Perfumes and aftershaves – no matter how inviting their smell is in everyday life – have no place in hospitals, argued concerned doctors.
Writing in an Oct. 5 editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Drs. Ken Flegel and James G. Martin said that these artificial scents may lead to “unintended harm” to the vulnerable population of hospitals, particularly patients with asthma or skin sensitivities.
About three in 10 people report having a certain sensitivity to other people’s artificial scents, with 27 percent of asthma patients saying their condition has become worst through exposure. The authors warned that their attacks can be “quite sudden and serious.”
“There is little justification for continuing to tolerate artificial scents in our hospitals,” they wrote.
The doctors added that while federal and provincial human rights involve accommodation for staff who are sensitive to scents in their workplace, patients in hospitals or clinics have no such protection and that similar “opportunities do not exist.”
They said that much of the burden of asthma can be attributed to neutrophilic inflammation in the airways, which is triggered by irritants. Asthma patients’ triggers are not always under the allergen category, but instead also include second-hand smoke, cleaning agents such as bleach, and strong odors from perfume.
“[I]t was thought that they were not disease-causing, but rather disease exacerbating,” wrote the authors about the said asthma triggers.
Arguing that experts now know enough now to take precautionary measures in health care settings, Dr. Flegel and Dr. Martin call for a “scent-free environment” promoted in other public places, particularly as part of accreditation standards.
“Hospital environments free from artificial scents should become a uniform policy, promoting the safety of patients, staff and visitors alike,” they recommended.
Dr. Flegel is CMAJ senior editor while Dr. Martin is a medicine faculty member at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in Canada.
Photo: Lindsay Wilson | Flickr
