Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

No one takes you seriously because you refer to people as “dousing” themselves in perfume. I think you guys honestly can’t smell most of the perfume that most people wear, you’re just smelling the people who are wearing heroic and offensive amounts of frags with strong sillage and acting like everyone who wears perfume is wearing that much.

I get it. I have a hypersensitive nose and I can probably smell better than you can. My migraines have only been triggered by perfumes that I have tried on (and I will never ever wear Tom Ford as a result). But many of us are wearing perfume in appropriate amounts and you have no idea. Not all of us are dragging monster sillage behind us. I have way, way more trouble with lawn chemicals and the repellent fug of people’s fabric softeners that permeate entire neighborhoods.

Same! Well, that and it stinks. I think it was the Noir one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These threads are so weird to me because I am definitely "scent sensitive" in that I notice smells very easily and more than others do. But I have no allergies or medical issue that make the smells affect me. I just notice them, even subtle smells, good and bad.

But I don't view that as a reason to demand other people stop wearing perfume. That's bizarre to me. I get if you have an allergy or similar and therefore can't work near someone wearing strong perfume. In that case, ask for an accommodation -- makes perfect sense (scents, ha!).

But to demand that all the old ladies at the Kennedy Center stop wearing their perfumes? To get angry about smelling someone else's perfume in a waiting room or standing on line at the post office? This just seems so controlling to me. Sometimes other people's perfume bothers me, but it's a temporary annoyance, something I notice and then forget about. I don't go home fuming about some woman on the bus and her heavy perfume.

These complaints are like eavesdropping on people and then complaining that their conversation is dull. Just move along. It doesn't concern you.

Here, this is the right answer.

I generally don’t complain but your answer is too facile. I had some guy with cologne sit next to me on the metro and I triggered an ocular migraine. Walking from the metro station to my office, my eight decreased so I only had about 5% of my field of vision by the time I reached the office. I was about to call 911–it was really scary.
And on airplanes it’s often not possible to be reseated. The flight attendants are not super helpful on this stuff. It’s almost never an issue on business flights—it’s only flying to vacation destinations.

Did you walk to the other end of the car, and change cars at the next stop?

+1 On what planet do you not move if seated next to someone on the Metro doing something that bothers you?

+2. PLEASE be the Karen who calls 911 because some dude wore cologne on public transit. Be sure to talk in great detail about your "5% vision" (are you sure it wasn't 8%?) and other details so that it can get picked up by local news and go viral.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

No one takes you seriously because you refer to people as “dousing” themselves in perfume. I think you guys honestly can’t smell most of the perfume that most people wear, you’re just smelling the people who are wearing heroic and offensive amounts of frags with strong sillage and acting like everyone who wears perfume is wearing that much.

I get it. I have a hypersensitive nose and I can probably smell better than you can. My migraines have only been triggered by perfumes that I have tried on (and I will never ever wear Tom Ford as a result). But many of us are wearing perfume in appropriate amounts and you have no idea. Not all of us are dragging monster sillage behind us. I have way, way more trouble with lawn chemicals and the repellent fug of people’s fabric softeners that permeate entire neighborhoods.

The PPs with extreme sensitivity should consider Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as part of their treatment for asthma and hypersensitivity. I'm not saying it is all in your head, but studies have showed that heighted awareness and hyperfocus on triggers can worsen symptoms, even in the absence of significant triggers. The same therapies are used with chronic pain patients (my daughter suffers from chronic pain). I am in no way suggesting that some people don't experience breathing problems and issues caused by fragrances, but sometimes, stress and anxiety about the problems can cause worse symptoms than the triggers themselves. CBT would be a management tool to complement medical management.

Here is one study:


The results of present research showed that cognitive behavioral therapy can play an important role to resolve this problem. If patients learn to use complementary treatments along with conventional and medicinal treatment, then they will be able to obtain better results and reduce substantially enforced costs to community by preventing from disease recurrence. Asthma can be affected by stress, anxiety, sadness, and suggestion, as well as by environmental irritants or allergens, exercise, and infection. It also is associated with an elevated prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders. Asthma education programs that teach about the nature of the disease, medications, and trigger avoidance tend to reduce asthma morbidity. Other promising psychological interventions as adjuncts to medical treatment include training in symptom perception, stress management, hypnosis, yoga, and several biofeedback procedures. There are many potential research avenues to consider in regards to the coexistence of asthma and anxiety. Future research should also consider 'big picture' studies, in which a number of different variables such as medication compliance, asthma self-management, quality of life, and lung function might all be examined in one investigation.

Here is another source discussing this:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/11/17/363837479/the-power-of-suggestion-could-trigger-asthma-or-treat-it

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

No one takes you seriously because you refer to people as “dousing” themselves in perfume. I think you guys honestly can’t smell most of the perfume that most people wear, you’re just smelling the people who are wearing heroic and offensive amounts of frags with strong sillage and acting like everyone who wears perfume is wearing that much.

I get it. I have a hypersensitive nose and I can probably smell better than you can. My migraines have only been triggered by perfumes that I have tried on (and I will never ever wear Tom Ford as a result). But many of us are wearing perfume in appropriate amounts and you have no idea. Not all of us are dragging monster sillage behind us. I have way, way more trouble with lawn chemicals and the repellent fug of people’s fabric softeners that permeate entire neighborhoods.

I had more sympathy for anti-perfume people before the time I was sitting on the Metro, some woman sat next to me, then loudly asked her companion across the aisle to change seats with her "because this woman's perfume is giving me a headache."

Fine, except I wasn't wearing any perfume (nor do I use any scented laundry detergent, fabric sheets, lotions, etc). After that, I just figure most anti-perfume people are nuts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, I agree with you. I get asthma and migraines from perfumes. I think that trumps other peoples desires to smell scented. And for people who say they don’t care, FYI I am in a position to promote and hire people at work, and if they wear perfume despite our scent free policy, I don’t do it. I don’t hire them, I don’t promote them, I don’t give them raises. Because I don’t want to work with them and I want them to quit. And because I think people who violate the policy are selfish jerks and will be selfish jerks in other ways if they don’t care about other people’s healths.

Please post the company. This is great, it should be public knowledge that you will deny their employee and advancement.

They are violating a company policy that is relevant to health and safety. Definitely grounds for discipline is not termination. Not getting promoted is should be the least of their worries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

We just want to weed out the weak.

+1

+2. This is ultimate Karen comment.it’s so hard to accept not being able to control other people.

Let me guess. You perfume lovers insist that everyone accommodate your emotional support dog everywhere you go. But anyone else with a health issue, tough?!

Anonymous wrote:Op, I agree with you. I get asthma and migraines from perfumes. I think that trumps other peoples desires to smell scented. And for people who say they don’t care, FYI I am in a position to promote and hire people at work, and if they wear perfume despite our scent free policy, I don’t do it. I don’t hire them, I don’t promote them, I don’t give them raises. Because I don’t want to work with them and I want them to quit. And because I think people who violate the policy are selfish jerks and will be selfish jerks in other ways if they don’t care about other people’s healths.

Please post the company. This is great, it should be public knowledge that you will deny their employee and advancement.

Anonymous wrote:Op, I agree with you. I get asthma and migraines from perfumes. I think that trumps other peoples desires to smell scented. And for people who say they don’t care, FYI I am in a position to promote and hire people at work, and if they wear perfume despite our scent free policy, I don’t do it. I don’t hire them, I don’t promote them, I don’t give them raises. Because I don’t want to work with them and I want them to quit. And because I think people who violate the policy are selfish jerks and will be selfish jerks in other ways if they don’t care about other people’s healths.

This is amazing!!!

Anonymous wrote:These threads are so weird to me because I am definitely "scent sensitive" in that I notice smells very easily and more than others do. But I have no allergies or medical issue that make the smells affect me. I just notice them, even subtle smells, good and bad.

But I don't view that as a reason to demand other people stop wearing perfume. That's bizarre to me. I get if you have an allergy or similar and therefore can't work near someone wearing strong perfume. In that case, ask for an accommodation -- makes perfect sense (scents, ha!).

But to demand that all the old ladies at the Kennedy Center stop wearing their perfumes? To get angry about smelling someone else's perfume in a waiting room or standing on line at the post office? This just seems so controlling to me. Sometimes other people's perfume bothers me, but it's a temporary annoyance, something I notice and then forget about. I don't go home fuming about some woman on the bus and her heavy perfume.

These complaints are like eavesdropping on people and then complaining that their conversation is dull. Just move along. It doesn't concern you.

If I’m standing in line behind someone who’s wearing perfume, it can trigger a migraine the last four days. It does concern me.

Op, I agree with you. I get asthma and migraines from perfumes. I think that trumps other peoples desires to smell scented. And for people who say they don’t care, FYI I am in a position to promote and hire people at work, and if they wear perfume despite our scent free policy, I don’t do it. I don’t hire them, I don’t promote them, I don’t give them raises. Because I don’t want to work with them and I want them to quit. And because I think people who violate the policy are selfish jerks and will be selfish jerks in other ways if they don’t care about other people’s healths.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

We just want to weed out the weak.

+1

+2. This is ultimate Karen comment.it’s so hard to accept not being able to control other people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

We just want to weed out the weak.

I hope you develop a serious allergy to something common.

I hope you develop self-awareness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

We just want to weed out the weak.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

We just want to weed out the weak.

I hope you develop a serious allergy to something common.