Nova Scotia·NewA Dartmouth woman wants Nova Scotia Health to step up enforcement around the use of scented products in its facilities after she said being exposed to them triggered asthma attacks.Asthma, COPD sufferer says exposures brought on asthma attacksGareth Hampshire · CBC News · Posted: Nov 20, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Mary Crosby said being exposed to scents in health-care facilities has resulted in several asthma attacks. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)A Dartmouth woman wants Nova Scotia Health to step up enforcement around the use of scents and fragrances in its facilities after she said being exposed to them triggered asthma attacks.Mary Crosby said she had trouble breathing nine times prior to and after heart surgery for a rare disease in October.“There’s so many hospital staff that feel comfortable wearing cologne or strongly scented other products that I’m not sure they even realize how this can affect their patients,” Crosby said.She praised her surgical team at the Halifax Infirmary and says the procedure appears to have been a success. But her recovery has been stressful, she said.Steps were taken to put signs on her door in the cardiac intensive care unit to warn people not to enter if they were wearing scented products, but Crosby said it did not stop.“Nobody seemed to care,” she said. Crosby said a head nurse told her she would send out an email reminder to staff that no scents should be worn on the ward.Post shared more than 200 timesBut she said some staff seemed to take offence when she told them about the problem, which created further anxiety.“My biggest fear was I just had heart surgery and I was scared it was going to reverse what it did,” she said.Crosby, 65, used to both work and volunteer at the Dartmouth General Hospital. She said it was made clear to her no scented products should be worn when she was hired there about nine years ago.She is retired now and doesn’t think the issue is getting the same attention it did in the past.She said that walking into hospitals is another problem because people often smoke right outside the entrance.Her social media post has been shared more than 200 times, she said, leading to comments from people who have had similar experiences.“I can certainly relate to what she was talking about,” said Christine Bérubé, who has been living with environmental sensitivities for about 25 years.Christine Bérubé was one of a number of people who responded to Crosby’s social media post sharing similar experiences. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)At an MRI at a private clinic this summer, at least one staff member was wearing a scented product, she said. She said the visit was covered by Nova Scotia Health.“It really freaked me out,” said Bérubé, who got through the appointment without an adverse reaction.The issue is one the national charity Asthma Canada often hears about from patients.“Sometimes even a brief exposure to an irritant or to an allergen can lead down that path and create a very serious health situation for someone,” said Jeff Beach, the president and CEO of the organization.Scents and health challengesApproximately 126,000 Nova Scotians have been diagnosed with or are living with asthma and about 4.7 million across the country, he said.He said what Crosby and others have gone through underscores the need for more education and enforcement of scent-free policies.In a statement, Nova Scotia Health said it has an “established scent awareness policy, with supporting communications and signage around our facilities and a procedure to address any challenges.”The statement said the health authority “strives to eliminate the use of personal and environmental products with scents and fragrances to prevent any adverse reactions to patients, team members, and visitors.”The statement says patients who do not feel they have received the care they deserve should contact patient relations.Crosby said she has done that. In the meantime, she now requests to be in a room where no staff are wearing any scents when she goes to medical appointments.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORGareth Hampshire began his career with CBC News in Edmonton. He is now based in Halifax.
Dartmouth woman calls on Nova Scotia Health to crack down on scents, fragrances
