Perfume overdoses

[Hlitner]

Have a friend who went to their first night, large table fixed sitting, only to have one lady giving off a very strong perfume scent. The lady did mention that she was allergic to perfume...but managed to get through the meal. The next night...the lady in question was still giving off lots of perfume scent. Our lady friend, being somewhat annoyed, simply said, "you reek," and got up from the table and asked the Maitre'd to please move them (which was quickly accomodated). The next night our friend noticed that the table for 8 was down to only 2 (the reeking lady and her DH). Some ladies just cannot take a hint.

 

Personally, I (and DW) are not allergic to perfumes. But we are "foodies" and oenophile and want to enjoy our food and wine. The scent of perfume quickly overwhelms the delicate taste of most food and wine. If we can smell perfume at a table, it means the person is wearing too much....and we are out of there!

 

Hank

[ghstudio]

I just assume that the ladies who put on far too much perfume are covering the fact that they never bathe. Btw, that's exactly what they did in earlier days. I quickly move away.....they should reek alone.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[myfuzzy]

Oh my gosh, I thought I was just ME!. Recently someone started a thread on cruising pet peeves and this was MINE.

 

I am severely, I thought was allergic to perfume, but someone on the board said it was an "irritant". I can't even go near those counters in the department stores. Some people just don't understand and say I am complaining about the smell, well, when I am doubled over coughing and choking, see how funny it is. The worst part I come across is especially on formal nights, the ladies who bathe in fragrance then get on the elevator, X10 different fragrances from ladies who are long gone, but leave the vapors behind. UGH. Does anyone remember the saying ......a little goes a long way...........

[phoenix_dream]

Are you for real???????????????

There is no way anyone would stop me from wearing perfume - where does it end - deodorant - aftershave - perfumed anti bac? Scented hand wipes?

Honestly - how do these people live in cities where they are enveloped in carbon-monoxide and yet complain about scents? (I live in a Biosphere btw and a dark skies park with low pollution). when I come home from a day in the city my nose hurts and my eyes stream ... THAT is traffic and city pollution....

Some people just need to stop whinging -

They have had it with smokers - now its perfume - :eek:

HONESTLY!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

 

Migraines are for real. Other bad headaches from too much scent are for real. Allergic reactions like stuffy noses, sneezing, and sinus pressure are for real. Asthma is for real. The lack of sensitivity in this response is unreal.

[luddite]

Real perfume isn't really the problem.

Drenching oneself in cheap cologne is the problem and it isn't a problem exclusive to the ladies.

 

It only takes one of these fools at the next table to ruin a meal.

[janetz]

As mentioned, a spray into the air in front of you and walk through. :)

I think as we get older, and lose some sense of smell people tend to apply scents until they can smell them on themselves.

If you can smell it you have put on too much.

[CapeCodCruiser]

My office went "scent free" at the same time they went smoke free. Maybe the time has come for ships and restaurants to do likewise.

 

That is awesome!

 

I am easily irritated by scents. Coughing, throat burning, lungs burning, headache - perfumes & colognes are some of the worst offenders.

 

If I can smell perfume at the dinner table I have to move - it just ruins the whole meal and is so rude.

 

The only scent I can handle is citrus.

[lisiamc]

I don't wear perfume on cruises, or really anywhere else these days, because I know it causes problems for some people. If I had to take a non-scientific guess, I'd guess that about five percent of the general public have serious problems, and another five percent just don't like it. Probably the other 90% are fine. Does anyone know of any studies giving the percentage of people who have severe problems with scented things?

[myfuzzy]

Are you for real???????????????

There is no way anyone would stop me from wearing perfume - where does it end - deodorant - aftershave - perfumed anti bac? Scented hand wipes?

Honestly - how do these people live in cities where they are enveloped in carbon-monoxide and yet complain about scents? (I live in a Biosphere btw and a dark skies park with low pollution). when I come home from a day in the city my nose hurts and my eyes stream ... THAT is traffic and city pollution....

Some people just need to stop whinging -

They have had it with smokers - now its perfume - :eek:

HONESTLY!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

 

How would you feel, if you were standing next to me and you started spraying perfume, and I start coughing then doubling over choking. I'm sure you would give me no sympathy.

[klfrodo]

Take away the word "perfume" and add the word "smoker" and I think I would be seeing the exact same posts and reactions from a few years ago.

[BlueRiband]

It's a losing battle, although there was an old saying regarding perfume: "A scent should be discovered, not announced."

[Janet524]

News flash...If your cologne arrives 5 minutes before you do, you're wearing too much.

[pghsteelerfan]

It's nice to FINALLY see a thread about the overuse of perfume/cologne. I have the same issue. Instant stuffiness, then the sinus pressure, followed by a severe headache (or migraine???) that lasts for hours.

 

Chemical scents = instant headache for some of us. Unfortunately the headache lasts hours after exposure to the scent. My workplace is scent free, doctor's office is scent free...it absolutely IS a real problem for quite a few people.

 

I cannot go into a candle shop, scented bath products shop, desperately avoid the laundry aisle at the grocery store.

 

I've been lucky not to run into too many perfumes on hot weather cruises.

 

For me, it's the perfume counters in major department stores. :D ...and my MIL, who uses perfume as a substitute for bathing/showering, as did a few women I used to work with. Fortunately we've been lucky with dinner mates on our cruises and when the scents are too overwhelming inside, we usually change venues or go to the upper/outer decks of the ship. Now, if something could just be done about "Pepe le Pew", the resident skunk who moved into our section of the neighborhood...nothing like the eye watering, migraine inducing smell of a skunk in the wee hours of the morning.

 

Oh my gosh, I thought I was just ME!. Recently someone started a thread on cruising pet peeves and this was MINE.

 

I am severely, I thought was allergic to perfume, but someone on the board said it was an "irritant". I can't even go near those counters in the department stores. Some people just don't understand and say I am complaining about the smell, well, when I am doubled over coughing and choking, see how funny it is. The worst part I come across is especially on formal nights, the ladies who bathe in fragrance then get on the elevator, X10 different fragrances from ladies who are long gone, but leave the vapors behind. UGH. Does anyone remember the saying ......a little goes a long way...........

 

Oh no, not just you. :) They can call it what they want, but irritant, sensitivity, trigger, allergy...it's all the same. As mentioned, I have the same issues and so does my mother and I've looked it up. Cruise lines are quickly eliminating smoking areas on their ships because of complaints that it causes health issues for some, but fragrances cause the same issues for some people as well. There are a few medical websites that list the symptoms but I don't know if it's permitted to attach a link to another website, so this is copied and pasted from that website:

 

Symptoms of fragrance sensitivity can include:

 

• Headaches.
  
• Difficulty breathing.
  
• Wheezing.
  
• A tight feeling in the chest.
  
• Worsening asthma symptoms.
  
• Runny and stuffy nose.
  
• Sneezing.
  
• A skin allergy like contact dermatitis — an itchy, red rash that appears on the skin.
  

 

And to the poster who asked if "Are you for real?"...why would we make this up? Please take the time to do a search yourself if you don't believe us.

Edited June 16, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[wwcruisers]

I also am one who loves my scents. But, early on, I was taught that "less is more". And, let's face it -- if you're paying big bucks for the good stuff, the last thing you want to do is waste it. For atomizers, I use the spray and walk through technique. Other applications are just a dab at pulse points (wrists, throat, etc). In theory, someone shouldn't be able to smell what you are wearing, unless they are close enough to hug you. Like most things in life, when it comes to scent, a little common sense and courtesy go a long way! :cool:

[fantasy51]

I react to perfume in different ways. I assume it depends on the base used in the perfume.

Sometimes I sneeze - that's okay.

Sometimes I get a headache (not a migraine) - irritating but I know it will go away.

Sometimes I start weeping for no reason at all - embarrassing. (It happened on a plane once when someone opened a jar of Body Shop body butter and started slathering it on. A steward took me to the crew quarters to get away from the smell.)

Sometimes my blood pressure drops so low that it can't even be measured on a BP monitor and I can feel intensely weary for up to 3 days afterwards. That's the real problem. I can get that from scented lilies or from some expensive perfumes.

 

I never know what scent will cause what reaction, so I try to avoid them all. I have never had a major problem on a cruise ship, luckily. I have been able to walk away or sit next to someone else at dinner. The real problem is when you encounter someone who wears their perfume like armour - to keep everyone at a distance of 3 metres! You just can't avoid it.

 

This type of multi-chemical sensitivity is becoming more common. To those who think we are whingers, instead think of us as canaries in coal mines. We are the ones whose bodies are reacting at an early stage to something that is really overloading all of us with chemical irritants. Perfume is absorbed through the skin. Increasingly, we are bombarded with perfumes as we shop and as we clean our houses and work and conduct our social lives. These chemicals are entering our bodies. Although each instance is only small, the amount of bombardment is great and growing yearly. These chemicals remain in our bodies and have effects over time. Some of us are more sensitive than others and we succumb first. We are a warning to the rest of you and that warning needs to be heeded.

 

At one point when I was teaching, I was told that if another staff member continued to wear perfume knowing that I was over-sensitive, it could be seen as assault. (I did not make a big deal of that, as it would not have been a good idea politically in that situation, but I found it interesting.)

 

I have an Australian newspaper article from 2004 (The Age, Friday, July 9). It talks of fragrance-sensitive employees in the US claiming protection under the Americans With Disabilities Act. It also claimed that in the UK Lady Mar had almost singlehandedly stopped the excessive use of perfumes and colognes in the House of Lords. (I have no corroborating information about these claims.)

 

I would be happy with people wearing perfume lightly, but not those who can be smelt at 30cm distance.

[Laurie S.]

It's not always an overuse of scent, sometimes it's the specific scent that is overpowering, such as Tabu.

[cbr663]

There are many, many scent-free workplaces and public institutions in Canada that are scent free. Most hospitals and medical facilitates are scent free. It isn't difficult to implement and is viewed as a health and safety issue in most cases.

 

My mother has a severe reaction to the chemicals that are used to produce scented products. She has gone into anaphylactic shock many times. It is the most frightening thing to witness. It is an immediate reaction and she stops breathing due to the severe and sudden swelling of her airways.

 

The less is more approach does not work for my Mom. The wearing of artificial scents by others is a life and death issue for her. Whether it is the chemicals used in perfume (cheap or expensive, it doesn't matter), moisturizers, hair spray, sun tan lotion, laundry detergent....the result is the same. This has impacted every aspect of her life from her ability to socialize with others, travel, shop, be around crowds, attend doctor's visits, wear make-up and moisturizers, to even getting her hair cut in a salon.

 

The result is that my Mom is forced to spend most of her time house bound where she is able to monitor and control her environment. So for those of you who respond, "are you for real" - the answer is most definitely, yes, we are for real. These are known dangerous chemicals that none of us have any need to use and wear, and I can tell you that when I am on the phone calling 911 for my Mom, it is very real.

Edited June 16, 2016 by cbr663

[wwcruisers]

It's not always an overuse of scent, sometimes it's the specific scent that is overpowering, such as Tabu.

 

Oh, I had forgotten about that one! I remember back in high school, the girls' locker room REEKED of Tabu and Chantilly! :eek:

 

Thinking back on it, that's when I found my mantra: "Life's too short to wear cheap perfume!" ;)

[lisiamc]

I react to perfume in different ways. I assume it depends on the base used in the perfume.

Sometimes I sneeze - that's okay.

Sometimes I get a headache (not a migraine) - irritating but I know it will go away.

Sometimes I start weeping for no reason at all - embarrassing. (It happened on a plane once when someone opened a jar of Body Shop body butter and started slathering it on. A steward took me to the crew quarters to get away from the smell.)

Sometimes my blood pressure drops so low that it can't even be measured on a BP monitor and I can feel intensely weary for up to 3 days afterwards. That's the real problem. I can get that from scented lilies or from some expensive perfumes.

 

I never know what scent will cause what reaction, so I try to avoid them all. I have never had a major problem on a cruise ship, luckily. I have been able to walk away or sit next to someone else at dinner. The real problem is when you encounter someone who wears their perfume like armour - to keep everyone at a distance of 3 metres! You just can't avoid it.

 

This type of multi-chemical sensitivity is becoming more common. To those who think we are whingers, instead think of us as canaries in coal mines. We are the ones whose bodies are reacting at an early stage to something that is really overloading all of us with chemical irritants. Perfume is absorbed through the skin. Increasingly, we are bombarded with perfumes as we shop and as we clean our houses and work and conduct our social lives. These chemicals are entering our bodies. Although each instance is only small, the amount of bombardment is great and growing yearly. These chemicals remain in our bodies and have effects over time. Some of us are more sensitive than others and we succumb first. We are a warning to the rest of you and that warning needs to be heeded.

 

At one point when I was teaching, I was told that if another staff member continued to wear perfume knowing that I was over-sensitive, it could be seen as assault. (I did not make a big deal of that, as it would not have been a good idea politically in that situation, but I found it interesting.)

 

I have an Australian newspaper article from 2004 (The Age, Friday, July 9). It talks of fragrance-sensitive employees in the US claiming protection under the Americans With Disabilities Act. It also claimed that in the UK Lady Mar had almost singlehandedly stopped the excessive use of perfumes and colognes in the House of Lords. (I have no corroborating information about these claims.)

 

I would be happy with people wearing perfume lightly, but not those who can be smelt at 30cm distance.

 

I'm not sure that I would be able to stop using scented products in the UK, as I almost never see any unscented ones. Things like hand soap, shower gel, laundry powder, deodorant, fabric softener, shampoo and hair conditioner are nearly impossible to find in unscented versions. I wonder what scent-sensitive people in the UK do to cope?

[fantasy51]

I'm not sure that I would be able to stop using scented products in the UK, as I almost never see any unscented ones. Things like hand soap, shower gel, laundry powder, deodorant, fabric softener, shampoo and hair conditioner are nearly impossible to find in unscented versions. I wonder what scent-sensitive people in the UK do to cope?

 

I live in the UK.

I buy A'kin unscented body wash and shampoo.

I use Essential Waitrose sensitive handwash.

I use Surcare products to wash my dishes and clothes.

 

It is not too difficult to find unscented products if you are motivated. There is generally at least one alternative in good supermarkets. However, I buy the A'kin products online.

 

One problem, though, is that sometimes a 'perfume masker' is used to cover up scent, and this too is a chemical!

Edited June 16, 2016 by fantasy51

[notentirelynormal]

I have an honest question, how much is "liberally?"

 

If I can smell you coming - it is too much. I am NOT sensitive to smells yet there have been times when my eyes start watering when people just walk by. Those people have to know they are wearing too much. If people start coughing when you are in an elevator together, you are wearing too much. If people move away from you at a restaurant or other public places then you are wearing too much. The signs are there. The perfume wearer knows this but doesn't seem to notice. I have been known to speak loudly to my tablemates and say something like "whoa! How can she not know her perfume is overwhelming". I know the person heard but like their perfume they don't seem to care.

[Reader0108598]

My office went "scent free" at the same time they went smoke free. Maybe the time has come for ships and restaurants to do likewise.

 

My office did the same thing ,but the people most offended by the perfume wearer, use scents themselves. They consider their scents okay:rolleyes: IE hand soaps, lotions ect ...

 

Housekeeping has bleach Wednesdays ,yep you read that right!

They come into our areas and bleach everything ,Infection control thought this was a great idea!

 

Problem is I have a major respiratory issue and was told by my pulmonologist to avoid strong cleansers.

 

I had to argue to get them to stop bleaching my area! Really!!!

 

 

Reader

Edited June 16, 2016 by Reader0108598

[sail7seas]

People wear perfume in all soret gthewaters of places...... not just crtuise ships. they go to dinnewrweddings, SHOPPINGtheater

 

Should all resTtaurants andSTORES and theaters ban perfume?

Edited June 16, 2016 by sail7seas

[klfrodo]

People wear perfume in all soret gthewaters of places...... not just crtuise ships. they go to dinnewrweddings, SHOPPINGtheater

 

Should all resTtaurants andSTORES and theaters ban perfume?

 

Yes

For public health reasons. Same as smoking ban.

[whogo]

This thread reminds of the Gilda Radner perfume sketch: