Blood boiling

[TFletchersWife]

Colleague sat opposite me sprays her deodrant/body spray about once ever hour. It is really strong to the point I can taste it. I ask her to stop and she ignores me so I told her last week to stop it or I WILL shive the aerosol up her arse. She laughed and said sorry. She then continue to do it. More people complain. She has done it again.

Every lunch time she paints her nails - the smell is giving me a headache. Everytime I ask her to do it somewhere else she says sorry ok.

She is not crunching on a lolly and sicking it loudly. I am losing the fucking will to live.

AIBU to make a formal complaint? Or put a really passive agressive sign by her desl regarding strong scents in the office

Sorry Jelly, I meant that I was laughing at olfactory reference syndrome (not you)

Still laughing though

How the hell did you hear of that, Shiny?

Cant imagine that it is very common?

Just get an airhorn, and match her spray-for-spray

Complain to HR.

And tell her about the teenage boy who died from using too much deodorant spray last year in the UK ....

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/teenage-boy-dies-from-using-too-much-deodorant-spray-inquest-finds-a6800926.html

Stormtreader, that's a brilliant idea

Agree she should spray in the toilets. But a delusion that you smell is actually not uncommon and very distressing.

I agree it's very annoying. I agree you should have a word with either your line manager or HR (depending on how your organisation works with things like this).

What I wouldn't mention though is that the smell of her nail polish & body spray put you off your vinegar soaked chips .

She's always so paranoid etc that she smells and we all tell her she doesn't.

So why don't you say "Yes you do smell awful, You smell of those terrible deodourants you keep spraying everywhere. It's awful."

shinynewusername I know you can only be joking, very funny.

I used to have a colleague who did this too, it's so bizarre. To be fair to her, once I asked her nicely, she stopped straight away but did continue to apply vaseline to her lips every 2 minutes and hand cream every 5. She must have been the smoothest person ever.

Ask your manager to immediately move her away from sitting near you because you've repeatedly asked her to stop and she won't.

Could you say to her that you are asking her politely one last time to stop spraying things and painting her nails in a work environment and if she doesn't you will be making a formal complaint to supervisors about it?

You need to do more assertive farts

If she has a delusion that she smells, you will get nowhere trying to reason with her to stop using the sprays because - in her mind - anything is preferable to letting you notice the foul smell she produces. You are much more likely to convince her to use the sprays somewhere else that to get her to give them up.

More info on olfactory reference syndrome here. I wish I were making it up because people with it feel desperate and suicidal. But I'm not.

My sensible self is saying that you should get colleagues' support, make an official complaint and log all the incidents.

My not-so-sensible self is saying that the next time she does it, collapse on the floor wheezing and grabbing your throat, whilst muttering 'can't breathe, can't breathe' (maybe having warned colleagues so that noone actually calls an ambulance)

You need to do more assertive farts

Just a different thought on this one.
A colleague who sits opposite me - her feel STINK! She often sits with her shoes off, directly under my desk, hence the smell coming through to my side.

I often spray with perfume otherwise I'm just sat in gagging with the sweaty feet smell! I have to mask it!

I should probably just tell her, but I think she'd be mortified, and thus far no one has complained about the perfume!

(Also am aware shoes without socks = sweaty! but at least keep them on!)

So she has olfactory reference syndrome, a form of mental illness.

Oh please, even if she did, she doesn't need to sit at her desk spraying deodorant all over the place when she has been politely asked to stop as it is a problem for others. She can go to the bathrooms, step outside the office, step in to a vacant conference room. Even a mental illness does not equate to 'so I can do whatever the fuck I want'.

We have it written into the office rules or whatever you call them that this sort of thing isn't allowed. Could you check your company policy? If it's in there then a quick reminder email from management should be easy enough.

I started writing a response to that post about me slagging her off online and laughing at her "medical condition" but I gave up

The suggestion about an air horn is absolutely hilarious!!

I started writing a response to that post about me slagging her off online and laughing at her "medical condition" but I gave up

Don't worry TF - many others took care of that one for you :)

I wonder if it would be more effective if you worked on this problem together? Every time she gets the spray out, you say "no" to her and she puts it away. If it is a medical problem, then that will surely be more helpful than reporting or raging.

The nail thing, just keep asking her to do it elsewhere.

You are colleagues, not rivals or enemies. You can help each other and work together; this includes dealing with annoying personal habits. Cooperation and kindness increase productivity!

Every time she gets the spray out, you say "no" to her and she puts it away.

No! No, bad colleague, BAD!

I imagine speaking to colleagues like naughty puppies is just the thing to breed cooperation and productivity!