Does anyone else find perfume to be a massive trigger?

[amripley]

Just lately perfume has become a massive trigger for me. Does anyone have any advice how to control this? It’s pretty awful

[Onthemove1971]

Not only perfume and cologne.. ut my husband bought new laundry detergent and I did a few loads and I could not wear the clothes, I had to prewash them after going and buying perfume free soap.

I keep pepermint oil roll on with me and put it on the back of my hand so I can smell it. It really helps me.

I also drink hot peppermint tea and it really helps.

[Bebe34]

Perfume and various scents in general have always been a trigger for me. Having said that not all perfume and scents trigger my migraine but my sense of smell seems more sensitive just before the migraine attack. I have learned over the years what scents are the triggers and try to avoid as much as I can. Just in case my examples are helpful, the main triggers for me are rosy sweet 'old lady' perfume, heavy sweet perfum like opium, vanilla car Air fresheners, Berry Air fresheners, whole store of Lush and all soapy stores, fishy smells. I also notice that the scents seem to affect me more when it's very hot.

[Katya3]

Yes definitely a trigger, but once you know about it one that is relatively easy to avoid. No perfume counters in department stores or airports, no mousse at the hairdressers, Never buy scented products and tell friends not to give them to you as presents. Insist on a perfume free house. I have been known to send guests back upstairs to wash when they come downstairs smelling of aftershave. The same goes for your car if you have one. I move to a different carriage if someone is eating something smelly on the underground - here in Nottingham eating on public transport is banned which is such a good thing.

[Margauxjean]

This happened to me in the last 15 years... I’ve had migraine since age five. I can’t tolerate any chemical smells:febreeze, dryer sheets, perfumes, car paints, toxic smells of any kind. They are all synthetic. Migraineurs have different brains which are generally intolerant of strong smells, bright light, barometric pressure changes et all. I keep a mask in the car and my purse now in case I’m trapped. Definitely worse when a migraine is around the corner... on the verge. Light sensitivity becomes unbearable. And fragrance or toxic smells.

[Suludo18]

Perfume is a massive trigger for me, too, and it happens quickly. I enjoy wearing perfume but I always test it before I buy it by spraying some on my arm and see what happens in a few hours. I don't know how many times I've had to change seats in church or a restaurant to escape someone's offensive perfume. I had to go to Human Resources at work and ask that the people working around me not wear scents to work (some women were pissed, but oh, well!!!) I even had to ask that Lysol not be used at work because the smell brings on a migraine. I had to change doctors once because the cleaning crew at night left such an overwhelming smell in the waiting room with whatever they were using to deodorize the office. It's a hard life!!!! Gasoline, kerosene, and some paints also cause me migraines.

[Lola04]

Hi i keep a Vicks nasal stick in my handbag as perfume affects me too. I instantly feel sick if perfume is too strong

[crazycupcake]

This is interesting, For the last few years I have been really bothered by perfume, the smell knocks me sick and my migraines have been daily. I never used to be bothered by perfume but as I'm getting older it is really bad, Public transport and people wearing perfume is my worst nightmare. I never thought the smell could cause migraine, I just thought I was sensitive to smells,

[RosieCotton]

Chemical smells, such as perfume, are one of my worst triggers. It's so hard to avoid especially as people tend to take offence if you mention to them that you can't stand near them as their perfume is making you ill. It doesn't matter how tactful you are! I've had two jobs where my employer has insisted that a colleagues' right to wear perfume is more important than my right to a non-toxic work environment. Then they turn around and discipline you for being off sick. Can you tell this one is a sore point for me?

[denadico]

Perfume can be a very trigger or at least an extremely strong aggravating factor at the onset or during a migraine.

I was once at the duty free in between flights, with clear signs of a migraine onset. There was a lady who literally doused herself with perfume. Just passing by my head/eye started to pound.

I was thinking, imagine sitting next to this person on the next flight...

Yeah, guess what, she was sitting next to me on the plane. What are the odds?

And this was before I knew about triptans...

On a positive note, there is someone at work who uses sometimes a perfume that greatly bothers me. I'd get mad, migraine starting, and think of ways how to approach the person. Could never do it, but I thought about using the situation as an experiment to see if it really triggers an attack every time.

Guess what, once approached from that angle the smell wasn't as bothering to me as before.

It seems to me there is a annoyance factor that can be as powerful a trigger as the smell itself, or more sometimes...

[Katya3 in reply to denadico]

Yes I agree that annoyance can be a possible trigger - a form of stress and can be delayed so you cope at the time, make the journey home and then collapse - at least that is how it can be for me - though I would probably ask to be moved to a different location if I had to sit next to a perfumed person- I think if we can we should stand up for ourselves and those who come after us. This is the same thing as it used to be sitting next to a smoker which would now be viewed as completely unacceptable. I do know the last thing you want when suffering from a migraine is a fight but it is probably worth complaining to the transport provider afterwards even if you can't face it at the time.

[Pompom6]

Absolutely. It might not bring on a migraine, as far as I know, but if I am suffering even with a mild headache or mild migraine, I find perfume, deodorant unbearable.