Apparently I'm allergic to cleaning supplies!

My one coworker LOVES to clean. We ran out of cleaning supplies last week, and headquarters said they'd send some new cleaners. She got sooo excited, I mean, REALLY excited -as in Christmas morning excited - when the box came with the new cleaning supplies supplies on Wednesday.

She immediately opened the box and got to cleaning the bathroom and sales counters. Then she placed the little pop-up room fresheners throughout the store.

Within ten minutes, my head was swimming in a fog, my throat was closing up, and I basically felt icky. We opened every door and aired the place out. Luckily it was not long before my quitting time, so I was exposed only a few mintues. I developed a MAJOR migraine that night. The migraine subsided FINALLY last night. I went into work today all happy and feeling great. Then Miss Cleaning Freak broke out the cleaner. Again. (ummm, didn't she just clean two days ago?)

I got the same light-headed feeling. Same throat swelling. Only today I also developed hives and vomiting. I had to leave immediately and am taking a personal day. Not because I wanted a day off, but because I am allergic to the stupid cleaning supplies!

Its hours later. I took a shower, a nap, and lots of Benedryl and am still one big itchy swelly mess. At least my head isn't pounding like the other day.

I have never, ever had an episode like that in my life. If two exposures did that to me, I really do NOT want to encounter a third exposure!

Oh my goodness! So will they get rid of those cleaners so you can go back to work, safely? That's crazy!!

Hmmm...that's a good excuse though. Although, I couldn't make myself have hives. I'm always looking for a way to get out of cleaning.

I hope you feel better soon and that something is done at work for you.

I'm allergic to cleaning. :p

I sure hope that your place of employment gets rid of whatever it is that is making you so sick. I guess they'll have to if they want you to come back to work - right?? :confused:

I don't think they have a choice. Perhaps it's the exuberance and excessive amounts of cleaning liquids that's bothering her. Or the air fresheners. I can't use air fresheners. I can't breathe if I use them.

Hope you feel better. :love:

And tell your boss what's making your sick.

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

Or the air fresheners. I can't use air fresheners. I can't breathe if I use them.

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Same here. I wasn't always this way, but absolutely can not use them
now. I'd definately tackle the women if she goes near the cleaning products
again. ;) Oh, and definately tell the boss about it too. It's a matter of your
health.

I would love to tackle that woman for many other reasons! :p She has to be constantly moving and doing things. Somebody will send a document to the printer, and by the time they get to the printer, the document will be missing. We all learned not to waste time asking "did you see the report I printed?" and simply go to the clean freak.

I hate, hate, hate those obnoxious air fresheners. Before she even put any of them out on the sales floor, the store manager asked her NOT to use them because they bother his sinuses. She placed a couple air fresheners in the store anyway. I told her to take them away after I started having hte first reaction. She couldn't remember where she put them. And she only put them out 5 mintues earlier. :rolleyes:

Ahhh, I could go on and on about the clean freak all night. She's sweet but oh-so-annoying! and of course, my getting sick was just another way for me to "yell" at her. :rolleyes: I explained so very nicely that I know she did nothing wrong, that the cleaning supplies were at fault. I told her that I would persoinally buy something that I would not react to. And somehow she turned it around to me demanding that she buy the cleaning supplies because I won't let her use the company proivided ones. (insert scream of frustration in here)

By the way, my throat is still very scratchy and I'm still covered in hives. Sigh.

They must be industrial power cleaning supplies! Yeah, that is definately an allergic reaction. I'd talk to the boss about it. Take care of yourself.

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Originally Posted by lizbud

Same here. I wasn't always this way, but absolutely can not use them
now. I'd definately tackle the women if she goes near the cleaning products
again. ;) Oh, and definately tell the boss about it too. It's a matter of your
health.

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Actually, it might be a matter of your life!! Your boss needs to know, before you enter the store next, that these things can cause you to go into Anaphylactic Shock.

That place should probably be totally aired out BEFORE you enter again. If you're already having hives, you're taking a huge risk by going in without the airing out.

And give that co-worker your medical bills :mad:

I am terribly allergic to some cleaning supplies. Others are okay. If you have ones you use at home that you can tolerate, ask if they can use that instead. I am guess she won't care what she gets to use, as long as it's something ...

I have always been this way. At my last office, they hired a new cleaning crew who came and used Tilex to clean everything, and I literally had to go outside for half an hour as I was ill, and dizzy and had an instant and massive headache. After that, we just bought 409 to have in our office, which I can tolerate, and they used that.

My sensitivities are so bad that I used to need an inhaler if I went to the supermarket when it was late and they were washing a floor in part of the store. Anything with ammonia in it is sure to get me. And when I was in college, and a certain Boston MBTA station smelled like urine, I had to hold my breath going in and out or I'd be wheezing up a storm by the time the train came.

At least I am not as sensitive as my sister, who cannot even use soap without a bad allergic reaction. She uses Lowilla or "Pear's Soap" which is actually glycerine, not soap.

Please be careful and let people know you have allergies.

Ed's mom was allergic to latex...her doctors told her to take benadryl to counteract the symptoms....

As it turned out?

She was allergic to the dye in the benadryl meds and almost died from the reaction......:eek:

You need to be ever so vigilant when dealing with any chemicals...

Is it possible to have a delayed reation? Thye hives have gone way to simply itchy skin. But my throat is itchy and making me cough and my eyes look like I've been crying for hours (they are also itchy). I can't stand the itchies!!!!

The good thing is I got hubby to give me a very nice back scratch today without so much as one little wimper or whine on his part :D

I seriously have never experienced anything like this. It scares me as to when/if anything else might happen elsewhere with different chemicals. They say your body chemistry changes every 7 years. Apparently this is my 7 year itch (yeah go ahead and groan at the really bad pun.)

Have you taken any Benadryl - that would help.

I'm serious - you should not go into that store again until it is completely aired out. Tell your boss about the symptoms - the hives, especially the throat swelling. Make sure they know how to dial 911.

The "7 year" things is just an old wives tale. A person's allergies can change at any time, as I am living proof. What do you use to clean with at home?

Talk to your doctor, describe what happened, and get an Epi pen to keep with you. Describe how to use it to a trusted set of coworkers.

And yes, a "delayed reaction" is standard - your body attacked that "threat" with tons of force, and it takes a while for all that to dissipate. It can take a couple days for me to "clear" from a bad episode.

I'm allergic to Amway S8....big time.

What does your boss have to say about Ms. Clean freak causing you to almost lose your life??? Seriously. It's that serious.

She needs to know.


Ms. Clean freak needs to know.


You shoouldn't have to carry the epi pen with you all the time to work just so you can work there!!! You'll be using it every day, and it's not meant for that.

I feel your pain! I cannot tolerate a lot of scented things either. Perfume really bothers me.

And, oh my gosh...I think this woman's sister is working in my office! Mine jumps up every time a fax comes in and delivers it, usually to the wrong desk. I finally had to ask her to leave my faxes at the machine because same scenario as yours, I'd be walking around asking whether someone took my fax confirmation out of the machine. :mad:

She sounds like the type that doesn't listen when you are talking either.

Can you send her for training to another country for a couple months? :D

I work for the state in a large office building in a complex of buildings. A couple of months ago, they decided to clean the air filtration system and I got so sick. When they accidently dumped Orange Glow near the intake on the air conditioning system, I ended up with a horrible migraine. I keep a cleaner that doesn't bother my allergies at my desk and when someone wants to clean their office, I give them my bottle of cleaner. It's cheaper than going to the doctor.

This woman sounds very passive aggressive.

Some air fresheners are downright awful. I have a difficult time even walking down the aisle of cleaning supplies in the grocery store. And Pine Sol is the absolute worst for me. I had an episode when I had my house cleaning business. I hadn't used Pine Sol in years and the client asked if I would mind using hers and I didn't have a problem w/it, until I opened the bottle. My head started swimming and I thought I'd pass out. I had to go home and go to bed. I drove w/all my car windows open and it was January! I stayed in bed for 3 days and could taste Pine Sol for two weeks. If I walk into some place and I get a whiff of Pine Sol, I leave immediately. So I feel ya. :)

Pine Sol is pretty wicked. I scrubbed my bathroom floor with it a couple weeks ago. I accidentally dumped way too much into the bucket. By the time I was done cleaning I was in la-la land.

My favorite thing to clean with are the clorox bleach products. For some reason that doesn't bother me.

My daughter is funny, she loves the smell of bleach. If she comes in and I have used it in the wash or to clean the kitchen sink she says oh I love the smell of this house.

Bleach gives everything a nice clean smell. Kinda like hanging the laundry outside to dry on a breezy day, rather than using the dryer.

I love the smell of Javex for exacly that reason, the spring fresh smell. My cleaning products are mainly baking soda, and vinegar, some of those bath and shower cleaners are just too overpowering. I get rashes and hives from most of those heavy duty cleaners and they don't do such a great job sometimes.

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Originally Posted by catnapper

By the way, my throat is still very scratchy and I'm still covered in hives. Sigh.

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Did you go to the doctor? he needs to be in on this. This protects you health-wise and legally for your job,. He can write a note, typed formally on office stationery, stating the exact problem.

Also, there might be better meds to help the allergic reaction subside.

Good luck and feel better.

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Originally Posted by happylabs

Pine Sol is pretty wicked. I scrubbed my bathroom floor with it a couple weeks ago. I accidentally dumped way too much into the bucket. By the time I was done cleaning I was in la-la land.

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I like PineSol to clean my bathroom, but I don't like the original pine scent. There are several different scents you can get now. The one I have now is blue in color and called "sparkling wave", there's also one that's purple in color and smells good, but can't remember the name of that scent. I just think the pine is too strong and overwhelming.

You'll love this -- Clean Freak told my manager and coworkers that I am a Drama Queen :rolleyes: Apparently, I was in a grumpy mood and used her cleaning as an excuse to cut out of work early.

Based on who it came from, I am simply choosing to ignore the comment. She's clueless most of the time.

BUT one of the higher ups called today and said, "wow, you sound so much better! how are you feeling?" I spoke to that guy Friday right before the cleaning incident and right after. At the time he was concerned how I went from sounding normal to all itchy throated in ten minutes flat. Allergies, thats how. And somehow, those allergies make me a Drama Queen according to Clean Freak :rolleyes:

Hey, ask her to try breathing through an ace bandage wrapped tightly around her throat, nose and mouth for 20 minutes and ask her to react calmly to that!

My family used to compare allergy/asthma attacks to a boa constrictor squeezing tighter and tighter. And adding the itchiness and hives is just insult to injury.

At least as a Drama Queen, she's admitting you are royalty! ;)