Many students have experienced the difficulty of learning while suffering from a migraine or severe headache.

Migraines are caused by multiple factors. For example, some people get migraines from exposure to  bright or flashing lights, from lack of sleep, from shortage of calorie or caffeine intake or from exposure to strong smells.

Students who are self conscious of body odors often spray perfume or Axe body spray all over themselves. People who are sensitive to smells can get migraines from the odors. Some students may even have asthma or allergies to these products.

According to Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute, “Migraines affects 2%-5% of children below the age of 12 and increases to 10% by late adolescence. The percentage of children with frequent or severe headache rises from 1% below the age of 10 to 5% between the ages of 10-17.”

In order to reduce odor-induced migraines and allergy or asthma-related sickness at McIntosh, the use of perfume and body cologne at school should be banned.

Also, students should be made aware of these health-related issues and restrict themselves to a limited amount of perfume or body spay in the morning before arriving at school.