Allergic to perfume in an open plan office

KevInChester

Has he tried taking antihistamines to see if these stop the headaches? If he has and that hasn't worked too well, speak to the Doctor. They may recommend upping the dose.

silverwhistle

Find out what the perfume is, buy some and do some controlled tests to see if it does affect him - try exposure to it at the weekend perhaps. If he can identify it as the cause he's got a much better case against the employer and could bring more pressure to bear.

Irn_Bru_2

Thanks for the replies, its definitely the perfume or something about that woman because he's never had a complaint when she's working from another office, when he's on leave, or when they don't come into contact. Its not as though they occur every day at 3pm for example, Now that he does sit elsewhere, they are less frequent, but its still a problem just because of the severity.

I'd be horrified if I knew that I was causing someone to have such severe headaches. He has spoken to the woman in question and she knows he gets headaches but she just seems to think its a joke, like he's making it up or something. She doesn't see him come in from work looking grey.

I'll show him some of the replies and see if he'll do any of the suggestions. Its just a shame there isn't a standard rule for this type of thing I guess...

P.S - No I'm not a new user, I'm usually more of a browser but thought this may be a good place to get a few thoughts on this problem :-)

kingfisherblue

I can sympathise, as perfumes, aftershave, air fresheners, and some cleaning agents cause me to have headaches and a very sniffly nose. Lilies also affect me in this way - I can't walk past them in a shop without my eyes watering, my nose running, and me feeling headachy. My son's breathing can become compromised by lots of different types of sprays.

It might be worth your boyfriend asking his doctor for help. Sometimes antihistimines can help.

If you have never had this type of allergy, it can be hard to understand. Maybe the woman is a bit embarrassed and doesn't realise that it is a genuine problem for your boyfriend, and thinks that he just doesn't like her perfume. That might be why she makes it into a joke.

melanzana

Irn_Bru wrote: »

P.S - No I'm not a new user, I'm usually more of a browser but thought this may be a good place to get a few thoughts on this problem :-)

Ok, 'twas me who said about new user.

Sometimes we have to be wary of unusual things on this board! Experience has shown this.

Open plan offices bring out that feeling in many too. Invasion of space, no privacy, I hate her, he hates me, and all the rest of it.

Communal living doesn't work when you come home, so it's no surprise that territory is marked out when in a group either.

It's a challenge for everyone.

Maybe your boyfriend does or says things that the perfume wearer hates too? Who knows.

It's a jungle out there.

Humphrey10

I just cough loudly and open the windows until they get the hint and stop stinking the place up. I'm quite lucky in that our open plan office has openable windows though, they don't always.

Irn_Bru_2

melanzana wrote: »

Maybe your boyfriend does or says things that the perfume wearer hates too? Who knows.

It's a jungle out there.

Knowing him he probably does, but although words can hurt emotionally, there's a bit more of a definitive answer than with a perfume. Not much, but a bit.

With other allergies you can avoid them, and to be fair he does, he'll avoid perfume counters for a start. Like a typical bloke he avoids most shopping anyway, but whereas I can coax him into some shops, he'll refuse to even risk it. He's also avoided nights out with people from work simply because she'll be there.

It just seems a bit extreme that he's the one having to take pills, or go out of his way, when simply changing a perfume would likely resolve this issue. Its not as though its a requirement for her role, or there isn't a massive choice of alternatives out there...

Irn_Bru_2

Humphrey10 wrote: »

I just cough loudly and open the windows until they get the hint and stop stinking the place up. I'm quite lucky in that our open plan office has openable windows though, they don't always.

I asked him that, and he said it was an air-conditioned office and there aren't any windows.

The problem with his problem is that its all in his head.... literally. If he was coughing, or coming up in red blotches, then it might prompt some action but its just really severe headaches which are unseen and therefore can be ignored.

Twisted_Cherry

Time for a new job I think...

Brenny

I have a lot of sympathy because I once had the same problem -strong smells start me on the way to a migraine. And I was the manager! I asked HR for advice and was told that it would be best if I could approach her directly. I did, but it didn't go particularly well. But I think (it was several years ago) she did tone it down. Luckily for me she left not long afterwards. But I think I am right in saying that this should be covered in a policy (Respect at Work?) so ask your HR. To those posters who have been less than sympathetic you have no idea as to how disabling this is.