Starting to avoid my allergy for the first time, i feel so lost that i might cry..

I know this technically isnt 'beauty' but i feel like this is kind of in the scope and i really just need help.. i have a fragrance allergy, its not terrible right now but thats because i have been surrounded in it for years. This has always affected my breathing and i suspect its contributing to the severity of my asthma. I am moving next week and am going to make this a completely fragrance free zone, but im worried that after distancing myself from it, my reaction is only going to get worse whenever i come into contact. I just learned that some flavored things like toothpaste/mouthwash contain fragrance and im freaking out. I had no idea. Now i have to look into fragrance free ones and dont know which are actually good to use, so some tips and recommendations would def be helpful. But also, what else has fragrance that i wouldnt normally think of. Obviously hygiene products, make up and lotions, cleaning products, soaps and detergents, but what else?

I feel like i dont know anything and my breathing has only been getting worse lately. I get panic attacks when i get sick and my nose gets clogged because i already have difficulty breathing normally. I cried driving home from work yesterday because it felt like someone was sitting on my chest and i could only breath shallowly.

Even sitting feels like im compressing my lungs(i also own cats which dont help my breathing).. i feel so lost right now and i want to cry thinking about this getting to the point where i dont even want to leave my apartment. I believe if it gets to that point i shouldn't have TOO much trouble getting my work to allow me to work from home, but i wouldn't be able to afford never leaving my own apartment.. What about food? clothes shopping? hanging out with my friends and family? Eating out? I also dont qualify for my works health insurance yet so seeing a doctor right now isnt really possible but i make 'too much' to qualify for Medicaid but after taxes i take home barely 2000. Even writing this my chest feels tight and i just want to cry. Im only 19, my family never bothered to remove fragrance from our household because 'it didnt seem to affect you much'.. it really did but i didnt know how to distinguish what was from my allergy vs my asthma so i never made it an issue. Now because of that, i have no idea how to navigate this and my fears of it getting worse when i distance myself is only growing. (my sister developed a different allergy and the more she separated herself the worse her reactions to it got)

PLEASE someone help me.. things id never imagine having fragrance, how you deal with going outside, even just someone telling me their own experiences to calm myself. Also good products and brands for fragrance free items would be super helpful....

Posted Sep 13, 2026, 6:11 AM UTC

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