Published on 12, July, 2020
Does any one else suffer from this? I find all my senses are highly tuned, there are some fabrics and surfaces I can't touch, I can't use most cosmetics, laundry and household products, I fond them overwhelming and they either make me wheeze or give me contact dermatitis. Going out is a poroblem because of noise and smells, everybody seems to stink of various laundry products, cosmetics and febreeze, that stuff really takes my breath away.
Another big one is light, I can control it in the house, with curtains, lamps etc, but not outside, I dont' find sunglasses that helpful as they're usually not dark enough, I tried asking an optitian for help and they didn' tunderstand and got shitty with me for asking for reactions lenses with plain glass.
Our senses are meant to help perceive the world and its possible dangers. Sometimes we might also be highly sensitive to something which others aren't and this can be grown into a potential, like differentiating types of wood or clay through just smell.
By any chance are you colourblind? It's been found that those who are use their rods with more dynamic range than those who aren't. In our eyes, we use rods at night, the "shutter speed" of these are slower to adjust to light, while our cones are for seeing colours. Most have 3 cones, but some have 4, and these individuals can really see nuance of colour much better. While some of this really hasn't been given the attention and research needed, it does appear like colour blind individuals can see better at night and most likely tap into a further range of infrared than most, giving them better contrast.
Now, LEDs and other sources of artificial light (not heat-based) Lack infrared. For everyone who is sensitive to light, I suggest having a few halogens at night in the home (if you don't already). Sometimes the halogen heaters are good, combining heat + light, less expensive as a heat source than most other portable heaters and with a bonus of light.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), have a whole science/chemistry as to why they should affect all biology. Autistics do not dull our senses like our NT peers. There's a few biological reasons for this. This article explains how bad scented products can be: https://oneseedperfumes.com/blogs/news/world-environment-day-why-your-perfume-may-be-polluting-more-than-your-car and at the bottom of this page is a link to all the research behind it.
Just because others do not smell these doesn't mean they won't have an affect on most humans in one way or another. A person may become gravely ill from not being able to smell the difference between 2 similar mushrooms - one toxic, the other a culinary delight. My landlord couldn't smell an electrical fire and wouldn't believe I had an issue until he brought 2 young technicians in. "Sick building syndrome" is a way of pathologising someone who has been living or working in a building with volatile compounds which are harmful to the point they've put someone in hospital.
As for fabrics, I started examining what my clothes were made from as I noticed some I tended to sweat in some, while others I didn't. It turns out Polyester's and nylons are by-products of petroleum, tiny "micro" plastic thread. The human skin cannot "breathe" coated in plastic. We don't breathe through our skin, but it's a way of expressing what's happening at a biological micro-level. I've since just bought only natural fibres where I can. But I started thinking about this after a friend had breast cancer and was told to never wear unnatural fibre bras. Some autistics dislike scratchy wool, but there are so many different types! And some wools like cashmere and marino are incredibly soft. Wool is one of the best natural temperature regulating fibres. Because of this, even though I might notice a more rough wool, the way my whole body reacts to it internally, makes it enjoyable to wear. But this took a moment to think about.
Hopefully this helps! We are sensory beings. If you're interested, there is a scientific explanation for almost all things we sense-perceive which we like or dislike, including food.
I am aware of some of the science behind VOC's. I'm not colour blind, I seem to see a wider range of colours than many people.. The page from Rosiemod wasn't helpful as it was just a general thing about visiting opticians, rather than the specifics of light sensitivity..
I wonder if you might have 4 cones. It does seem that deep water sea creatures have a much greater number of cones than humans and live in this incredible darkness. It could be worth looking into and also looking into other animals who have additional cones (to see UV, for instance) and how they live.
I'd get peach tinted and polarised goggles, if it were me personally. Something steampunk maybe :)
I'm a piceas so maybe I do have sea creature eyes, lol, I used to be able to see perfectly well in very low light levels, I still can to an extent, but not as well as I used to be able too.