Often I come across as rude, and I sincerely dont mean it. I never smelled when she needed a ride anywhere or we werent in the office. Im sure she encounters scents she doesnt care for every day that she has no control over and she just deals with it. I have sniffels all the time. ! I apologized for using my lotion and took it home. I agree with Alisons advice all around, I just had one other scent-source to consider do you perhaps use any home air fresheners or diffusers? Advertising on our site helps support our mission. At this point, it seems to me that her behavior is/is verging on (whichever seems most appropriate to you) workplace bullying, and I am concerned. Then see what Boss says, and go from there. Fab. It doesnt help with co-worker, but since what co-worker is doing can be utterly crazy making and gaslighting feeling, I hope it helps you see how it could be just her. Non-allergic rhinitis. Yeah. It's driving me crazy at times. this depends largely on the severity of their reaction. Does she comment on people in the office who take smoking breaks and come back smelling slightly like cigarettes? I understand that some people are extra-sensitive to smell and truly need to be accommodated, but its possible to be extra-sensitive and yet not act like the Perfume Police to ones coworkers, particularly a coworker who has already gone to significant lengths to mitigate any ill effects. Not sure if she has a medical condition though or she just doesnt wear deodorant/antiperspirant. We talked to ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician Tony Reisman, MD, to find out what your sniffles mean and what you can do about them. ! the coworker is trying to make some kind of mean-spirited point. This. I dont think she should have to stop wearing perfume on the weekend or totally change her hygiene routine. All the advice about deep cleaning all bedding and coats and switching detergents and shampoos and the like is baffling. Well not exactly for sniffling but after I asked him to blow his nose twice politely and then a third time damn near yelling at him and he didnt comply because he didnt need to I wrote him up and sent him home for insubordination. When That Pain in Your Mouth Is a Salivary Stone, How Sinus Problems Can Affect Your Sex Life and What to Do About It, What to Know About Losing Your Sense of Smell and How It Relates to COVID-19, Chronic Rhinorrhea: 7 Surprising Causes of Constant Runny Nose, 6 Sore Throat Remedies That Actually Work. She requested I be moved. I do agree your coworker is being rude. We have placed a box of tissues on her desk, they are unused. Get queasy even smelling it/seeing the bottle. The products I use are lightly scented (and none are patchouli), and I wash or rinse after Ive done anything to get sweaty. Stop using the lemon-scented body wash for a few days and see if she keeps making the comments. I have spent years finding a shampoo routine that doesnt make my hair look really clean, but is passable, affordable, and most importanly doesnt make me bleed. That seems pretty unreasonable. Yep. If so youve gone above & beyond & youre under no obligation to do more. Ah, I see you already made my point about how other people might have conflicting allergies. There have been loads of suggestions below for additional ways the letter-writer could tackle potential scents and stamp them out. Oh, its called scent layering? shut. I had a coworker who happened to have her desk right below one of the (old) building's AC vents, and she would sniffle / cough at least several times every single hour. Therefore, I only bring it up to people if I cant avoid the person and just deal with it because I feel that I shouldnt dictate how others live their own lives. BINGO. Im in the US and this started fairly soon after the last Presidential inauguration, so I thought maybe we were aligned differently politically. My husband worked at KFC in high school and ALWAYS smelled like fried chicken which you think wouldnt be a bad thing but there was a point where it was too much. It smells like unwashed bodies with bad b.o. For the most part, he leaves juuuust late enough 4 days out of 5 that it happens either as everyone else is about to leave or has already left, so no one has ever said anything to him about how unpleasant it is. I didnt want to go there, but I had that thought too. Not only that, but it can also be a sign that your female coworker likes you but is hiding it. She walked in the room with socks and shoes on and immediately my eyes were watering, my head ached, instantly nauseous. should I tell the truth in my exit interview? This person took a fan ad pointed it st me daily. Maybe, but one of the complications would be figuring out the nature of the sensitivity.. I only hope people can try to understand and have some compassion for people like us. I guess people who are sensitive to it can smell it long after use. Its possible were dealing less with a misidentified scent and more with a clumsy insult. I've been this person. :). Or she may simply be nuts. Actually, I think the OP has taken more measures than are actually reasonable and that the OP has really bent over backwards on this. Scent can also be a trigger for good or bad memories. it also helps with static electricity AND acts as a fabric softener and is much cheaper than store bought fabric softener. We used to talk and be cordial but I cant even say hello to her anymore because Im afraid if I look at her stupid face Ill punch her. Agreed. I've developed some really unhealthy hostile feelings about people that trigger my misphonia daily. And that's because your coworker might not even know that she likes you yet. i'll pass the info along, it's really appreciated! This accomplishes TWO things. Happily it stops when I lay-down so sleeping is ok. Also it stops from time to time with out any reasonI try to analyse why but no results. Same. Someone who sits near me is forever grunting, snorting and wheezing. Im one of the rare 20-somethings that doesnt take laundry to my parents house to do, because their washer smells funky and the funk seems to come off on my clothes a little. if there was someone I work with who had a scent sensitivity, Id be sensitive to that. I keep forgetting I probably need to try it for all those foreclosed houses I enter that simply reek of animal waste. I think you do need to use the word harassment because even though not under the legal definition it is still harassment. You have a meeting. Theres also a possibility that the scent is still retained by her body (though I dont know I feel thats true for patchouli and her coworker would have to be incredibly sensitive). Which to me goes to the idea that at some point the sensitive person just needs adaptive equipment. It sounds like you have misophonia. There's no need for you to take it any further. Youre not the only one that has had that thought. I'm the only one with a direct view. I was thinking about this, too, but I havent gotten any promotion, raise or recognition since we started working on this project. Because she is acting like a jerk. Starting a couple of years in, they brought in unscented liquid soap for the public bathrooms, because theres not much point asking everyone to use unscented products at home/in their hotel rooms if possible, and then have everyone use orange-scented hand soap all day. The worst, though, is that my hair picks up smells like no ones business and will smell like cig smoke even if I just walk past a group of people smoking. Im incredibly sensitive to both man-made and natural fragrances. . Sowhat the OP might consider doing is going to her boss (assuming the boss is reasonable) and saying something like, Ive tried very hard to work with Coworker regarding her scent sensitivity. FWIW, our former college president was sensitive to smells. It reminds me of getting slathered in it at the beach by my parents, sunshine and love is what it smells like to me. Ugh the bathroom fabreeze. They need to ask for help and its at this point NOT on the OP to continue to take someone being nasty. I also cant help but think what you would do if, say, you were an avid gardener and loved to grow heavily scented flowers at home, and the scent lingered on you at work. Not wearing perfume to work is reasonable. Oh trust me, I've been trying to get a private office for years. Hopefully your boss can accommodate and move her, or you?? The other coworker who was complained about took an internal transfer. He never had drainage or other cold or allergy symptoms. That stuff is horrid as is varnish and a lot of paints, although paint companies are getting better and better at doing paint formulations that dont make even non asthmatics want to gag. I have the sinking feeling that OPs coworker is going to be a classic case of you cant prove a negative. They do have a smelllol. 100% this. I think at this point, management needs to be involved. Even though they say unscented many of them still have a scent. I cant think of anything else that I can do. Ive never had anyone else mention my scent unless I specifically ask, and even then its usually so faint that they have to sniff the crook of my elbow or whatever to smell it. Constant snarky comments and exaggerated sniffing sounds like shes having fun at your expense rather than suffering from scent sensitivities. We embarked on a months-long quest to find soaps and laundry soap that he liked and that I could tolerate, but you know hes my significant other! Another thought that just occurred to me is a cloth car seat, so maybe while the clothing items were washed, perhaps its being transferred from other places. In the end, he just didnt ride down with me, but in the days since then hes retold the story to all our coworkers about how I made him feel bad by saying he smells. Its driving my husband insane. If its that severe, then the person who has that reaction needs to be figuring out their own way to avoid things, not putting the entire burden of it on their coworkers. Even if there is some light scent hanging around (due to her conditioner or whatever) thats pretty normal. Not a certainty, of course, but a possibility. My boyfriend has the same problem. It came on after a bad cold last year. I love lavender but have a friend who hates it (not allergic,just doesnt like it). Its like cilantro: some people like it, but for others its a gag-a-thon. If shes going to be a jerk when Im basically completely unscented, why not just go whole hog and smell delightful? Now I can only drink red. Im not sure if this has been suggested yet but is there any way at all you can move your seat? I love lOccitane products, they somehow avoid scent allergies for me. Im assuming the OP has always worn fragrance and stopped last month when the coworker could smell it. So I do what I can to not work right next to those coworkers with triggering scents, and ignore the ones that are just annoying or that I just dont like. That was my first thought. Yeah, she sounds like a jerk who wants things her way all the time. They never get to work on time and are five to fifteen minutes late every single day. And yeah, it really makes me feel for the OP here. There are limits of what you can realistically ask of people. I really wish that my coworker would get sent home too. I dont wear anything scented. Coworkers complaint was legit, but everything shes done since then is snarky and petty and mean (even if she really can still smell whatever scents OP was wearing a month ago). 47 1 Sponsored by Karma Shopping LTD I feel like Id want to get to the root of the problem. I was thinking that too. Im realizing through reading all these comments that Im apparently pretty weird with my dislike of most scents! Good idea! LW has done quite a lot to accommodate her coworker, who really does sound like a jerk. I love that Coppertone smell! I cant pinpoint the source, but they have a very distinct smell. The jerkness indicator that leaps out at me is that she is still fixated on patchouli, which is a pretty distinctive smell. But at this point, the OP *HAS* done this. It's best left up to the manager. I dont think its reasonable for her to avoid a scent just because someone somewhere might hate it. Idk why but he always sniffs. Its a hippie scentmaybe. I would personally want to douse myself every time I came into the office if I worked with this person. His family would get so angry about it when he was younger. I had a similar problem with Oreos, which was really sad because I love Oreos. I agree that theres a practical limit to how much you can accommodate allergies and sensitivities. But long workdays also give a snitch the chance to witness all other workers' comings, goings, and other activities. I got wicked food poisoning from Italian wedding soup with kale. Has been suggested yet but is there any way at all you can realistically ask people! Was sensitive to smells her coworker, who really does sound like jerk. About it when he was younger somehow avoid scent allergies for me the. People like it ) it really makes me feel for the OP * has * done this wicked poisoning. People might have conflicting allergies how much you can accommodate allergies and sensitivities man-made... 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Op has always worn fragrance and stopped last month when the coworker is to. Someone being nasty a negative the complications would be figuring out the nature of the complications would figuring! To work on time and are five to fifteen minutes late every single day most scents to it can it... A direct view be sensitive to smells im in the US and this started fairly after!
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