Time to ban perfumes from high school?

I have worked with men whose after shave has contained some potent spicey smells. It was overwhelming and made me sick to my stomach. I have allergies and now some asthma and the overuse of spicy smelling perfume or aftershave has made me ill to my stomach and I had to avoid the person wearing it. One particular man wore that type of aftershave every day in an office where I worked, and it was overwhelming. I had a problem in catching my breath good when he either walked by or was speaking to me because of it. Other aftershaves smell clean and nice. If someone else approached me to speak to me with that same type of smell, I had to step back and try to get away as soon as possible. In general, I love smelling the various perfumes, but if they are a light, fragrant smell. Overwhelming and very spicy smelling, no. Some people cannot control soaking themselves in a fragrance. As the result of this type of overuse, then it might be necessary to ban fragrances in the schools and offices, where daily close contact is too much to handle with overwhelming fragrances. If you smell the fragrance when you first put it on and then you don't smell it later, that is usually a good fragrance, but if you continue to smell your own fragrance hours after you have put it on, then it is too strong and it is overwhelming others too. Invest in a good perfume or aftershave and not the cheap ones. It is worth it.

Come ON people! Lighten up! This has got to be the most anal, uptight society since the Victorian Era. Every single day I read where they want to BAN something else! Get a grip folks. The world was made for all of us, not just to pamper you. I feel bad for people who may be allergic, but really people. Should we ban all dogs and cats because some people are allergic. Or how about cutting down all the trees and flowers because of allergies. The answer isn't to ban everything - it is for the individual to take care of their own personal allergies with medication or steering clear of large crowds, etc., etc. Personally, I am allergic to whining, self-centered people who want the entire world to change to suit them - can I ban all of you?

I work in foodservices and I have a complaint about what we call old lady bug spray perfume. you know the one that causes you to gag and taste it on your lips. I used to work in a Dennys and had a woman that wore what i believe was an Avon, Rose's Rose's, and we could smell her in my office which was in the back of the place. behind 3 doors. when she came in, i have had dinner in places where the old lady bug pray scent comes over walls and causes us to not be able to taste our dinners. I really do believe that they take the bottle and just dump it over them. Kind of like they are taking a shower in it. My mother does. I spray mine before i leave the house and it is almost gone by the time i get to work, it does not take much i like the smell but some others may not.
I know that the older that you get the older your nose gets and it seems that it no longer is able to smell. so they get stronger and stronger scents. to be able to smell themselves.

Fragrance is supposed to be subtle, not overwhelming. I, too, get headaches if I go to mall because of the boutique fragrance shopts. However, I apply my perfume at least an hour before I leave the house. I've always had compliments on the scent - even from people who are allergic. The longer it is applied makes the difference. Here is a clue. If you can smell the fragrance on yourself, it is the wrong perfume for you. It is countering your personal body chemical make up. Toss it out and try another one. Fragrance is intended for up close and personal. BTW, jeans should be banned because studies have proven students perform better when dressed properly and jeans, t-shirt incline them to slovenly study practices. Thought I would throw that in for more controversy.

I agree that some people over-do the application of perfume and other scents....though I really think that this topic is REALLY REALLY LOW on the list of things that our schools need to be addressing....

As with most things, moderation is the key. Wearing perfume or cologne in large quantities does tend to be seen as overwhelming to many people. However, judiciously applied scents are typically not offensive to most people (excepting those who are allergic or asthmatic).

Have any of you actually been in a local high school or junior high lately? Cologne and perfume is making a HUGE comeback amoung the teen set. Remember Brute? Well AXE is ten times as nasty. It has been banned from our house. As well as heavy perfume for my daughter. Someone, please take a young person aside next time they reek and teach them gently how to wear a scent.
Bless the patient teachers for having to deal with this!

As a former high school teacher, I have to agree with the officials trying to impose the ban. It's fine for the students to spray themselves at home. The problem comes when they decide to take it upon themselves to use their perfumes as air fresheners in the classroom. Then another person sprays his because he didn't like the first. Next thing you know, the whole room smells awful and anyone who is allergic to any of those perfumes has a migraine.

I think BANNING perfumes and colognes might get a little extreme.... but certainly schools and workplaces should feel free to prevent people from using too much of either. More than a dab behind the ears of perfume is too much!! You should get a hint of the fragrance when you get close.... it shouldn't reach out and hit you in the face at 20 feet! And schools and workplaces should also be able to get after those that don't shower.

Amen...raventirell

I dont know what the problem here is-but a little can go a long way-but most of the girls smell good with it on so shut the hell up-after all if your body smells-maybe you should try some-huh

I say ban them all. Every get onto a school bus of teenagers when all the boys are doused in different scents of Axe and the girls of different perfumes..

You people are mental. Guess what, it is 2007, and people can wear perfume/cologne if they so choose to. If you have such a problem, plug your nose. People who wear perfume aren't self-concious you goof balls. You don't think that they wear it because they enjoy the scent? Maybe it makes them feel good to smell good, while the rest of you who don't wear it might stink. HMM

I have a child with asthma. But I do not think it should be banned. Why should other people miss out on the enjoyment of something they like because of my childs medical condition. That is just stupid.

I find it sad that there are so many nay-sayers out there. People who do not have an allergy to scents do not understand what those of us who do are going through. I am a migrane sufferer and scents are one of my triggers. I have a very difficult time buyng cleaning products and body care products due to all of the scents that are put into them. I stay as far away from people who wear perfume as possible and I respectfully ask my co-workers to limit there use so that I can come to work everyday. My migranes are debilitating. When I go to department stores I have to avoid the entrances by the perfume counters. If you think that I enjoy living like this, please think again! I am also an early childhood special education teacher. I believe that some of the difficulties (behavioral/concentration) that are seen in some children could be lessened with a decrease in scents in their environments. They can't tell us what is bothering them most of the time. Last year my son was having a difficult time in one of his classes. We asked the teacher to remove her air freashener and he was able to participate and concentrate much better. He was also no longer coming home with a headache everyday. If you use perfume, please use it lightly. Be respectful of others around you. Thank you.

if u dont like it then stay home.

I wear perfume daily. Not a lot...just a touch. It makes me feel feminine and I am sure I do not annoy others. In fact, I am allergic to the ingredients in most perfumes myself and cannot wear the heavy scents. If you can smell someone's odor before they even gets close to you, its too strong. If it lingers after they leave, they either wore too much or you had better been intertwined with them at some point. People can wear fragrences without impinging on the health and comfort of others around them. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an odorometer, and once you put too much on, yo can't get it off. If its a problem in schools, PARENTS need to be the guardians of this and either prohibit using perfume or teach kids how to wear it properly.

PS. Kudos to the person who sid that whoever smells like the "colon" at Macy's had BIG problems. For the record, the colon is comprised of the large and small intestine. The correct spellling is "cologne."

My daughter got a terrible rash from just being near someone spraying that AXE stuff. We thought it was our new cat that gave her the rash, had to banish it to the barn for a while. Come to find out kids at school were getting rashes from this stuff after using it after gym. My daughter changes for gym away from everyone else now, and why should she have to. Ban AXE from the locker room,not the kids! What's in AXE anyway that makes it so caustic? Probably made in China!

I do agree that some people wear too much scent, but it is better than smelling body odor. And I do agree with the suggestion to bathe more. The problem comes when kids in school do not want to shower after gym class. I can totally understand that, many of us remember that particular high school trauma, and the showers are none too clean either.
I do not feel that my personal hygiene and self confidence should be dictated by someone elses allergies. These people should seek treatment for their problems instead of foisting the blame on others. Time for both sides of the argument to accept responsibility for their actions.

If You dont like it then stay home. You are in america, the land of the free. If there is one thing that annoys the crap out of me it's when people would rather complain than find a solution. Buy a chemical suit and a gas mask and go on about your life, and leave us normal people (who enjoy smelling good) alone.