How to Cope With Strong Perfume in an Enclosed Car

Great Aunt Agatha might adore that 1950s cologne she has been wearing for the past 60 years but you can't stomach it and you're beginning to feel wretched the farther the car trip goes... While being polite is important, so is not vomiting on the upholstery. To help yourself and those seated around you, here are some ideas for coping with strong smells in an enclosed car space.

1

→ Put a handkerchief or tissue over your nose and breathe through it. It will help to lessen the strength of the odor molecules passing through to your sense of smell.

2

→ Wind or roll down the window a little if possible. This is a hard one because sometimes other passengers in the car complain about the cold, heat, dust, whatever, coming in. But do it if you can, as the odor will have somewhere to escape other than all over you. Be politely assertive about needing some "fresh air".

3

→ Try mouth-breathing. This will give your odor sense a bit of a rest. Although, doing this won't last for long because you still have to breathe normally and odor and taste are closely linked.

4

→ Always keep an "odor defender" in your handbag to counteract strong odors. A little dab of peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus, or ginger essential oil on a tissue can make your area of the car a little more bearable. Or take some peppermints and suck on these; they are good for tricking your senses with a more powerful immediate taste.

5

→ Eat something. A little bread, a bun, a ginger cookie, or some other starchy carbohydrate might help overcome the rising nausea that the smell is inducing in you. If you feel really queasy, however, food might make things worse. Judge it by knowing how your own constitution reacts.

6

→ Ask for a rest stop. Having a break now and then from the odor can improve things for your markedly. Get right out of the car and walk about, visit a restroom, do some stretches. Even if it's freezing, take the chance to leave the car temporarily.

TIPS

→ If you have allergies to perfumes, it always helps to let other people know this well in advance of traveling with them (especially for long journeys), or visiting them. It is a very serious issue and is not about mere dislike for people who react badly to the chemical combinations that make up perfumes.

→ Next time you know you will be traveling with this person, it might be a good idea to be honest and to let them know that you find their perfume makes you feel unwell.

→ If you have allergies to perfumes, decline the ride altogether or you will arrive sick as well as nauseated.