Some people spray a spritz of their perfume in the air, and then walk through it. Some people spray their perfume directly onto their wrists, neck and whole body. Then they go to the movie theater and all of us sitting there have to smell their stinky strong perfume. It can also cause asthma attacks. Which happened to me for the first time Saturday night. Hubby and I decided to go out and see the new Three Musketeers Movie, and just before the movie started, a college aged girl sat down a few seats away from me.
I didn't notice anything at first, then thought "that is a really stinky and strong perfume!" It was just annoying at first, then I sneeezed. Then I coughed. And coughed. And coughed. It took me a minute to realize that I was having an asthma attack! Perfume has never bothered my asthma before. I know what my usual triggers are (cold temperatures, dust, cats, etc) so I am careful around those triggers. But I have never had a reaction to perfume.
First, I got up and moved to the end of the row, where I was well away from Perfume Girl. But that didn't help and I continued to cough. You know how it can be-you can cough so hard that you gag (and can throw up-that's always fun!)
I always carry an inhaler with me, so I pulled out my Albuterol and used that at the beginning of the movie. I was careful to wait several minutes in between puffs (if you don't, the resevoir at the bottom of the inhaler won't refill all the way, and you won't get as much medicine as you THINK you are getting) So DON'T take back to back puffs on your inhaler. It's very important to wait a few minutes between puffs.
Just like magic, the Albuterol worked. The coughing stopped, except for still trying to clear the mucus out of my lungs. That's always the fun part of an asthma attack-first the coughing, then the mucus that your lungs produce to try to 'heal' themselves.
So, as plea to all of us that have asthma attacks from other people's perfume-you may love your perfume, but that doesn't mean that everyone else does! PLEASE don't use perfume if you are going to be somewhere where the rest of us are stuck and have to breathe it in (movie theater, airplane, meetings, etc)
Many people don't realize that what they do can cause those of us with asthma to have an asthma attack. Remember, asthma is a "drama queen" and our bodies over-react to things that don't bother "normal people" (you know-people who don't have asthma.) So your perfume, scented candles, smoking, pets and even landscaping can cause those of us with asthma to sneeze, cough and wheeze. And I'm kind of funny about this, but I like to breathe. So, please help us out and let us breathe clean air.
Thank you,
My Life As An Asthma Mom