BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Etiquette Airlines, Perfume, & Allergies - Etiquette

Hello Kennie!

I'm bringing an asthma related question to you, because it borders somewhat on the lines of etiquette; and I'd like your and your readers advice!

Here's our dilemma, this is a poster's response to what trigger's asthma attacks:



Here's my reply:


Which I have now done! What do y'all think. (The original posts are over in the Asthma Forum under "What's Your Trigger?")

It is so amazing that this has come up. We just had this situation in the office when a co-worker who is very sensitive to smell was place next to someone who was very liberal in their perfume usage. It also didn't help that the perfume was had a musk note to it so it was already strong.

The problem is that many times, when people use only one type of perfume there noses get used to the smell of it and can no longer differientiate the smell (I think this is the case - 60%sure) so they use more of it so that they can smell it. So then what is a soft smell to them is amplified to us.

This is definitely a personal hygeine issue, except it is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Isn't of her having extremely bad personal hygeine, her's is too good.

In the case of my co-worker, she was going to tell our boss so that he could handle the problem, but I'd told her to tell her face to face that she was allergic to the perfume and to politely ask her to put on less. That way she can see that there's no hard feelings.

However in this case, because this is a confined, public place where you do not know the person, asking the stewardess for help is the best option. If she doesn't want to ask the lady to take some of it off, then she can at least have you moved further away.

I'm going to send this to the fragrance editor too, so verify if what I've said is correct.
This is great! A forum chain message!

I know this is getting wild. Won't Lisa be proud? Talk about your interconnectivity!

Thanks for your response, Kennie.

This would explain why some elderly ladies seem to wear a lot of very heavy perfume. They have been wearing a signature scent for so many years and can no longer pick the scent up themselves - and enjoy it. Obviously they choose a scent because they like it, now they can't smell it anymore, it is understandable that they would use more so that they can smell it. I was given advice once to occasionally vary the perfume used, to avoid this exact situation.

I love perfume, but I don't usually use it on planes, simply because I know that a lot of other people will be and the mixture of different scents can sometimes be unpleasant (And I can just imagine how awful it would be if you were allergic too!) I just go with an unscented crystal deodorant.

With the elderly, some of the nerve endings that pick up scent have started to die off, too; just like with hearing and eyesight. That's why your great-grandmother starts burning food when she's never burned anything in her life! I know it was very upsetting for my great-grandmother - she had several strokes and it was hard to explain to her why everything was going downhill and she couldn't do the things she once did. It got to be a dangerous situation, because the more we wanted her to be careful, the more she wanted to prove her independence. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

In the Bay Area, many of the large events that I attend often come with the request that people not wear any scent/perfume, and many of my friends automatically think of not wearing scent when attending any public event.

When I travel, it's apparent that the attitude at home is not what I encounter when I'm in different areas of the country.

it's the same with smoking, too - people in other countries seem to smoke a lot, everywhere. Most places I've lived, you can't smoke in bars and restaurants any more. it's always a shock to me now when i go places and have to breathe in people's smoke.

I have a brother in law that uses his aftershave to hid the smoke smell. So you get a double attack. I can come in a room and know when he has been there. It is awful. We have discussed it with him before and told him it is awful. He doesn't listen.

People that have smoked for a long time have literally lost many of their scent nerves. They cannot smell things as well as others, especially cigarettes- because on top of the loss of scent they are also used to the tobacco smell.

Now, once someone quits smoking, some of those nerves can regenerate, and it is amazing to them how many scents they have been missing. AND just how bad cigarettes really do smell!

But cigarettes are frequently banned..... perfume is allowed mostly anywhere (except in the ever-enlightened Bay Area, as Rae mentioned).

My MIL has stopped smoking. She can't handle the smoke smell now. It is funny that all the people that use to get offend when we complained about smoking around us and our kids are now the ones that are complaining about others. One of my BILs and I got into a fight one time about someone smoking outside, but right next to us. I am very protective of my kids because they were both on lung machines when they were born. Since he stopped smoking, he is the first one complaining.

A bit eschew of this topic, but something that garners some thought - in culinary school we as students were told to terminate wearing any cologne or perfumes. Non-intrusive soaps and body washes were allowed but the Chef Instructor challenged us with this. We tested our nose that first day and again two weeks later. The amazing clarity of my palate and my nose after these 2 weeks of no perfumes or colognes was amazing!

I can now catch all types of scents sooner than most of my family. I enjoy more now shopping for fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. Being able to tell when something cooking in the oven or on the stovetop is ready has become somewhat of a joke to my husband and son. Strong perfumes and colognes are offensive to me now, more so than ever before.

That said, I can only imagine how an asthmatic may react to a strong scent. Especially when confronting the "signature" scent of someone who has applied that scent to their body and their clothing over a long period of time. Perfumes and colognes tend to take more than just an initial washing to remove. With constant re-application and the "numbing" of the wearer's nose, the scent cloud only grows.

This is an excellent analogy! Non-smokers are often accused of infringing on smokers' rights, yet have you ever heard of a heavy douser of parum or cologne insisting that it's her right to wear as much as she wishes?!

That's the one thing I loathe about Europe, all the smoking. I live in the US now, and when I return, it's a nasty shock.

I'm very sensitive to perfumes and colognes and it just about kills me when I ride the bus to work in the morning and get stuck sitting next to some lady who smells like she was marinating all night. I almost think I'd rather sit next to someone with B.O. (*almost*)

Last December, Washington state enacted the most stringent smoking laws in the nation. Now if people want to smoke in public they have to go stand in the middle of the street. I'm not sure how *fair* it is....but as a non-smoker I like it just fine.

We just got back from vacation/ family reunion where 10 of the relatives smoked the whole time. I can tell we have been away from smokers for a while. I am just so use to being away from it that I can smell it instantly.