cause fatigue faster like Hindis and some dont cause at all. The nearer you apply to your nose more chances of getting fatigued faster. All these factors combined and a rainbow of region profiles on my skin each causing additional individual fatigues finally leads to a stage which I call "Death by Oud" LOL. I dont know how many of you have gone through this weird phenomenon. Even the moat pleasant Oud after that stage causes a stingy ammoniacal/acidic odour which starts burning the mucosa of the sinuses ;and if wrist is brought closer burning of eyes. It happens most when I am wearning the greenish oils esp wallapatta/gyrinops/kinam oils. So, from a stage of oud ecstasy things turn into a complete aversion of Oud :-( within hours/days.

But luckily this is not as intense as one which happens with perfumes. The "Death by cologne" can cause dry cough, dizziness, fever and allergic reactions. It happened to me once where I had to take intravenous steroids to save myself.

However, with Ouds I have found 2 solutions that work for me in such a disheartening scenario. Hindi Oud...lol...yes swiping a heavily funky hindi causes immediate relaxation of the nasal mucosa. Next, is complete abandon of any scented body product for a day or two. Even light airy citrus saprays help to recover.

For avoiding such headaches in the longer run one can perform nasal saline wash or the traditional ayurvedic "jal neyati". Where u mix some baking soda and mountain salt in lukewarm water and use the neti pot specifically designed for irrigation (Amazon etc should help). It helps so much.

Post-recovery I use very tiny amounts of oil to lower my sniffing threshold. Even with tiny amounts only applied to above-wrists you get nice non-fatiguing whiffs of your favorite Oud. This downgrading of the sensory receptors is one tiny secret to enjoy even the tiniest samples of your non-replenishing Oud legends for a lomg long time :). I would love to know if someone else has experienced such self induced olfactory trauma before ? :)

So Informative! I will definitely be calm with my sniffing in the future to avoid this. Thanks!
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
This is an old thread...however it is new to me so therefor it is new.
I must say that some Oudhs can cause me a skin irritation at times. A few drops of a particular Oudh can cause me to have terrible itchy skin for a few days after applying. A shame really cause it has a lovely scent. Now I mostly apply it to my clothes instead.....
 
This is an old thread...however it is new to me so therefor it is new.
I must say that some Oudhs can cause me a skin irritation at times. A few drops of a particular Oudh can cause me to have terrible itchy skin for a few days after applying. A shame really cause it has a lovely scent. Now I mostly apply it to my clothes instead.....
Most likely contact dermatitis, the skin will defend itself against strong substances.
One should always be mindful of how much essential oils to apply, and to what concentrations.
Of course most ouddicts like their oud straight, rather than diluted.
I switched to swiping on my palms for a while, or taking breaks from daily swiping.
 

Mustafa

True Ouddict
This is an old thread...however it is new to me so therefor it is new.
I must say that some Oudhs can cause me a skin irritation at times. A few drops of a particular Oudh can cause me to have terrible itchy skin for a few days after applying. A shame really cause it has a lovely scent. Now I mostly apply it to my clothes instead.....
I had the same issue mate. and it started all on a sudden. One day I noticed rashes at places where I apply my favorate oud. like wrist, back of the hand. earloaps etc. So I had to come up with a new strategy. Last thing I want is to stop using oud. So now I apply oud on areas where it doesn't cause any irritation. After lot of experimentation I found the best place to apply is end of your palm where it meets the wrist. You have to apply it on the tough skin around that joint and not the soft skin. Specially where your thumb meets your wrist. This area is less sensitive and doesn't give me itchy skin. The other area where I can apply oud without any worries is my beard. This works wonders. I get a scent bubble which I can enjoy for long time. However, at certain point you will go Nose-dead and won't feel the smell from the beard. thats when you need to sniff your wrist. How it works for you.
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
I had the same issue mate. and it started all on a sudden. One day I noticed rashes at places where I apply my favorate oud. like wrist, back of the hand. earloaps etc. So I had to come up with a new strategy. Last thing I want is to stop using oud. So now I apply oud on areas where it doesn't cause any irritation. After lot of experimentation I found the best place to apply is end of your palm where it meets the wrist. You have to apply it on the tough skin around that joint and not the soft skin. Specially where your thumb meets your wrist. This area is less sensitive and doesn't give me itchy skin. The other area where I can apply oud without any worries is my beard. This works wonders. I get a scent bubble which I can enjoy for long time. However, at certain point you will go Nose-dead and won't feel the smell from the beard. thats when you need to sniff your wrist. How it works for you.
I thank you for that Mustafa....I shall experiment....the issue only seems to be certain Oudhs....but for the most part I think I am fine. The end of the palms is a good idea.....
Again thank you...
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
Most likely contact dermatitis, the skin will defend itself against strong substances.
One should always be mindful of how much essential oils to apply, and to what concentrations.
Of course most ouddicts like their oud straight, rather than diluted.
I switched to swiping on my palms for a while, or taking breaks from daily swiping.
When I am in work I am always washing my hands as I work on an ICU ward. However I think it may only be certain Oudhs....stuff I bought in my earlier days, when I wasn't sure what to buy...they may very well have substances in them other then natural Oudh.....
Thanks again for your post!
 
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