Lots of migraine sufferers cite strong smells as a trigger for their migraines, and osmophobia (a dislike of smells) is a common symptom of migraine. Common migraine-triggering smells include (but sadly are by no means limited to); perfume, cologne, cleaning products, petrol, and strong food smells.
This sensitivity to smells can be difficult to cope with when faced with environments over which sufferers have no control. Everyday situations can become a problem in the blink of an eye. For example, a train journey could be fine one minute, then definitely not the next, when one passenger decides to paint their nails. Nail polish fumes = migraine. Or your office cleaner starts to use strong-smelling cleaning products and then suddenly going to work becomes a nightmare. If this sounds familiar then a new invention from Panasonic Avionics could be music to your ears.
Nanoe is the company’s new deodorising technology, which the Panasonic Avionics team is hoping to install in airplanes in the near future. Nanoe is a small, inconspicuous device which uses water to neutralise smells. “It creates electrostatic water particles – nanoparticles – that are about 15,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, so they easily penetrate clothes and fabrics. They basically encapsulate the odours and contaminants,” Gary Kaplan, product marketing manager for Panasonic Avionics, explained. According to reports it also acts quickly. The claim is that Nanoe can obliterate any unwanted smells in ninety seconds or less.
So, while Nanoe may have been designed with the mass market in mind, it sounds like it could be a helpful piece of upcoming technology for migraine sufferers.
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