Perfume harmful to hospitals

Contaminated air can cause allergies and asthma
Perfume and aftershave can cause allergies and asthma. Especially in hospitals the danger is great. Patients are usually seriously ill and do not have good defenses. Canadian doctors now recommend banning such fragrances in hospitals.

Three in ten respondents say they are sensitive to other people's smells or scents, according to the medical team. 27 percent of people with asthma say that their condition is worsened by aftershave and perfume, according to Ken Flegel and James G. Martin in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). More than half of the asthma attacks would be triggered by irritants from cigarette smoke, detergents, bleach or other strong fragrances. Such irritants have been neglected for some time as the trigger of asthma. Now there is more and more evidence that asthma is exacerbated in some cases by artificial fragrances, the doctors write in the "CMAJ". Especially in hospitals where at-risk patients with asthma or other diseases of the upper respiratory tract, it would therefore be useful to prohibit such fragrances.

Artificial fragrances can be dangerous for asthma patients. (Image: olly / fotolia.com)

Unintentional hazard to patients
It often happens that staff, other patients and visitors unintentionally, through their fragrances, increase the risk for patients with respiratory disease. Perfumes and aftershaves are supposed to make people look fresher and more attractive. In people with asthma, however, they can cause seizures and other damage. Patients, family members and physicians confirm that such seizures can very suddenly lead to serious health problems. For this reason, artificial fragrances should be banned from hospitals, demand the Canadian doctors. An additional risk for sensitive patients could not be tolerated. Hospitals should be uniformly free of artificial fragrances to ensure the safety of their patients, said Flegel and Martin

Increased risk due to artificial fragrances
The negative effects of artificial fragrances in our respiratory air on asthma patients, overall health and productivity suggest that a complete ban should be adopted, especially in sensitive places such as hospitals and other health centers. As long as there are no uniform laws that prohibit artificial fragrances in all hospitals, individual clinics must act as a model, the experts concluded. It is important to take the problem seriously. In particular, this applies to rooms in which susceptible persons reside. (As)