perfume in office giving me a headache...what to do?

[callisto9]

recently, i've started getting headaches. sometimes migraines.

also recently, we acquired a company and their remaining employees are going to be moving into our building soon. this has meant for me and my area: doors and more people in a smaller space. it has also meant that perfume/cologne, smells and noise are now more apparent and have less places to "escape" to.

there are two people in the office who wear a lot of perfume or cologne. since the change, i've started to get headaches from smelling them. it happens within minutes of the smell hitting my nose. i never used to get headaches from perfume, but i do now, and fairly regularly.

i talked to HR about it and a very generic memo was sent out about it and the cologne wearer DID tone it down some. but the woman did not. and i'm still getting headaches.

i hate to be this person, but i want a perfume-free zone here!

thoughts? anyone else had this problem at work? looking for input.

[dnyed]

You take your concerns to your supervisor. Where I work, perfumes are banned. We don't have good ventilation, so showering regularly is also a must...... In my case, it's Lysol spray cleaner that I run from. It seems that if you can't wear perfume, then Lysol spray should also be banished!


But, really, talk to your boss. It's their job to talk to the odorous offenders.

[callisto9]

thanks for the tip deb. i'd like to see a fragrance-free zone, but i'm sure everyone will know it's me who's complained about it. i don't care though...i can't stand having a headache every day.

[noR]

And you shouldn't have to.

It sucks to feel like 'that person' but it sucks worse to have migraines. As long as it goes through HR there's always plausible deniability, and really it doesn't matter anyway.

At this point it's a medical condition.

[callisto9]

my first mistake was probably telling too many people (on the side) about it. i never know when to keep my mouth shut!

i'm going to talk to my boss about it today and see what comes of it. lucky for me, i have a very undestanding boss who's willing to go to bat for me on just about anything.

if i was the offender, i would quit wearing perfume in a heartbeat if it was causing someone problems. and the women who's wearing the offending scent is one of the sweetest women in the office, i just don't have the heart to say anything to her about it.

[CoriBug]

I'm sure this will work out for you. I really hate it when someone on an airplane gets out their lotion and puts it on! Hopefully the woman will understand. She can still wear her perfume when she's not at work!

[AmyJane]

Definitely go to your Sup, Erin. We have the same problem here from time to time. For a while people thought it would be nice to bring in the lotions and perfumes that they didnt like and leave them in the bathrooms for use by anyone. Unfortunately these were either bad,strong smelling perfumes and lotions or they were really old, which of course made them smell bad even if they used to smell good. I couldnt go in to the bathroom without coming out with the taste of old, cheap perfume in my mouth. The 'tards here were BATHING in it!! and lucky for me, most of the people who were doing this were right on the other side of the wall from me These people also like lysol. So...I started taking the lotions and perfumes and throwing them out. There were perfumes that aren't even made anymore! No one, indoors or out should have been wearing this stuff and they were certainly abusing it and it was giving LOTS of us headaches. People got pissed but there was no waiting for upper mgmt to do something about it. I work for the gov't so waiting for something like that to be elevated would have taken months, if not longer. So I took matter in to my own hands. Just call me the Perfume Vigilante Unfortunately, you can't take this woman's perfume away from her I hope she is stopped and soon. Pefume migraines are terrible!!

[callisto9]

thanks for weighing in cori and amy.

i hope this gets resolved soon. we're all in little cubes here, so what one smells, we all smell. i guess most people don't know when they are bathing in the crap, so it might just take one person telling them about it to take care of the problem.

amy, i think you and i should start a gang and go around the country de-senting people.

[kaiimac]

I don't see why you can't ask the woman first, and if she says no, then go to your supervisor. To me, it seems more drastic and "that personish" of you to go to your boss first and have a perfume ban before you even talk to the one person bothering you to see if she will just stop wearing it. I know if I was her, I would be much more embarrassed if my boss had to tell me or the whole office had to stop wearing perfume because of me. If you ask her and she says no, then I'd go above her head.

[CoriBug]

Maybe you could give her a gift - unscented lotion!! It still has some 'scent' but it's barely noticeable.

Good luck with the situation.

Cori

[FineExampl]

I say kill them.

antifreeze in their coffee over time will do the trick.

[callisto9]

Originally Posted by kaiimac

I don't see why you can't ask the woman first, and if she says no, then go to your supervisor. To me, it seems more drastic and "that personish" of you to go to your boss first and have a perfume ban before you even talk to the one person bothering you to see if she will just stop wearing it. I know if I was her, I would be much more embarrassed if my boss had to tell me or the whole office had to stop wearing perfume because of me. If you ask her and she says no, then I'd go above her head.

it's not just her, but hers is the one bothering me the most right now. a memo already went out and it didn't make any difference.

i already went to my boss about it. it will be handled.

[KatWoman]

I agree with talking to your supervisor about it. No one wants to be the complainer but this is your health and well being. Maybe even try chatting with the offender if you feel comfortable enough with her.

At my office, our receptionist has a lung disease and perfumes, pollution and stress cause her to have coughing fits or a hard time breathing, sometimes both. There are some perfumes I have worn that bothered her. I don't put on much, but to someone with health issues it doesn;t take much. There's probably 2 or 3 kinds I've worn that she mentioned bothered her. On the days she told me it bothered her I would make all efforts to avoid the front desk and then not wear it at work again. I was not offended. We know each other very well so we can tell each other stuff like that without hurt feelings. If someone is a reasonable person, they should be able to not take it personally.

[Blugg]

Whenever i give my Mum a lift anywhere, which luckily it isn't too often it's usually to meet Dad at a Dinner party or evening event. So she has perfume on. What did women do Swim in it I have to drive with the window open full or i get a headache and a sore throat.

Having to put up with it on a daily basis I feel for you. Hope you find a solution soon

[dasmurph]

I also agree with talking to your supervisor AND going back to HR. Perfume and cologne give me the worst headaches as well and it's not you being "that person" trust me. It's an allergy, not an annoyance. People aren't allowed to brings pets in and a lot of places don't allow flowers and plants because of allergy reasons, so please don't continue to suffer, keep bringing it up with the proper people until it has been taken care of.

[callisto9]

i talked about it with my boss today and she said she'd take care of it. i'm not going to put up with it forever. it's really hard though 'cause i like this woman, i liker perfume (wear it myself), but the headaches are bothersome.

i don't complain about too much at work, but when it affects my health, then you can bet i'll be talking to someone about it.

[kaiimac]

Geez, I'm glad I dont work with you. Whine, whine, whine !

[callisto9]

Originally Posted by kaiimac

Geez, I'm glad I dont work with you. Whine, whine, whine !

your hair offends me.

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by kaiimac

Geez, I'm glad I dont work with you. Whine, whine, whine !

[kaiimac]

Originally Posted by callisto9

your hair offends me.

Rofl...ouch! You know you love it.