Perfume at the gym

[StripySocks1]

The last two times I've been to a class at the gym the person next to me has been wearing perfume (two different people) and it made me feel sick. It was a spinning class so I couldn't move away from them. Is wearing perfume to the gym normal and I'm just being over sensitive or is it inconsiderate to other gym users?

[NotTheDuchessOfCambridge]

I don't think it's abnormal to wear perfect me to the gym, nor do I want honk it's inconsiderate. Maybe you have a sensitive nose, try breathing through your mouth.

[PenguinOfDoom]

I don't get the MN obsession with other people wearing perfume. I use the tube every day, work in an office and use a gym, and I have never once found someone else's perfume so overpowering that it makes me ill/struggle to breathe/etc. Is it just that you don't like the scent?

[MackerelOfFact]

Of all the smells available at the gym, I'd say perfume is probably the least offensive!

If they've come from work they might still be wearing perceptible perfume. They also might have topped up their deodorant before the class which might smell a bit perfumey, especially if it's a spray.

[WorknameJimEllis]

I think it's hugely inconsiderate.

Whether I breather through my mouth or my nose, it will still trigger a fucking 4day migraine.

I don't mind the smell of sweat in a gym.

[StripySocks1]

In general I don't like perfume, I never wear it but I expect that I will encounter people wearing it in shops and restaurants etc. But when your working out you obviously breathe in deeper and it makes me feel physically sick, if I breathe through my mouth I can taste it, but mainly I just think it's really weird to wear it at the gym.

It was a 9am class so I doubt they'd been anywhere first and it would just get washed off after the class.

[PenguinOfDoom]

With all due respect, if the smell of someone else's perfume triggers a four day migraine, the problem is with you, not them. Everyone wears perfume or aftershave and it's unreasonable to expect other people to magically know that it affects you in that way.

[NotCitrus]

Not sure, but if you're swimming two lanes over from me and I'm suffocating from your perfume or aftershave, you're definitely wearing too bloody much!

[kali110]

It was a 9am class so I doubt they'd been anywhere first and it would just get washed off after the class.
Because nobody works shifts and thens goes yo the gym do they?
People wear perfume.
I hate some perfumes. I also suffer migraines and im asthmatic, but yabu.
People are entitled to wear what they want.
They could have come straight from work ( not all work 9-5 jobs)

[StripySocks1]

PenguinOfDoom I generally think that if I'm more than arms length from you and I can smell your perfume then you're wearing too much.

Surely most people are aware that perfume can trigger asthma attacks so wouldn't wear it in a gym?

[kali110]

PenguinOfDoom agree with you, and i suffer!
It's not inconsiderate.
I simply move if ( ie on public transport) if the smell is too overwhelming.

[kali110]

StripySocks1 i'm asthmatic.
It's not up too me what others wear to the gym.
Why is the gym different to the jobs, the cinema or a restaurant?

[StripySocks1]

Kali I guess I think the gym is different because you're breathing a lot harder so the effect is worse.

I know people want to smell nice and perfume can almost become part of their self expression but unlike clothes or makeup it can actually have an affect on other people.

[Dewey595]

I don't think it's common sense not to wear perfume at the gym... never heard of such a thing. Do you seriously think people should shower off their perfume before going to the gym? Most people shower after the gym, why would they wash off their perfume before hand? I always wear perfume, even at the gym, because putting on perfume is part of my daily routine.

[HawthornLantern]

Our gym has issued notices asking people not to be inconsiderate and therefore to make sure they wear deodorant and also not to wear perfume. In enclosed spaces when you are getting hot and breathing harder a strong perfume coming from someone near you can be very difficult to deal with, even if it doesn't trigger a migraine. If you know you are going to go to the gym don't put your perfume on until after you shower (if it is the morning) or if it is the lunch/evening then don't refresh it.

[Bloodybridget]

Not everyone wears perfume or aftershave, actually! I haven't worn perfume for about forty years, and I do really dislike a lot of them.

[MackerelOfFact]

Maybe they wear perfume because the smell of other people's sweat makes them nauseous?

You might prefer he smell of sweat at the gym to perfume - maybe they are the opposite. People are different!

Arrive slightly later to the class and sit next to someone who smells a bit ripe, maybe?

FWIW I have been to a weekly spin class for at least 3 years and have never once smelt perfume in the spin studio. The changing rooms can be quite bad though, I'd agree with that.

[PutThatPomBearBack]

I can't believe this is actually an issue

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

Our gym has issued notices asking people not to be inconsiderate and therefore to make sure they wear deodorant and also not to wear perfume.

See I think freshly applied aerosol deodorant is far more noticeable than perfume and I've seen the majority of people in the gym changing rooms given themselves a spray before a work out.

[kali110]

you know you are going to go to the gym don't put your perfume on until after you shower (if it is the morning) or if it is the lunch/evening then don't refresh it.
What if you're coming straight from work?
I don't know people who would shower before their work out

[user1499079258]

@stripysocks1 its annoying, selfish and extremely inconsiderate when these women are drowning in perfume!
It is headache inducing when your senses are heightened due to exercise and the last thing you want to inhale in bouts and bouts of perfume.

[NotCitrus]

When I was young I was told that you should only wear perfume where you want to be kissed, and anyone too far away to kiss you shouldn't be able to smell your perfume.

There's no reason why people on the far side of a large room should be able to smell your perfume unless you've spilt it!

[dollydaydream114]

We all sometimes do ordinary things that will sometimes annoy other people - through no fault of our own. If you are hypersensitive to a normal, everyday thing like perfume, you have to deal with it I'm afraid. The entire world can't amend its behaviour to accommodate you. My partner's asthma is triggered by cats, including small traces on clothes etc, but he doesn't expect people who own cats to put on brand new vacuum sealed clothes before they sit next to him on the bus. The smell of mint makes me queasy but that doesn't give me the right to demand that total strangers stop eating Polos in my presence.

[WhereDoAllTheWildThingsGo]

I think MN has eaten itself with this thread.

[WeyHay]

Well, I find that obvious body odour really makes me gag, so I'd much prefer people used deodorant/anti-perspirant and perfume. I wish I didn't react that way - it makes the UK in summer really difficult (why oh why can't people just use deodorant?)