Phunky Phragrance

One morning working as a student, I was given the task of filling Webster-paks (Blister packs) for community clients. That involves organising all their medication into a single blister for each dosing time of the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime.

While fulfilling this task, I was exempt from any contact with customers. I was working out in the back staffroom but could still hear transactions as they happened. Being a fairly busy time of the morning, I always seemed to be able to hear at least one customer jabbering on about their problems.

Filling Webster-paks is a really boring, mundane job, so I was working quickly to finish and was sweating a little. Yes, I would prefer to serve customers than to organise Webster-paks!

After a while, I could smell the sharp odour of a sweaty person. I was sure it was me, I was working so hard! I sniffed my armpits to see if the smell got any worse - not really. I was still thinking I was the culprit, I had to be sure!

I made the excuse to grab a few more medications off the dispensary shelves for a client. I walked out of the staffroom, which was behind the dispensary and the smell immediately consumed my olfactories! (The sensory nerves for smell). I could see a few staff talking to a few customers. As I walked closer to the counter, next to the dispensary, the smell got worse, and it became clear who the culprit was.

An obese lady, with ratty hair, a long tatty dress, sweating profusely from the forehead, complete with a red, 'I've just done too much exercise,' look on her face, speaking to the pharmacist about her scripts. Yep, it was definitely her! I scurried back to the staff room, holding my breath - the smell wasn't so bad in there.

Then I came to a realisation, the obese lady was at least five metres from the door of the staffroom! And it was tucked in behind the dispensary with only one entrance! That's a pungent stench! She probably only walked from her car to the front counter to cause that much odour! Well, probably not, it wasn't exactly a cold day, and she probably did a heap of exercise before she came to the pharmacy. Well, probably not very physical exercise.

I listened for when the obese lady left then went back out to discuss her B.O with the pharmacist, of whom didn't flinch the whole time she was talking to the obese lady!

"She comes in all the time for her scripts," the pharmacist replied to my inquisition. "She always smells that bad. I'm getting used to it."

Meanwhile, one of the pharmacy assistants had grabbed a perfume tester from the perfume cabinet and sprayed it all around.

Eww, vomit!!