Perfume Makes Me Sick At Work

[artluvr09]

Today was a rough day. First i come in ready to work and i start working. Then I am asked to go upstairs so i bring the cart of books up the elevator. The elevator makes me dizzy. And what is worse it was really hot upstairs. I put like six books away then had to go back down because i was too hot and not feeling well. Then i asked if i could put the books int he elevator run downstairs and meet it at the bottom and they said yes . So i did that. Then i went back to checking books in which i liked but the lady that showed me how to do things is really nice but her perfume bothered me so much. I actually felt a little nauseous and i never feel nauseous from smells even though my nose is really sensitive. My nose was burning as well. I sat down with a fan to check more books in but still felt lightheaded, and sickish. I then just asked if i could read the manual for a little while and they said i could. It was hard.

Do any of you get sick around perfumes and cologne? How do you handle it in the workplace? There were like 3 to 4 people with strong perfumes today it made me miserable. I just hope and pray it doenst give me a migraine at work.

[Kkb1216]

Hi,

I don't like woodsy scents much. You know the musk and such. They do NOT give me a migraine. Probably because I am pretty good about sniffing other things. I carry small hand gels. I love to put them right up to my nose and get a whiff of a clean scent.

Other things that help me are mints and ginger anything. A mint can be discreetly left in your mouth during some of your books tasks I think. It's good for neutralizing scent as well as helping nausea. Ginger ale, ginger gum, ginger root, ginger something is also a good helper.

I have worn the same perfume for 20 years, and I would feel naked if I didn't have it on. It's just part of my daily routine. I am so sorry some peoples scents are driving you to feel bad. I hope you find a solution which allows you to work comfortably.

-K

[angelloz]

HELLO,

Sorry to here about the problems you had at work but it sounds like you handled it quite well. I am very sensitive to scents and they do cause migraines for me. Perfumes and petroleum are the worst. I understand it is my problem when I go out in public but it really upsets me when a nurse or assistant is wearing a strong scent when I am in a doctors office or hospital. I agree with Kkb1216, the scent of mint can really help.

[TWynnB]

Since my issues started, I am insanely sensitive to smells, many of them make me nauseous. I made my husband switch seats with me the other day at a child's event - the lady's clothes had that stale smell, he couldn't even smell it.

[artluvr09]

I am definitely going to try the mints! I love them too!

[sue1234]

I am extremely sensitive to smells, too. I get lightheaded around smells such as perfume and exhaust, amongst other things.

[pooter18]

i also get a headache and nauseous with perfumes..if there is any way to get away from the person i will..the worse is someone who smokes and then puts on a ton of perfume to try and cover up the smell..i am extremely sensitive to smells

[little_blue_jay]

Very sensitive to smells here too! I've just moved into a nice place where I'm renting a room and my landlady lives here too and she is super nice but a couple of times she's put on this super strong perfume and I've just had to retreat to my room with the door shut. Or go sit outside. After just a few whiffs I just have to go somewhere with fresh air and take a few deeeeeep lungfuls of fresh air or else I feel a headache coming on and actually start to feel disoriented, I know it sounds crazy but it's true!