Hi, does any one on this forum experience breathing problems because of neighbours scented products? Our neighbour's bathroom window is unusually close to our home, I have problems with a fragrance when their window is open that smells strongly to me, and affects my breathing to the point I have to use an inhaler if I am unlucky enough to open my back door or step into my garden. If I leave my bedroom window for more than a couple of minutes, the smell gets in there also.
I did explain the problem, they were helpful, the problem stopped and started again. I have asked them politely several times over the course of the last few months because the problem starts up again, each time they became more impatient and unfriendly. They are no longer helpful, leave their window open hours on end and are rude if I ask them not to affect my health with what ever it is they are using. I have endured this on and off for over a year and a half and am afraid I will end up with permanent, breathing problems because of what is happening.
I would like to ask for a doctor's letter to give to the neighbour, because I can't seem to get them to understand how badly my health is being affected.
Has anyone had a doctor's letter for this reason? Any advice would be appreciated.
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Rubble86
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Maybe stupid question but have you spoken with neighbours? I would have thought a face to face discussion would be more effective than a doctors letter. It would also mean you could discuss the situation and possibly work out what it is that is bothering you so much.I don’t know if gp would write a letter for you. It would certainly be an unusual request and would probably depend on you gp/patient relationship. Also am doubtful that if you have spoken with neighbours and had not had a good response that a gp letter would have much effect.
Hi Bevvy, I did explain the problem and they were helpful, the smell would go away and then return again, I would wait a week or so and then ask again. The last time I asked, and showed the inhaler they were rude and said they were fed up with me bothering them. That is why I thought a Doctor's letter explaining the problem I have would be helpful.
You were very brave to tackle them about it! I wouldn't have, I'd have just kept my windows closed. I have a very horrible neighbour one side so do understand how difficult it can be. P
I did keep my windows closed for a long time but my family kept opening them to get "fresh air" and the scent was coming in through the vents anyway. (My family don't have fragrance allergies/sensitivities) I was surprised at my own audacity - desperation I guess.😷 I do sympathise with you- hopefully our neighbours will decide to move on and non scent users will move in instead. We can but dream...
Although some smells trigger my asthma, I have never experienced what you are describing.
As the smell is within their home I am not sure even a letter from a GP will change their habits.
I am not sure what to recommend, unfortunately from what you have said your family are not taking steps to help you either. I hope someone can be more helpful with their advice.
Thanks teddyd, just getting a reply is helpful for me to know I'm not on my own when it comes to being affected by scent, I hope your asthma is under control and you can manage to avoid the things that trigger it. I guess my family don't understand the full extent because they don't experience it. Not that I'd want them to of course but it does leave me feeling pretty frustrated.
I can understand family members not fully understand the affect a smell can have on some people. In my case my husband cant even smell it when I am affectedI wish you well and really hope you can resolve the problem x
Id keep yr windows and door shut and invest in an air purifier.personally,it is your problem so i think u have to take measures in yr own home,to protect you.insist your own family respect yr wishes
Thanks for the advice; I do live with my windows and doors closed most of the time, not an easy thing to do when you live with elderly people and it 30 degrees plus, outside and they need to open a window. Families are very often the last to respect one another's wishes alas, I can't get mine to budge on the air purifier front. I didn't have the problem so badly, until new neighbours decided to start discharging overpowering scent a couple of feet from my back door and into my garden for most of the day. It's never the people who use these things that have a problem, makes you wonder how on earth they can tolerate it? : ).
Unfortunately I don’t think there would be much you can do. If it’s within your neighbours house then they can really do what they want. It’s a tricky situation though! Hope you manage to get some conclusion to it somehow.
Is there the possibility of fitting a fan in your window to expell air from your room to outside. This will enable airchange in your room and prevent any smells from outside to enter your room.
I'm not sure a fan would help, I find where we have fans it ends up seeping in, maybe we have the wrong type of fan? Honestly the best way I've found is just not open the window. Thank you, nice just to have replies X
I used to be very breathless when my son used lynx bodyspray and strong after shave and walking past someone who has used a perfume still kicks me off but I Don't know what else to say that would help you with your neighbours apart from keep windows shut so it doesn't get inside your home, in this very hot weather its not an option. I feel for you
Lynx is horrible; so is the Lynx advert - ads like that encourage people to spray their clothes with the express purpose of being noticeable to others should not be allowed.
This is a tricky one.We live in a terraced house and have a new neighbour who is a heavy smoker.The smell of cigarettes drift down the entry and into our pantry and kitchen to the extent I am unable to go those rooms when it's bad.
It is hard when something like that impacts your well-being.
Several times I asked if she would be aware of where she smoked to help me.
I asked her not to smoke in the entry between our houses.
It wasn't a quick fix but what I found worked was loadsa positive feedback to her along the lines of"I really appreciate you smoking down your garden away from the entry it's made such a big difference to me"
Yes we still have issues but I do feel if you go out all guns blazing the situation will deteriorate further.
I am not sure a Dr would give you a letter for this and even if they did it probably would simply raise more hostility and be uninforceable.
Am sending you loadsa positive vibes and hope this resolves for you amicably
Do you have an old fashioned vented pantry like mine? Luckily whoever built our pantry made it so that one vents could be covered, tall juice cartons are quite good for putting in front of the other one ( I just have to remember never to have less than 6 cartons of juice on the go : ))
I'm glad that you were able to come to an understanding with your neighbour; it's understandable that there will be issues, but at least you have something positive to work with.
I did give my neighbour positive feedback but I just couldn't seem to get across how badly whatever they were using ( I never got to know what it was) was affecting me, and in the end their way of "dealing" with the situation was to be aggressive and shut the door on me and just leave the window open for the whole day.
I'm not sure about getting a letter myself, I was just hoping that someone would have gone down that route and had some success with it - I don't see any way at present of an amicable solution but the positive vibes are very much appreciated. Maybe some will reach my neighbour and give them a change of heart X
I sympathise . Smells really get to me and sometimes it’s impossible to avoid them. I think when we have our conditions our sense of smell is very much heightened and it affects us badly. It is very unpleasant and frustrating. I also think people are so selfish when they don’t suffer from what we do. I hope you get some joy soon.
Air purifiers are good. I find mine helpful though not the answer to everything.
I have a home-medics air purifier and yes, to a certain extent it takes away smells, it certainly feels fresher in my living room. There are mire expensive ones that probably filter smells better( mine was approx £70).
One bit of advice if you are going to get an air purifier, don’t get one that is also an ioniser because they emit ozone which isn’t good for people with lung problems. Bit different to the ozone from the sea. Just an air purifier.
yes, all the time. Either " house freshener", laundry freshener or cigarette smoke . i live at end of row of seven 3 storey houses, at the end and al the air drifts to nearest open space. where I am !. there was a neighbour sitting outside smoking 5 houses away when it was really hot two days ago. i went inside to escape it as windows were closed then anyway to keep out heat, I If open just drifts in . why does everybody go outside to smoke anyway .
How the word "freshener" makes me shudder. You have my sympathy - I think that you may have it even worse than me. I'm glad I'm not just me - I was beginning to think my marbles had rolled away, because no one else in the house was being affected.
An purifier would be good for many things. I found I enjoyed just sitting next to it and breathing in the pure air. The fan directing the scent away from the room also sounds good.
Very hard to deal with especially if you have awkward neighbours. Perhaps a cool fan with purifier would solve the problem, you could then shut the doors and windows. My neighbour is very good and has stopped smoking in the bedroom after I told him it was affecting me badly, he sometimes has the odd one and i have to open the windows and use a fan , its hard when you have these problems x
I am in a semi and the adjoining neighbour is actually really good, he never makes any noise i hardly ever see him and he has a heart of gold really. However the young girl that has just moved in is a nightmare and doesnt consider anybody but herself, I am hoping she doesnt stay long. She is a single mum with two small yappy dogs and a cat, the dogs bark constantly and she has her music on so loud I can hear it in my house when the doors are closed. I have talked to her about this but it hasnt made any difference. I know you have to live and let live but there are limitations but will reach my fine line at some point x
I hope you can find a solution. Someone on this forum recently recommended Dyson air purifying fans, but they are very expensive. Are you allergic to all scents or, like me, only to some?
I feel for you, that's a huge burden to live with. I'd say pretty much most scents I come in contact with will produce a reaction, if it isn't breathing it will be something unpleasant. Hand sanitiser is a problem for me, ever noticed how supermarket food always smells of it. Thank you I'll have a look into the Dyson ones, hope they aren't too expensive.
I sympathize with your sensitivity to scents. I suffer from that also and I have a few suggestions that help me. Here in Colorado our air is routinely polluted by wildfire smoke and other pollutants so for us it is a general problem, beyond just a neighbor. First, keep windows closed. Second, if possible, buy a small air purifier that you can keep nearby you. Third, use fans -whatever exhaust fans you have in kitchen/bathroom - to pull the offending scents out of your home- and regular fans to move the air in your closed rooms. Fourth, wear a mask when the air is bad, even indoors. I hope these ideas may be of use - good luck!
Thank you for your advice. Gosh I thought that I had it bad - that must be awful to live with; I do feel for you. I have everything but the purifier, have to overcome family resistance to get one. Which one do find good?
It does happen sometimes perfume / scent smells can trigger asthma in susceptible people. Same with diesel fumes, smoke etc and pollens which are naturally occuring. There is no legal requirement to keep air free from 'pollutants'. I would class most perfumes as polluting - they certainly invade other people's air space as do bonfires, BBQ smoke, wood burners (the ones without filters), etc. People grow to like scent smells especially in toilets ( I find the public toilets with scented 'air freshners' a real problem!)
As you have tried talking to your niehgbours with limited success, I suggest that you invest in an air purifier which deals with perfumes and scents. Some are only for allergies and larger particles so you need one which filters out the smaller particles of scent / perfume. You use them with the window closed. I use the one in my bedroom for a couple of hours before I go to bed (for pollen allergens). You may need to factor in the cost of replacement filters unless they are the sort you can clean.
Thank you for explaining about the air purifiers; I'd probably go for one with filters expensive but for me would be preferable that filters that have to be washed. I've looked into the issue of what is currently classed as environmental pollution and sadly the ever more invasive fragrances we are forced to live with are not considered. Maybe extinction rebellion could take this one up??! I couldn't agree more - public toilets are deadly - I wouldn't set a toe in one if I wanted to continue to breathe.
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