Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? If this sounds like you, you may be one of a growing number of people with fragrance allergies or sensitivities that can have mild to severe health consequences. Recommended Related to Allergies Food Allergies: Tips for Eating Out Having a food allergy used to mean dining out was limited to carrying your plate from the kitchen to the porch or, at best, eating at the home of a close friend or relative who could guarantee your food offenders were nowhere in sight. Today, however, eating out is a lot easier -- and safer -- for the 2 million Americans who suffer with a mild, moderate, or even a severe food allergy. One reason: Restaurants are more aware and more prepared. "The awareness of food allergies has definitely increased... Read the Food Allergies: Tips for Eating Out article > >So not only are there definitely more fragranced products in the world, the fragrances themselves are also more complex. And for many people, repeated exposures can bring about a constellation of symptoms," says Tracie DeFreitas Saab, MS, a human factors consultant with the Job Accommodation Network at West Virginia University.

DeFreitas frequently works with employers and employees on work environmental issues. Those symptoms, she tells WebMD, can range from classic "allergic" reactions, such as sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes; to headaches, inability to concentrate, and dizziness; to respiratory issues, such as breathing difficulties and wheezing; to skin reactions, such as itching, hives, and other rashes. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), fragrances are considered the leading cause of cosmetic contact dermatitis. As a health problem, this sensitivity alone affects more than 2 million people, and studies suggest that sensitivity is on the rise. (What do you do when faced with fragrance sensitivity or allergy? Talk with others on the Health Cafe board.) Experts theorize that one reason fragrance allergies appear to be increasing is that fragrances themselves have become such a prominent part of our world. According to the AAD, some 5,000 different fragrances -- and countless other fragrance combinations -- are used in products today.

And they can be a powerful, toxic brew. Age 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and older Gender Male Female Verified purchaser Had difficulty opening front grill to install filter...noisier than I would prefer since I am using in bed room [Doctors orders] Yes (4) No (0)  Report Yes (4) No (0) Verified purchaser Verified purchaser The description said it was guilt. It is anything but quiet and I run it on low speed. Yes (0) No (0)  Report Yes (0) No (0) Verified purchaser Verified purchaser It works fine so far, just got it. It took a long time to arrive, a couple of weeks, I expected it sooner. Having trouble opening the front (very stiff plastic) to unwrap front filter in order to operate. I guess I should have bought one at the store, IF there was one there to buy. Next time I will be aware that the product is either IN Store, or can be picked up at store. Yes (3) No (0)  Report Yes (3) No (0) Verified purchaser my daughter has allergies to dogs,cats, mold, dust mights..

we have 4 dogs..this works great in one day my room was much cleaner..the air was lighter. its on all the time. high in the day time and low at night..its not as loud as other air purifers but yes it is loud. about as loud a a fan or just a little softer. it does not bother us at all..Homes For Sale Sequoyah High School Districti have nothing to say bad about it. Pro Comp Mud Terrain Ratingonly that it works and i can tell my air is much cleaner and lighter to breath.i have had it about a month now. Ckc Rottweiler Puppies For Salethis was great for us cause we dont have a lot of money to spend on stuff and it as nice to get something that works!! Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () filters out smoke and keeps my room smoke free while my 2 roommates smoke in the rest of the house.

Yes () No (0)  Report Yes () No (0) This is a great purifier, Ilove it it blows nice air it's good for me because my room is small and the air feels stuffy in there sometimes. I recommend this air purifier to everyone that needs air in their room. Yes () No (0)  Report Yes () No (0) I recently purchased 2-Honeywell Table Top Air Purifiers, based on a review and I'm glad I did. With bad allergies and a downstairs neighbor, who smokes, these came in handy and worked very well. I ran them for 24hrs the first week and my allergies seemed to have disappeared. Now I only use them when I need them. And the smoke from my downstairs neighbor? I highly recommend this product - great buy and great price! Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () We purchased this exact one about 8 years ago. We kept it running non-stop! So, when it finally died, we bought the same one again. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () This thing is great, sits on my window sill, makes about as much noise as a regular fan, cools the room down like a fan and keeps the air nice and clean in my room.

I moved into a house with 3 cats and a dog and needed something to keep my allergires to a dull roar. This thing seems to do the trick. Yes () No (2)  Report Yes () No (2) I was needing an AIR PURIFIER because my husband and I both smoke and we have a few cats and dogs..so with winter coming up I so wanted to clean some of this air out.. I am disabled and we don't have much money.. so we checked out the reviews and decided on this one.. I plugged it in last night and went to bed.. I was so surprised when I got up in the morning..the air was completely clear..no dust and hair floating and No smoke cloud.. right there it sold me.. I haven't seen hardly any dust, hair or smoke.. I would say buy this because it is so worth the money! Yes () No (9)  Report Yes () No (9)I recently started a new job, which is going great so far. I love the work that I’m doing, my boss, and my coworkers. What I don’t love so much, however, is that I seem to be very, very allergic to something in the office.

I’ve never really had allergies before, but the second I sit down at my desk I am a sneezing, coughing, eyes-watering mess. This lasts until about fifteen minutes after I leave the office at night. I have all sorts of allergy medicines stored in my desk, but none of them seem to work very well. I would ask to be moved (I’m sitting directly underneath a vent) but we’re filled pretty much to capacity and there are already people sharing desks. Besides, I don’t think that the allergen is confined to my area. I’m afraid that this is starting to affect my work since being uncomfortably congested is definitely a distraction, and since I’m in a cubicle, I’m worried that I’m distracting and annoying those that sit around me (although no one has said anything except “bless you!”) Any suggestions on what to do? I don’t want to sound whiny and entitled, especially since it is a new job, but I also want to work at my best which is hard when I have severe sneezing attacks every few minutes.

Well, start by talking to your manager, even if you think there’s nothing she can do about it. Chances are good that she’ll be willing to swap your desk with someone else’s to see if that solves it. Say something like this: “I think I’m allergic to something near my desk. I’ve never had allergies before, but since I started, I’ve been sneezing and coughing as soon as I sit down, and it goes away once I leave for the night. I’ve tried allergy drugs, but they’re not solving it. I’ve started to wonder whether being under the vent might be causing it, and so I wanted to ask you about the possibility of swapping desk locations with someone.” And don’t worry about about sounding whiny or entitled!  If your manager is a halfway decent manager, she’d very much want to know about it. I’d be mortified to discover that my new employee had been suffering silently through something like this (or a freezing draft or a lack of AC or a broken chair or whatever else might make someone really uncomfortable).