Female morning sneezes at the office

[AntheaHolmes]

It's Monday morning, 6 o'clock and I've just arrived at work. My colleague is on holiday and she has a soft spot for room scents that more than tickle my nose and I feel like I have to sneeze every time I enter the room to put my bag in my locker, which is in her room.

I try to air out the room now whilst she's away but it's not really working. However, my desk is somewhere else. 

I've already told her several times that I find her room scents more than intense, but she doesn't care and so I sit here and my nose tingles and I sniff and scratch to get rid of the intense itch, but it doesn't help.

I take a tissue and blow my nose but the sneezes just build up and annoy me. I take the corner of a new handkerchief and slowly insert it into my tingling, itchy nose. I cough and hitch several times, the sneeze builds up and then I hit the right spot and sneeze multiple times, hitching in between. 

It echoes through the halls.... goodness me. I'm just glad that it's early and not many people are early like me. I let out another loud sneeze, trying to stifle but it's too itchy. 

I tried to keep count: it was a fit of ten sneezes total...now I sit here...my throat's itching too and I'm coughing now...how I hate that...

I just hope that when she's back, we can compromise on her room scents... because I really don't want to feel sneezy all morning! 

What a start into the week. Wishing you all a good and happy Monday! Take care. 🌞

[Spinoza]

Bless you, that was a lovely obs! I really wish you'll reach a proper compromise with your colleague.

Happy monday and have a nice day at work!

[Bloogap]

Sounds terrible. Has this happening for a long time? Hopefully not, cause this honestly sounds like the sort of scenario you'd find in a fic haha.  At least your not working in that room unless I'm reading this wrong.

Good day to you to 🎩.

[AntheaHolmes]

47 minutes ago, Spinoza said:

Bless you, that was a lovely obs! I really wish you'll reach a proper compromise with your colleague.

Happy monday and have a nice day at work!

 

44 minutes ago, Bloogap said:

Sounds terrible. Has this happening for a long time? Hopefully not, cause this honestly sounds like the sort of scenario you'd find in a fic haha.  At least your not working in that room unless I'm reading this wrong.

Good day to you to 🎩.

Thanks, glad you both liked it. 

No, I don't usually work in that office but I have to go in there quite often throughout the day. 

I really hope we can compromise but I fear she just dismisses my worries over her room scent. The last one was equally potent...I hope for the best. 

[Ignaciosneeze]

Bless You !!! It was a phenomenal observation, I loved it. How would you spell your sneezes?

[bearwax]

Bless you! Thanks for sharing!

Has your coworker actually seen what her room scents do to you? Maybe if she saw a fit in real life, she would understand the issue!

As dreamy as it is for us, that’s not a healthy or practical work environment for you. Bless you and keep us updated when she gets back.

[AntheaHolmes]

1 hour ago, Ignaciosneeze said:

Bless You !!! It was a phenomenal observation, I loved it. How would you spell your sneezes?

I'm not really good at spelling sneezes but I'll try. They mostly sound like "hHratschoou" or "hHatschiieee"  if stifled. 

[AntheaHolmes]

30 minutes ago, bearwax said:

Bless you! Thanks for sharing!

Has your coworker actually seen what her room scents do to you? Maybe if she saw a fit in real life, she would understand the issue!

As dreamy as it is for us, that’s not a healthy or practical work environment for you. Bless you and keep us updated when she gets back.

Nah, she hasn't.... because the itch is just very very itchy but most times toying me and I need to induce with something so I don't sneeze when she's around but I told her that I'm sensitive to scents and all, she also knows about my hayfever. 

[kiku]

@AntheaHolmes Gesundheit! ❤️ 👃 ❤️ Thanks for sharing your sneezy experience with us. I too hope you will find a good solution about the room scents! 🌻

[bearwax]

4 hours ago, AntheaHolmes said:

Nah, she hasn't.... because the itch is just very very itchy but most times toying me and I need to induce with something so I don't sneeze when she's around but I told her that I'm sensitive to scents and all, she also knows about my hayfever. 

Maybe she doesn’t have allergies so she doesn’t understand the agony. Still doesn’t make it ok or fair tho!! I’m sorry you have to experience it tho. 
 

maybe induce with something right before you walk in, put on the sneeze show, then tell her again…? Or HR?

[bearwax]

I know firsthand that an itchy nose at work is the WORST. I feel for u even though I love the sneezes. The insatiable itch with no relief while trying to work is awful!

[NoV]

Those sounds like some pretty intense sneezes! Maybe your colleague is quite happy with the effect their room scent has on you    

[bubbly]

1 hour ago, NoV said:

Maybe your colleague is quite happy with the effect their room scent has on you    

Ooo! I like the idea of this plot twist 😅

[AntheaHolmes]

10 hours ago, kiku said:

@AntheaHolmes Gesundheit! ❤️ 👃 ❤️ Thanks for sharing your sneezy experience with us. I too hope you will find a good solution about the room scents! 🌻

 

9 hours ago, bearwax said:

I know firsthand that an itchy nose at work is the WORST. I feel for u even though I love the sneezes. The insatiable itch with no relief while trying to work is awful!

 

7 hours ago, NoV said:

Those sounds like some pretty intense sneezes! Maybe your colleague is quite happy with the effect their room scent has on you    

 

5 hours ago, bubbly said:

Ooo! I like the idea of this plot twist 😅

First, thanks @kiku! Glad you liked it but I actually doubt to find a solution the longer I think about it. My colleague is a bit "old school" to put it that way...and she just loves her room scents so much. 

And thanks to all the others commenting and enjoying. I'm not taking it up to HR! I'm quite new at my job so it's a bit risky....I try to ask her about her room scent when she's back from her holiday but as I said I doubt she will change it...well maybe if I have another allergy sneeze fit in front of her...but I think she just doesn't understand how much it affects me. 

I also doubt that she enjoys it. She just likes strong scents and only god knows why! Even our boss is not too happy about it. Hahahaha. 

[bearwax]

Any updates after she came back from holiday?

[AntheaHolmes]

On 8/16/2024 at 7:34 PM, bearwax said:

Any updates after she came back from holiday?

Nah. She's still on holidays. But I've been struggling with a bit of sinus pain and congestion lately.... doing everything I can to not get sick. Maybe it's just the remainings of my allergies. 

[AnnaSophie]

22 hours ago, AntheaHolmes said:

Nah. She's still on holidays. But I've been struggling with a bit of sinus pain and congestion lately.... doing everything I can to not get sick. Maybe it's just the remainings of my allergies. 

Bless you and take care! Hope you feel better soon!

[jsneeze9382]

Bless you! Work fits are the worst lol, hope it gets better soon for you!

[LeCheateur]

Gesundheit! Thanks for sharing U seems to have pretty strong sneezes I hope U get well soon an that the situation got solved somehow 

[treehouse]

Bless you! Potentially unorthodox suggestion here, please disregard if you are not looking for advice rn, but: are there any room scents you know of that don't bother your allergies? If there is one, in this situation I might try picking up one of those and giving it to her as a gift, saying something like, "Hey! I know you love your room scents; unfortunately, I think I've mentioned that they trigger my allergies. Ultimately this is your office, and you can do whatever you want! But I got this for you, and I wonder if you'd consider trying it instead. This scent doesn't bother me, and that way the room will still smell nice." Obviously your miles may vary with this, and sometimes there simply is no choice but to put up with this sort of thing in the workplace! And of course, if there are no room scents that wouldn't bother you, the suggestion is moot. But sometimes I find people are more willing to be accommodating if you sort of... butter them up a little first, lol. Makes it more awkward for them to rude about it. It shouldn't be like that, but sometimes it is 🤷‍♂️ Either way, hope you get some relief soon, and that the job is otherwise going well!!