Stop Wearing Axe Body Spray, Freedom High Asks

UPDATED: 4 p.m.

Administrators at Freedom High School have asked students to stop wearing Axe Body Spray after a student suffered an “extreme” allergic reaction to the spray cologne that required an ambulance call and hospitalization.

The student who had the reaction, a freshman boy, has not returned to school since the incident nearly two weeks ago, said Freedom Principal Michael LaPorta.

The boy’s parents are considering home schooling options out of fear that another whiff of the popular men’s cologne could be fatal, LaPorta said.

A post on the school’s Website said:

“This allergy is potentially life-threatening for this student. Most recently this student has been transported to the hospital by ambulance for emergency medical treatment due to this student being exposed to Axe Body Spray while attending school.

“My request to all Freedom Family members is that we take into consideration this student’s allergy to Axe Body Spray and refrain from using it as your cologne or fragrance of choice while attending Freedom High School.”

The principal said the school’s stance on Axe is not a “ban” but a request. A ban would be “impossible to enforce” in a school with 2,000 students, LaPorta said.

In addition to the Web posting, the school has made automated calls to parents and school-wide announcements and talked about the body spray at grade-level meetings with students, LaPorta said.

“We are hopeful that we can re-integrate the student into class at Freedom High School,” LaPorta said.