Fragrances and asthma/allergies

For any pulmonologist I have seen - I have asthma - the intake questionnaire asks if I have ever been exposed to fumes. The answer is yes, when I worked. Yesterday I was exposed to a horrible perfume that seemed as if the wearer had bathed herself in gasoline. I am sick and tired of people forcing me to smell something that they “enjoy” when they need to be using it “in bed” and showering off when they are done. I am still freaked by the asthma attack I had. I have decided to just start being as insulting verbally as perfume wearers are by wearing that garbage smell, for the most part, and tell them they have BO.

I guess I wasn’t clear but I was in a health care providers office. I did say something and I was firm. I won’t ever see that person again. I waited outside until the provider called me in when she was ready for me.

I was diagnosed with COPD and asthma many years ago, I also have problems with fragrances but even allergies to environmental toxins. On days when the air is heavy with moisture I’ll feel my chest get tight and then the coughing starts, too much dust will also do the trick, sometimes I will react to something unknown and there’s no obvious smell to determine what it is. I find that wearing my mask outside is fairly helpful but definitely not perfect.

Hi Frouke,
That's too bad that you have those problems! That must be very hard to deal with. My nose is very sensitive to odors and dust and also my husband with his lung cancer had a problem with that sort of thing too. Whenever we went shopping or to a doctor's appointment we would put an antibiotic cream like Neosporin in our noses before we left the house. It helped to keep out smells, dust and germs. Also it helped a lot in the parking garages with all their fumes. It didn't always work but it was better than nothing. We tried wearing a mask but it just made us feel claustrophobic and unable to breathe. However, the time that my dentures broke and I had to be without teeth for a time in public the mask worked great and didn't affect my breathing! Maybe that was just my pride! It's hard to know what will work and when but when I find something that does work I just keep using it.
PML

For any pulmonologist I have seen - I have asthma - the intake questionnaire asks if I have ever been exposed to fumes. The answer is yes, when I worked. Yesterday I was exposed to a horrible perfume that seemed as if the wearer had bathed herself in gasoline. I am sick and tired of people forcing me to smell something that they “enjoy” when they need to be using it “in bed” and showering off when they are done. I am still freaked by the asthma attack I had. I have decided to just start being as insulting verbally as perfume wearers are by wearing that garbage smell, for the most part, and tell them they have BO.

PML, It’s definitely a tough thing to deal with, today we have so many allergens in our environment so that makes it difficult to deal with, we get smoke days that come from places quite far away but the wind blows everything everywhere, I don’t feel well using antihistamines so it’s not an option. I worry so much about my survival, I live in a large high rise apartment and if I open my window I immediately smell tobacco or even marijuana drifting into my home so I keep them closed, sometimes I can smell tobacco even when they’re closed because it seeps through the walls and floors, it’s an old building. I’m a lung cancer survivor and so I will get very depressed due to the pollution because it makes me feel hopeless, I do my best to take care of myself but I feel defeated and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Hi Frouke,
I'm sorry that you have to cope with tobacco and marijuana odors! That's really bad especially with lung cancer. When the smells come into your home, you might just try heating a pan of water sprinkled with cinnamon on the stove. The cinnamon smell will go all over and get rid of or mask the bad smells. I've tried this before and it really works good. Another thing I do is put Mentholatum in my nose. Mentholatum is not an antihistamine. I put it in my nose on Monday mornings when I would be out gardening in the summer and the maintenance guy in the apartments behind my mobile home would be leaf blowing with a strong gas blower. The gas fumes really bothered me but with the Mentholatum in my nose I didn't smell them.

I know it's hard to cope with all this pollution. It can be depressing. However, when you feel depressed just pray to God and ask for his help. It doesn't have to be a formal prayer. Just talk to him like he's your best friend and he is! I talk to God several times a day. Since my husband died in July I don't have anyone else to talk to. I'm going to be 79 in May and everyone I knew or was related to have all died too. The nice thing about talking to God is that he often answers my prayers.
I wish you the best. If you ever feel like talking, I'm here.
PML

Hi PML, you’re a very nice person and you always have kind words to offer, I thank you for the good tips to help cope with the invasive odours, I also use lemons for odours and allergens…survival is an ongoing thing and it’s tough sometimes as you well know losing your husband, I do pray and talk to God and sometimes I feel safe in doing so, take care and be safe.

What is the respirator you refer to?

@carculmer I was talking about a respirator for particulate and fumes that you buy at a hardware store. It is a flexible mask that covers your face with 2 felt discs on the sides. Mine is made by 3M. It would attract a lot of attention if people saw it. It has flap vents that open and close for exhalation. It is easier to wear an N95 mask, but that won’t stop solvents or fragrances. It may help a little.