No need for perfume at the gym

[cashierbex]

Ok, so I was on the elliptical. Some old lady walks by like 3 feet away smelling like she took a bath in a few gallons of perfume. I am quite sensitive to a lot of fragrances, esp women's. I slowed way down in my workout and felt like crap the rest of the day. All you need is deodorant when working out. Perfume should be used for going out somewhere, and not to bathe in it either.

[Moosenogger]

Ugh, I have the same problem with heavy perfume that you do. I'm sensitive to smells, and too much of anything can leave me nauseous for the rest of the day. Axe is the absolute worst when it comes to body sprays. Blegh.

[bhskittykatt]

I'm fairly new to the gym, so I haven't encountered this there but...

There's a park with a trail that goes around the lake. It's very popular for walking/jogging/biking, and even horseback riding. One day, a jogger passed us, and I could smell her from yards away. I'm not particularly sensitive to perfume, but she was making my nose itchy and my eyes water up. I remember thinking good thing we were outdoors, as I wouldn't want to be in any sort of enclosed space with her.

I myself have come to terms with my stinkiness at the gym. I get very sweaty and stinky, but then so is everyone else, so who cares?

[bainsidhe]

I'm glad I'm not the only one sensitive to perfumes and scents. Working out is the worst place I'd like to be exposed to it, too. I'm already breathing heavy and I don't feel like coughing and feeling ill because someone thinks they're being fashionable.

[Gizmo]

I'd be so annoyed. I have enough problems with perfumes on public transport and in the office!

[BigBird]

I'd suggest that you ask the gym if it would consider becoming a scent-free zone. A lot of public places, like schools, hospitals and offices are becoming scent-free zones because so many people are sensitive to them now. It's worth a shot, and all they can say is no.

[blas]

There's a huge list of rules at the athletic club I go to, and one of them is regarding not only bad hygene, but also the overuse of body sprays/cologne/perfume.

Do they enforce any of them? Of course not. I always seem to get the treadmill/elliptical that was just used by someone wearing a mask of makeup and a bottle of perfume to the gym.

[psycholicious_cxs]

Ugh so thoughtless... guests do this all the time at the water park, it's going to come off right away anyway so what's the point?

[Cookie]

This is one of the reasons I hardly ever wear perfume anyway, even in the minuscule amounts I tend to wear. You never know who you'll be around that might be allergic to it.

[MoonCat]

Benny Hill used to say, "When she stands still she leaves a puddle", and yes, he was talking about perfume!

My guess is these people at the gym think they are going to cover up the smell of sweat. Doesn't work. Just makes it worse.

[Sapphire Silk]

Many hospitals now have rules regarding fragrances worn by staff . . . as in they are not allowed.

We're not even allowed to use scented hand lotion any more (partly infection control issues, partly scent issues). Strong scents can make already sick people that much sicker, as in vomiting all over the place.

These rules apply to my students (and me of course). I've had to send the smokers back to the car to Febreze, and others to the bathroom to wash up before they could start patient care . . . and if necessary can send them home to bathe (I've never had to do that).

It's all spelled out in our Nursing Student Handbook, as well as in the hospital dress codes.

[cashierbex]

I'd suggest that you ask the gym if it would consider becoming a scent-free zone. A lot of public places, like schools, hospitals and offices are becoming scent-free zones because so many people are sensitive to them now. It's worth a shot, and all they can say is no.

Been going there for 2 years. First time that has happened. And I think it is in the rules. I'll talk to my trainer about it later.

I work in the cosmetics department at my store, so its hard to avoid the scents. But I expect to have to go in and let people sample some of the stuff. I hold my breath or call a manager if its too much.

[Pagan]

Axe is the absolute worst when it comes to body sprays. Blegh.

Axe and teen-age boys. Deadly combination that. The pharmacy I used to work in, the way the air flowed in the building, whenever they'd empty a sample can on themselves (I often wondered how many of those the store went through), it would come straight into the pharmacy. We even wound up saying, "Ack! Axe alert!"

I'd rather smell Raid than Axe.

[Joyius]

Ugh, all perfume, unfortunately, smells the same to me. No matter what, even if it's those change-as-you-wear kinds. And give me killer migraines.

[Pixilated]

Sorry you had to deal with this. I'm not terribly scent-sensitive, but it's hard not to notice somebody who appears to have been pickled in the stuff. The general thought is they are so used to the smell that they don't notice it anymore, so they put more and more on until they smell it. Unfortunately, by that point, so can anybody else ... from two blocks away.