Don't get me any where near oil based lacquer paints...or certain perfumes. My son really likes this one scent and it drives him crazy that I can smell it when I am downstairs and he is upstairs.
But I have a really strong reaction to it. I immediately get asthma symptoms and start to cough my head off. I never go to church without my inhaler, because I never know when someone will be wearing something I can't tolerate.
Two weeks ago, I forgot my inhaler, and ended up having to leave about half way through sevices. Spent the first 10 minutes coughing up all the junk my lungs were producing.
A lot of modern scents contain chemicals that can really cause people to react.
And I seem to be one of them!
There are a lot of serious allergies; I know a woman who, like you, had a problem with certain scents...ruined her social life, she couldn't go anywhere without running into someone wearing something she was seriously allergic to.