Asthma Community

Hugs, I can totally relate to your story. Odors are my worst triggers as well.

I found that getting all other triggers countrolled is helpful in controling my reactions to odors. I also use an airfilter at work.

Using a small fan to blow air away from me is helpful when I have to work with a "toxic cloud". A room size filter helps as well.

I am blessed as many people in my office deal with similar issues either themselves or a family member. A few people wear too much fragrance, but not in my area. There are a few people that burn candles which bother me a lot, particularly when they are extinguished. I asked the person closest to me to use a snuffer and seal the smoke in. She was very cooperative.

One of the biggest problem I have is the cleaning staff putting scented trash bags in my trash can, even though I put lables on them that say "fragrance free bags only". I solved that by emptying my own trash. That is a small price to pay to have as healthy work environment as I can get.

I always took the aproach that it is my illness, so it is my responsibility to do as much as I can to controll my attacks as I can. There were times that I did have to get help avoiding triggers (cinnamon based airfresheners had to go). I try to make sure that I take all my medications on time to reduce reactivity. I also pre-treat with albuterol before I go in to work. That will get me through the morning. By afternoon, most people's fragrances have faded enough that I don't need more medication - re-sprayers and lotions excepted.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful. At least you know that you are not alone.

Let me know if I can help you more.

Take care and
God bless.
Sonya

Makhad replies - "I am a Methodist preacher and am very sensitive to heavy perfumes and aftershaves. Some of the women in my congregation wear so much perfume that it closes down my nose and gives me terrible congestion. I ask them periodically to not wear so much pefume but they forget and I suppose there is little that I can do to avoid this as I cannot monitor the fragrances one wears to church.

At my church they kindly ask that others not wear cologne. It seems to work most of the time. I do think most people try not to wear it to help the music director. I wish you good luck on that.

You asked why people are so adamant about wearing their fragrances. My wife, who has sensitivities, allergies, and mild asthma, told me she heard a couple of marketing experts on NPR recently and they explained that most fragrances, even ones in cleaning products, contain stimulants that actually cause habituation and, in some cases, addiction to the fragrance. Taking away a fragrance from someone who is unwittingly hooked on it will resist giving it up. Currently, federal law protects the fragrance industry from having to list ingredients on their product labels. That's why you don't see a list of ingredients on a bottle of perfume. The industry is using that law to include such volatile organic compounds as forms of benzene, toluene, xylene (the main agent in brake cleaner spray used by auto mechanics), formaldehyde, among others in different perfumes and colognes. Not every perfume contains one or more of these sensitizing and cancer-causing compounds, but there a many that do. And it's legal. For everyone's health, this trade secrets law must be changed.

You are the second pastor I have heard of with the problem. The first one I heard about banned fragrances from services. If asomeone had too much cologne on for him, he just wouldn't go near them. The biggest problem for me was the airfreshner at church. For some reason the people who think they have to have an plug in air freshner were more important than public health, and those things pose a significant health risk to everyone. They finally switched to a different fragrance that I can handle.

I went to a Bible study where the leader addressed the situation by encouraging others to "minister" to others by not wearing cologne to the study. She would exhort people to show love for others by making the small sacrifice of not wearing fragrances so that people who suffer any of the various reactions to fragrances could come and not get sick. It was a real blessing to me because I was unable to attend church most of the time for a while. It was wonderful to have a place to worship and be fed.

God bless,
Sonya

I UNDERSTAND VARY MUCH HOW YOU FEEL,WITH ME ITS DOUBLE EDGED. WERE I,VE WORKED MY CO-WORKERS INSISED WEARING STRONG PERFUME AND SPRAY AIR FRESHENERS AROUND. SO I END UP NOT ONLY TASTING THE OFFENDING PONGS IN MY MOUTH AND THROAT. IT MAKES MY EYES, SKIN AND NOSE IRRATTED. I END UP WITH NOT BREATHING WITH SOME DIFFECULTY, I HAVE THE BONUS OF A BAD MIGRAINE . ALL BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HAVE BATH IN THE PERFUMES AND AFTER SHAVE STUFF. PITY WE HAVE TO SHARE THERE SMELLS.