wearing perfume to work

acaringnurse · Nov 30, 2005

thought this would be interesting. what is your policy? i wear a light body splash if anything.

sjrn85 · Nov 30, 2005

What's "light" to one person may be nauseating/oppressive to someone else. It's best to just leave fragrances at home.

mitchsmom · Nov 30, 2005

We are not supposed to have any scents or smells on us for clinicals in our nursing program... perfumes, smoke, etc. etc.

Katnip, RN · Nov 30, 2005

I don't wear any. I'm afraid that any perfume I wear would just clash with all those other lovely scents of a hospital. You know, code browns, GI bleeds, etc.

But to be more serious, it's not a great idea to wear perfume to work. There are patients who are sensitive to perfumes, and there are those who are so nauseous that even the most pleasant cologne can trigger vomiting.

Also, I've noticed way too many women underestimate ththe amount of perfume they are wearing and it's so strong they could gag you from down the hall.

~Kat

CathRN · Nov 30, 2005

on one of the units that I float to sometimes, the clerk there bathes in perfume, cologne, body spray, whatever you want to call it. She has been counseled many, many times about not wearing scents to work and she continues to do so. I don't know how many times that I have had to use my rescue inhaler when I float to that unit. I believe that absolutely no scents should be allowed in a hospital.

Another time I was working on another unit and a family member came down the hallway and I could smell her perfume halfway down the hall, I had to stop her from coming any closer since the smell was setting off my asthma.

If scents affects nurses this way, how does it affect our patients? The patients we are supposed to take care of?

jmgrn65, RN · Nov 30, 2005

I agree with all of you no scents at all we have a housekeeper that you can smell long after she has been in the room we have called many times. I don't know why they don't do more about it. :)

luvmy2angels · Nov 30, 2005

We don't really have a policy for this where i work, but in nursing school we are not allowed to wear perfume. :nono:

Tweety, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2005

It's not allowed. But not enforced. There's one CNA we work with that's all perfumed up. On two occasions patients have refused her to come in the room, and that's been a hardship on me.

Bad idea to wear perfume or cologne.