# Fragrance Sensitivity-Does Anyone Else Have This? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403 "2016-03-27T22:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/21 "2016-03-28T18:46:06Z")
I’ve never been sensitive to any fragrance as far as respiratory or headache kind of thing but a guy I worked with previously and now my current boss wear cologne that makes me want to retch. Not the same thing as what the OP suffers but it really is unpleasant. Don’t know if the two wear the same thing but it is so freaking nasty I wonder if it smells different to them or if they enjoy what I am perceiving as foul smelling. I mean, obviously they enjoy it or they wouldn’t wear it but I guess I wonder how it smells to them inside their brain / nose 😕 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/22 "2016-03-28T19:11:56Z")
Oh, I just remembered: we had a clique of women who were trying to keep their weight down by eating microwave popcorn. Every damn time I went into the break room, someone would have made a bag of popcorn. The kind with the fake butter on it. After a couple hundred times (or much less), that smell becomes the exact opposite of pleasant. You start bringing a sandwich and eating it on the dock. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/23 "2016-03-28T20:14:08Z")
For a number of years back in the day (when I was a programmer), I was incredibly sensitive to scents. Just instant screaming headache with some of them. I don’t have that issue now. I can only assume that at the time, it was yet-another stress reaction, going along with leg cramps, sleep problems, severe depression and the occasional mild ulcer or (once) shingles that I also “enjoyed” at various times during that period. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/24 "2016-03-28T20:20:10Z")
I’m really sensitive to some fragrances, but there was a period in the '90s when there were a LOT of fragrances that set me off. Certainly not all of them, but during that period there seemed to be an awful lot of them. Now, I also like to wear fragrances, and I have to be careful. I’ve nearly killed myself with Opium and in the process I got very sensitive to it, to the point where when I was in a cublcle next to a lady who wore it, I would get a rash on the side of my face closest to her cubicle. The hell of it was, I really used to like the scent (I still like the scent). ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/25 "2016-03-29T03:29:14Z")
I have a respiratory reaction to a particular hair-care product, but I don’t know which one: I can’t think of a polite way to approach someone and say “that chemical that is wafting off of you and making it impossible for me to breathe, could you tell me what it is?” It is used more by black women than white, and I have never smelled it on a man. It has a very distinctive smell, and I can’t imagine anyone finding it pleasant even if it doesn’t make their lungs close up. My father had a skin allergy to most perfumes to the point that a college friend of his who became a chemist for Johnson&Johnson would send him product samples to test their “hypoallergenic” claims. The perfume used in Original Shower-to-Shower was one he was not allergic to. My brother has apparently inherited that allergy. He can’t use scented laundry detergent, any kind of fabric softener, has had very little luck finding a deodorant he’s not allergic to, has to be picky about his brand of bath soap (Ivory is his default). ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/26 "2016-03-29T03:35:01Z")
I don’t think most of these reactions are actually allergies. I think they are just sensory overload. Exposure to constant noise or constant light causes headaches, a desire to leave, and irritability. Why not exposure to constant smells? ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/27 "2016-03-29T03:54:20Z")
> [@Mrs\_Fairway](#): > > Thank you so much for your responses, and again, my apologies on the length of the post. Nobody here is complaining about the length. Rather the complaints are about the formatting, specifically the complete lack thereof. Let’s see if I can help. > [@Mrs\_Fairway](#): > > I apologize for the length in advance… > > I have been sensitive to fragrances and/or chemicals for 20 years. It has not been a consistent issue for 15 years. I can get a headache and queasy stomach if there is a car on the road with a heavy diesel exhaust output or in Bath and Body Works, down the detergent aisle, etc. I can usually avoid situations and avert the physical symptoms. > > I have worked in my department off and on for 3 years and it just recently became an issue. I noticed it after Christmas and thought, oh someone got some perfume as a gift. Over time, it became a daily problem and then more than one person was wearing fragrance. I don’t have a problem with what I call a “normal” amount of fragrance, where only you and the people physically close to you can smell what you’re wearing. There are 3 people at work wearing so much fragrance that it fills up the room and there is no way to get away from it. After about 30 seconds, I get a headache that sometimes turns into a migraine, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, sometimes burning eyes and an itchy nose. If the fragrance fades, the symptoms will start to ease after an hour or two. > > I told my manager, who said she spoke with my co-workers but nothing has changed. I don’t know what she said to them, but I don’t think they understand they are using too much. She gave me the paperwork to ask for a Reasonable Accommodation, which means I need to fill out paperwork and get my doctor to fill out paperwork. Since this hasn’t been an issue in a long time and when it was, I lived in a different city, I don’t really see a doctor for this anymore. When I did, it was a migraine specialist. The only doctor I can find in my area (Charlotte, NC) who treats the condition cannot see me until the first week in July. He is the doctor I would want to fill out the paperwork, so I made the appointment, which will be expensive and not covered by my insurance. > > This condition (which is called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or Toxic-Induced Loss of Tolerance (TILT)) is not widely recognized by the medical community. I’m reading that many Gulf War veterans are coming home with this condition. I visited two allergists, one of whom misdiagnosed me with Vasomotor Rhinitis and prescribed two nasal sprays, which do nothing, even though I told him my primary symptoms are not respiratory. I have respirator masks, but they don’t work well with my glasses and they start to itch after 20 minutes and they seem to only delay the onset of symptoms. > > I’m not sure what my next step should be. In my experience, when the topic is broached generally, everyone assumes they are not the culprit. Or, they get very offended that someone doesn’t like their scent or is telling them they wear too much perfume. One person reapplies a scented hand lotion periodically throughout the day, so just when one headache starts to fade, it starts all over again. I’m beginning to resent my co-workers. Does anyone have any experience with this? I think that’s the best I can do without changing what you said. I think this is even better, while still capturing what you meant: [QUOTE=Reorganized by SpyOne] I have been sensitive to fragrances and/or chemicals for 20 years. This condition (which is called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or Toxic-Induced Loss of Tolerance (TILT)) is not widely recognized by the medical community. I’m reading that many Gulf War veterans are coming home with this condition. I visited two allergists, one of whom misdiagnosed me with Vasomotor Rhinitis and prescribed two nasal sprays, which do nothing, even though I told him my primary symptoms are not respiratory. I have respirator masks, but they don’t work well with my glasses and they start to itch after 20 minutes and they seem to only delay the onset of symptoms. I can get a headache and queasy stomach if there is a car on the road with a heavy diesel exhaust output or in Bath and Body Works, down the detergent aisle, etc. I can usually avoid situations and avert the physical symptoms. It has not been a consistent issue for 15 years. I have worked in my department off and on for 3 years and it just recently became an issue. I noticed it after Christmas and thought, oh someone got some perfume as a gift. Over time, it became a daily problem and then more than one person was wearing fragrance. I don’t have a problem with what I call a “normal” amount of fragrance, where only you and the people physically close to you can smell what you’re wearing. There are 3 people at work wearing so much fragrance that it fills up the room and there is no way to get away from it. After about 30 seconds, I get a headache that sometimes turns into a migraine, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, sometimes burning eyes and an itchy nose. If the fragrance fades, the symptoms will start to ease after an hour or two. One person reapplies a scented hand lotion periodically throughout the day, so just when one headache starts to fade, it starts all over again. I’m beginning to resent my co-workers. I told my manager, who said she spoke with my co-workers but nothing has changed. I don’t know what she said to them, but I don’t think they understand they are using too much. She gave me the paperwork to ask for a Reasonable Accommodation, which means I need to fill out paperwork and get my doctor to fill out paperwork. Since this hasn’t been an issue in a long time and when it was, I lived in a different city, I don’t really see a doctor for this anymore. When I did, it was a migraine specialist. The only doctor I can find in my area (Charlotte, NC) who treats the condition cannot see me until the first week in July. He is the doctor I would want to fill out the paperwork, so I made the appointment, which will be expensive and not covered by my insurance. I’m not sure what my next step should be. In my experience, when the topic is broached generally, everyone assumes they are not the culprit. Or, they get very offended that someone doesn’t like their scent or is telling them they wear too much perfume. Does anyone have any experience with this? [/QUOTE] I hope I have not offended or overstepped my bounds. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/28 "2016-03-29T06:23:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Oh, I just remembered: we had a clique of women who were trying to keep their weight down by eating microwave popcorn. Every damn time I went into the break room, someone would have made a bag of popcorn. The kind with the fake butter on it. After a couple hundred times (or much less), that smell becomes the exact opposite of pleasant. You start bringing a sandwich and eating it on the dock. The kitchen-aftermath smell of microwave popcorn often smells (to me) like someone pissed on the floor - am I alone in connecting these two aromas? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/29 "2016-03-29T06:45:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The kitchen-aftermath smell of microwave popcorn often smells (to me) like someone pissed on the floor - am I alone in connecting these two aromas? I think I’ve thought that before, [you’re not alone.](https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=popcorn+butter+smells+like+urine&oq=butter+smells+like+pe&gs_l=hp.3.0.0i22i30l10.525.9275.0.11750.26.24.2.0.0.0.199.2396.13j10.23.0.esbd%2Csrna%3D10%2Csrs%3D20%2Ccfro%3D1.2..0...1.1.64.hp..1.24.2223.0.hxK_4M0pfjk) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/30 "2016-03-29T10:00:43Z")
I don’t think I have a sensitivity, but I do have a strong revulsion to certain kinds of scents. In the 70s and 80s when I grew up, the majority of perfumes women would buy were “floral” and completely repellent to me. I could not stand them, to the point of (secretly) disliking anyone who chose to wear one. Those scents have become less prevalent since, and more organic natural (though presumably still artificial) scents became more common, so I don’t mind perfumes so much now. Scents like vanilla or lemon or raspberry, or even liquorice or aniseed, are what appeal to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Fairway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Mrs\_Fairway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Fairway)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/31 "2016-03-29T17:50:41Z")
Thank you, SpyOne, and I am not offended. I like the formatting you chose, so lesson learned. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/32 "2016-03-29T18:10:33Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > I don’t think most of these reactions are actually allergies. I think they are just sensory overload. Exposure to constant noise or constant light causes headaches, a desire to leave, and irritability. Why not exposure to constant smells? I am not convinced that “sensory overload” is apt. Some toilet water I can tolerate (my friend Susan uses an acrid perfume heavily, but I have learned to tolerate it because I love her dearly, and it seems to be not one of the more vile fragrances). I can see the analogy of the sound of a table saw shrieking through sheets of plywood as similar to the headache-inducing quality of some smells, but tolerance varies. I simply refuse to go into a place that is practicing aromatherapy or burning incense for atmos. It does not give me hives or anaphylactic shock, but it feels to me to be beyond mere sensory overload. ---
**Author:** ![Called\_Herself\_Lil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@Called\_Herself\_Lil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Called_Herself_Lil)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/33 "2016-03-29T18:23:42Z")
I’m in sales and I went to meet with a customer a few months back. I smelled his cologne/aftershave the moment I entered the front door of his business. You will never meet a nicer person than he was but I literally tasted that stuff for about an hour after leaving there. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/34 "2016-03-29T18:23:47Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > On the other hand, we have two chronic complainers who refuse to provide any medical backup who insist that perfumes, after shave, scented lotions, scented shampoo, scented cleaning products, etc. be banned. I’ve drawn the line there. Without some medical evidence of this need, I’m not going to discommode 90% of the employee base by requiring them to purchase all new unscented personal care products. Our cleaning service was able to replace all synthetically-scented cleaning products with naturally-scented ones that should not cause anyone distress. I don’t know what you mean by “naturally” scented, but I’m allergic to angiosperms, and I can’t go into a florist shop. I also need to take Benadryl before going hiking in the woods at certain times of the year. > [@Mangetout](#): > > The kitchen-aftermath smell of microwave popcorn often smells (to me) like someone pissed on the floor - am I alone in connecting these two aromas? People perceive foods differently. Meat cooking smells just like farts to me-- no I’m not kidding. It’s one of the main reasons I’m a vegetarian. YMMV greatly on artificial sweeteners. Sucralose made my life a lot better; Nutrasweet and saccharine just taste like chemicals to me, and mannitol tastes great, but gives me the runs. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/35 "2016-03-29T20:24:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This must be a pretty common problem. A lot of fragrance free products have come out in the past 15 years. We switched from “All” to “fragrance free All” right after it became available. But in fairness “All” never had a strong fragrance like other laundry soaps. Tide and Gain bothered my allergies a lot more. I don’t think it’s all that common. I think the fragrance-free market is a lot like the the gluten-free market. 5% real allergies and 95% thinking “If it’s bad for anyone anywhere, it must be bad for me.” Not that the world isn’t a better place for it. I’m not overly sensitive to scents the way the OP is, but the number of times I’ve thought “Gee, I wish this detergent had a stronger scent” is exactly 0. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/36 "2016-03-29T20:34:35Z")
My aunt’s house has some unattended smells (a few of which are informational to the resident cats). Her son has this theory that using stuff like Pine-Sol, with it powerful smell, has seared her scent receptors to the point that she no longer notices some of the stinky things. And, of course, for some people fragrances are drug-like, in that they develop tolerance. “_I cannot smell my own perfume yet, I better make sure I use enough_.” ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/37 "2016-03-29T21:53:26Z")
I have this but it arose at the same time as I started being incredibly sensitive to medications and we discovered my blood brain barrier to be faulty. I assume it is somehow related due to the timing and the severity. Your standard perfumed little old lady can crash me to the floor by mere proximity. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/38 "2016-03-30T03:15:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I can see the analogy of the sound of a table saw shrieking through sheets of plywood as similar to the headache-inducing quality of some smells, but tolerance varies. I simply refuse to go into a place that is practicing aromatherapy or burning incense for atmos. It does not give me hives or anaphylactic shock, but it feels to me to be beyond mere sensory overload. ah, but that supports my theory. The sense of smell is hard-wired into the brain in ways other senses are not. A simple whiff of a smell can trigger memories and activate parts of the brain with no input from the frontal lobe. The sense of smell is ignored in most of current society but smell aversion is not about allergies and it is very real. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/39 "2016-03-30T03:25:18Z")
> [@Mrs\_Fairway](#): > > Thank you, SpyOne, and I am not offended. I like the formatting you chose, so lesson learned. Welcome to the Dope, **Mrs Fairway**. I hope you enjoy your stay here. I have learned a lot from my fellow Dopers. Maybe you’ll continue, too. **SpyOne** thank you for reformatting the OP. Helpful. I am not fragrance sensitive but several in my choir are. The choir director frequently reminds us to go light or go without the perfumes. It is a general announcement but meant for 2 or 3 in particular. So, **Mrs Fairway** , you are clearly not alone. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403/40 "2016-03-30T04:00:51Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > ah, but that supports my theory. The sense of smell is hard-wired into the brain in ways other senses are not. A simple whiff of a smell can trigger memories and activate parts of the brain with no input from the frontal lobe. The sense of smell is ignored in most of current society but smell aversion is not about allergies and it is very real. You need to provide some serious evidence to support that claim about smell. I am fairly confident that hearing and touch do not arrive at the forebrain ahead of other parts of the brain. More obviously, balance, motion and pain are handled at subconscious levels, sometimes only initially, sometimes entirely. And if you go outside and try to see everything in your field of vision, you will quickly become aware of how much information your visual cortex discards or suppresses before the final image reaches your awareness. Our senses in general involve many process layers. But the kind of response I get from certain olfactory stimuli is not as simple as just aversion. From prolonged exposure, I get literal painful headaches that endure well after the offending smell is no longer present. I got a cold once that I probably would not have without being near a heavily scented woman. It probably does not qualify as genuine allergic response, but it is a whole lot worse than just “ick”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fragrance-sensitivity-does-anyone-else-have-this/750403.md?page=3)