To think that I CAN use cold remedies in the office?

[MrsElizabethShelby]

I have been told that I cannot use olbas oil/vaporub in the office due to a staff member who has asthma.

Staff remember sits approximately 40 feet away from me.

I understand no spraying of aerosols perfumes (already a rule) but olbas oil/vaporub to help with cold symptoms? Really?

AIBU to state that I am forced to go home ill if I cannot use things to ease my symptoms.to enableme to work?

These products can be really dangerous for asthmatics. A pharmacist refused to sell me them for DS (it's how I found out they are unsuitable).

That's rubbish, dh has asthma and he finds olbas oil beneficial, not harmful.

Why cant you just take something like a cold & flu tablet? You cant really be "too ill to function" if a bit of Olbas Oil is all you need, so a squirt of Sudafed nasal spray or a Beechams tablet will sort you out.

You need to find something else. There see many decongestants on the market.

I am applying vaporub to my chest at home and/or using a bit of olbas oil on a hanky again applied at home and kept in my bag.

You just need to stop doing those things then 👍

You know people can die from asthma.......I hope you never have to see someone struggle to take a breath...THEY CAN DIE!!

But of course, your right to putting olbas oil and vapor rub on your chest and hankies, for a common cold, trumps their right to live.

TBH it does feel like she is taking the piss. A bit of olbas oil will kill her via an asthma attack but the 20 a day she smokes don't?

I voted YANBU because that answers the question - YANBU to state you need to be off work. YWBU to use the products having been asked not to.

Well I have asthma (and yes PP I know exactly what a bad asthma attack is like) and I use both of those when I have a cold and so does a close friend who is worse than me My mother was a chronic asthmatic and would rub Vick on our chests when we were kids too.

It sounds bizarre to me but I suppose even asthmatics can have different triggers.

I'd stay home.

Surely you won’t have a cold long enough for this to be a real issue though?

She's asthmatic and she smokes? She's an idiot.

Oh yawn... here comes the fucking drip feed.

Do you seriously need to ask op? I had to ask a manager to impose a similar rule on a woman who used to use a little essential oil vaporiser thing and I literally couldn't breathe when she turned it on. Had to use my inhaler constantly which also resulted in coughing fits and pissing my pants when heavily pregnant. According to her the essential oils she was using couldn't possibly affect me and I was being "silly".

But she's also a massive twat for smoking. That really kicks off a reaction for me if I'm near people that smoke. God knows how someone with asthma actually smokes!

Not to mention the hookah pipe she chuffs on every lunchtime, and the asbestos clearance work she does on the side.

That's rubbish, dh has asthma and he finds olbas oil beneficial, not harmful

Oh aye, so just because ONE asthmatic is grand they're all fine with it? Don't be fucking obtuse. I personally am fine with Vicks (and have nearly died from severe asthma) but others really do find it a trigger. Some people have exercise-induced asthma, others are sensitive to temperature change, others react to pet hair or other irritants (like olbas oil for example). There isn't a one-size-fits-all for asthma.

Yadbu. You sound like a bit of a drama queen.

Do you really have to use the 2 strongest smelling items on the market?

Are you worried that people won't realise you have a cold if you just take a sudafed?

If you really can't function without them, you shouldn't be spreading your germs around.

You're not sniffing all the time too are you?

I'd think YABU even if she didn't have asthma.

When I was pregnant some dick fuck kept using deep heat in the office and I was sick every time.

Stop being selfish and don't use anything that smells strongly.

You could put some Olbas oil on a tissue and just sniff it when you need to though.

If someone's asthma is triggered by these products, then you should not use them anywhere near her. An asthma attack is no joke. If your cold symptoms are intolerable without using this product at work, then it might indeed be best to stay at home for a day or two.

Drip drip drip...

YABU. Asthma is a serious condition that you can die from and quickly. An attack can come on quickly and without warning due to certain irritants.

My asthma is almost non existent but is triggered by the deodorant my DH used and a commonly supermarket brand anti bacterial liquid spray. Certain things trigger certain people and it's slightly inconvenient for you but massively inconvenient and dangerous for them.

Can’t believe you have to ask, of course YABU.

@newmumof1 that is what I do with the olbas... I'm not spraying it around in the air.

That's rubbish, dh has asthma and he finds olbas oil beneficial, not harmful.

And?

I’m asthmatic and can take ibuprofen, doesn’t mean pharmacists and doctors should ignore the fact that many can’t.

I liken this to people who moan that their children should be allowed peanut butter at school even though their are children who could die if they come into contact with it. As if they can't eat peanut butter at home instead....

There are other things you an do for a cold. Do those things.

Just the smell of Olbas Oil and Vicks would irritate me. Not in an asthmatic way, I'd just be irritated bt the pong.

Anyway, of course you can't use them if they are bothering someone with asthma.