Fragrances and asthma/allergies

I agree. With COPD scents are horrible. I was just in the hospital for a few days and the staff all wear heavy perfumes. I had to mention it to the charge nurse but shouldn’t have to.

@drsharon - sadly, though I should "know better," I think I'm a stubborn mule in a way and have hesitated to get rid of every single product with even mild fragrance in my house.

I guess this is cause 1) it's expensive to just throw stuff away that you bought, 2) my brain doesn't want to admit that I'm "that allergic" and 3) I know going to only unfragranced products severely limits my choices and likely ups my costs, too.

@lisalucier Hi Lisa, It sounds like a smart move. I find I’m getting more sensitive to smaller exposures. I hated throwing out the scented candles but at this point, my house is clear of everything and I feel better for it. Good luck!

I had another odd experience in the past few days with a fragranced gel product (one I'd deemed low fragrance and okay for me) that I used to refresh my curls the day after I washed and conditioned my hair.

I finally realized I'd been coughing almost nonstop all day, and just eating cough drops and taking cough meds. I am at the tail end of an upper respiratory infection, but this was just next level.

It ultimately dawned on me that I might be allergic/reacting to the gel in my hair. I put my hair up further from my face for a bit to try it out, and I felt better.

This then led me to go to our master bathroom to throw out any and all hair products that listed fragrance at all, even if they seemed "low fragrance" or "not really irritating" to me. The odd thing was that I could not really donate them to anyone I know, or they'd use them around me and cause me problems.

I didn't feel great about the monetary end of getting rid of these things. However, healthwise, I felt very good and like I was making a really wise decision for myself. I am now down to very few hair products that are totally unfragranced that I can use, but I guess, so be it.

I have a fragrance allergy, however it is strange it only affects my scalp. It will get red, scab up and itch. One time I used Bath and Body Works shampoo and conditioner. Whoa, man I really got a huge rash in my arm pit. It was awful. It took 3 months for that rash to go away. I even have a scar from the medication I used there. My dermatologist said for me to never use Bath and Body Works products as they are heavily fragranced. I found out thru testing that I was allergic to fragrances. I have worn perfume in the past on my wrists and neck and never gotten a reaction, which is weird. I no longer wear perfume, as I realize it is a bunch of chemicals you are putting on your body. It is not good for your body or the environment. I wish there were more products in the hair aisle at pharmacies, grocery stores, etc... that are fragrance free. I find a few of them, seems like there should be a lot more. I take my shampoo and conditioner to the hair salon with me. Majority of places will allow me to bring it in, only 1 or 2 I have found have said No, they have to use their products. When that happens, I refuse the shampoo part of it, they just wet it down before they cut it. At salons, there are no shampoos that are fragrance free. I found one in Columbus that was gluten free, lol! I went there and it was great! I have gone to being fragrance free for my lotion, skin care. I think a lot of people open a bottle of shampoo at the store and want to smell it to see if it smells good. That is why companies put the fragrance in there as a lot of people want to smell good or their hair smell good. What people don't realize is all the chemicals in the fragrances aren't good for the environment or your health/body. I feel sorry for people like the poster here that has problems with breathing when there are fragrances being used in the room, car or on your body. For those people, I would say wear a mask. I have severe allergies with grass, pollen, mold, trees, ragweed. I can't be outdoors for long, as I start sneezing and having issues. I wear a mask majority of the time outdoors and it has helped tremendously. If I am going to a park for a long walk or going to an amusement park or something like that where I will be outside all day. I usually wear a heavy-duty mask- N95 or a mask with a filter in it. If I am going to the grocery store or to run an errand, then I use the cheapy masks or thinner masks. You can buy some really cute masks online that are fabric with designs. I also have an immune deficiency, so I am immunocompromised. I wear my mask when I am around a lot of people, so I won't get sick.
I don't believe people understand immune deficiencies or maybe some people do if a friend or family member has one. It is similar to cancer, type a deal. Cancer is way worse! My life expectancy is lower because of it. I do weekly infusions, called Subcutaneous injections. A nurse trained me for 3 weeks on how to use my pump and perform my weekly infusions and storage of my medicine, etc... My medicine is stored in the refrigerator. It is antibodies from other people. When you go to give plasma, that is what it is used for. It goes into a big "pool" of antibodies from many different people. They filter it of course, to get out anything not good. Then, the manufacturer takes that and adds other medicine to it to help protect me from Covid, the flu, rsv, and other diseases out there in the community. My antibodies are no good, my body doesn't produce antibodies that work. Your body is interesting, your cells go to "war" to protect you. Most people, your body will do what it is suppose to do, the cells will attack the virus/infection,etc... and you get better or get better with medication. Well, I get anywhere from 6-8 sinus infections a year. It is crazy, I have had to take up to 4 antibiotics to clear up 1 sinus infection. I don't heal well, when I get a cut, scrape, it takes longer for me to see a difference. It is frustrating. After infusions, I now get around 3-4 sinus/ear/upper respiratory infections a year. The infusions do help me. There's no cure for immune deficiencies, only medication to help the symptoms and for me to have less infections in a year. My infusions last about 1 1/2 hours. I have a cart with all my supplies in it. My medications are from a mail order type speciality pharmacy and they send me all the supplies as well. As a result of taking so many antibiotics/steroids and other over the counter medications, nose sprays, etc.... my eyes are taking a "hit". My eye Dr is watching me for glaucoma, don't have a diagnosis of it yet. They see signs of it, which is frustrating, I don't want that. Steroids aren't good for me, as that is what is causing the glaucoma. Dr's prescribe steroids to help, however the side effect is my eyes, it causes problems for your eyes. I have "cupping" they tell me. I'm praying about the situation. I have a silent disability, one that you can't physically and immediately see when you first meet me. Once you get to know me, then you realize I get a sick a lot. Please be understanding when people need to wear a mask, as they may have some sort of immune deficiency or other medical issues.

I have a fragrance allergy, however it is strange it only affects my scalp. It will get red, scab up and itch. One time I used Bath and Body Works shampoo and conditioner. Whoa, man I really got a huge rash in my arm pit. It was awful. It took 3 months for that rash to go away. I even have a scar from the medication I used there. My dermatologist said for me to never use Bath and Body Works products as they are heavily fragranced. I found out thru testing that I was allergic to fragrances. I have worn perfume in the past on my wrists and neck and never gotten a reaction, which is weird. I no longer wear perfume, as I realize it is a bunch of chemicals you are putting on your body. It is not good for your body or the environment. I wish there were more products in the hair aisle at pharmacies, grocery stores, etc... that are fragrance free. I find a few of them, seems like there should be a lot more. I take my shampoo and conditioner to the hair salon with me. Majority of places will allow me to bring it in, only 1 or 2 I have found have said No, they have to use their products. When that happens, I refuse the shampoo part of it, they just wet it down before they cut it. At salons, there are no shampoos that are fragrance free. I found one in Columbus that was gluten free, lol! I went there and it was great! I have gone to being fragrance free for my lotion, skin care. I think a lot of people open a bottle of shampoo at the store and want to smell it to see if it smells good. That is why companies put the fragrance in there as a lot of people want to smell good or their hair smell good. What people don't realize is all the chemicals in the fragrances aren't good for the environment or your health/body. I feel sorry for people like the poster here that has problems with breathing when there are fragrances being used in the room, car or on your body. For those people, I would say wear a mask. I have severe allergies with grass, pollen, mold, trees, ragweed. I can't be outdoors for long, as I start sneezing and having issues. I wear a mask majority of the time outdoors and it has helped tremendously. If I am going to a park for a long walk or going to an amusement park or something like that where I will be outside all day. I usually wear a heavy-duty mask- N95 or a mask with a filter in it. If I am going to the grocery store or to run an errand, then I use the cheapy masks or thinner masks. You can buy some really cute masks online that are fabric with designs. I also have an immune deficiency, so I am immunocompromised. I wear my mask when I am around a lot of people, so I won't get sick.
I don't believe people understand immune deficiencies or maybe some people do if a friend or family member has one. It is similar to cancer, type a deal. Cancer is way worse! My life expectancy is lower because of it. I do weekly infusions, called Subcutaneous injections. A nurse trained me for 3 weeks on how to use my pump and perform my weekly infusions and storage of my medicine, etc... My medicine is stored in the refrigerator. It is antibodies from other people. When you go to give plasma, that is what it is used for. It goes into a big "pool" of antibodies from many different people. They filter it of course, to get out anything not good. Then, the manufacturer takes that and adds other medicine to it to help protect me from Covid, the flu, rsv, and other diseases out there in the community. My antibodies are no good, my body doesn't produce antibodies that work. Your body is interesting, your cells go to "war" to protect you. Most people, your body will do what it is suppose to do, the cells will attack the virus/infection,etc... and you get better or get better with medication. Well, I get anywhere from 6-8 sinus infections a year. It is crazy, I have had to take up to 4 antibiotics to clear up 1 sinus infection. I don't heal well, when I get a cut, scrape, it takes longer for me to see a difference. It is frustrating. After infusions, I now get around 3-4 sinus/ear/upper respiratory infections a year. The infusions do help me. There's no cure for immune deficiencies, only medication to help the symptoms and for me to have less infections in a year. My infusions last about 1 1/2 hours. I have a cart with all my supplies in it. My medications are from a mail order type speciality pharmacy and they send me all the supplies as well. As a result of taking so many antibiotics/steroids and other over the counter medications, nose sprays, etc.... my eyes are taking a "hit". My eye Dr is watching me for glaucoma, don't have a diagnosis of it yet. They see signs of it, which is frustrating, I don't want that. Steroids aren't good for me, as that is what is causing the glaucoma. Dr's prescribe steroids to help, however the side effect is my eyes, it causes problems for your eyes. I have "cupping" they tell me. I'm praying about the situation. I have a silent disability, one that you can't physically and immediately see when you first meet me. Once you get to know me, then you realize I get a sick a lot. Please be understanding when people need to wear a mask, as they may have some sort of immune deficiency or other medical issues.