Narrative:

We took this aircraft on a turnover. I went to the back galley to perform security check. I opened the aft lavatory door and smelled this horrible odor that burned my nose; eyes and throat. It was a very strong; acrid odor. It smelled like a combination of ammonia and mentholatum. I have never smelled this odor before on an airplane in my 25 years of flying. The smell gave me a headache and made me nauseous to the point that I vomited in the galley trash can. I also noticed on the lavatory floor a yellowish; jelled substance that I assumed was urine; but in hindsight am wondering what it actually was. I notified my 'C' flight attendant who came back and experienced the same burning of the eyes; nose; and throat. I called the captain; he came back and smelled the same smell. He called the ramp back up to clean the lavatory for us. Ramp agent came back and smelled the same odor as he was opening the aft galley door. He asked what that smell was. I asked if he had cleaned the lavatory earlier when he brought the ice and changed the trash. He said he did not go in the lavatory nor did the inbound flight attendant. Neither one of them noticed this odor either. Two ramp supervisors came up and noticed the odor and had no idea what it could be. We asked if there was a new blue water they were using or if they had some kind of new cleaner; they all said no and also said they had no idea what the odor was. Since both doors were open; the smell dissipated a little bit; and the captain made the decision to go. The 'a' flight attendant came back and told me to do the demo from the front galley to give me a break from the smell so that's what we did. I returned to back galley for takeoff. I checked the lavatory again and the smell was back just as strong as when I first boarded the aircraft. I strapped myself in the aft jumpseat and we were cleared for departure. I don't have a clear recollection of what happened after takeoff only that I passed out on the jumpseat from the strong odor in the aft lavatory. My crew administered 02; called for a doctor; and I landed in the front row of seats with portable oxygen. I was attended to by paramedics and transported to a hospital. I remember 3 or 4 other passengers complaining about the odor on boarding; and I believe 4 passengers were treated for complications. I have never smelled any cleaning products on an airplane that came close to smelling like this. No one poured any cleaning agents on the floor of the lavatory in my presence. I did not pour any cleaning agent on the lavatory floor. This substance and odor was present when I boarded the aircraft. I was unable to get any witness information or the doctor information since I was basically incoherent. I was met at the hospital by a hazmat team in full hazmat gear. I was required to take a decontamination shower in the presence of a nurse. My clothes; luggage; phone; and all personal items were bagged and checked for contamination. Several tests and procedures were performed on me. I was released about 7 or 8 hours later. This was not lav spray or cleaning solvent as reported by my company. This was a definite chemical odor that burned my nose; throat; eyes; and made me vomit! I have been around lavatory spray for 25 years; I know the difference. I did not spray any lavatory cleaner or freshener in the aft lavatory nor did the ramp agent or supervisors who came up to inspect. This chemical/odor was present when I boarded the aircraft!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737 Flight Attendant became unconscious in flight after experiencing a strong odor in an aft lavatory during preflight and again after takeoff.

Narrative: We took this aircraft on a turnover. I went to the back galley to perform security check. I opened the aft lavatory door and smelled this horrible odor that burned my nose; eyes and throat. It was a very strong; acrid odor. It smelled like a combination of ammonia and mentholatum. I have never smelled this odor before on an airplane in my 25 years of flying. The smell gave me a headache and made me nauseous to the point that I vomited in the galley trash can. I also noticed on the lavatory floor a yellowish; jelled substance that I assumed was urine; but in hindsight am wondering what it actually was. I notified my 'C' Flight Attendant who came back and experienced the same burning of the eyes; nose; and throat. I called the Captain; he came back and smelled the same smell. He called the ramp back up to clean the lavatory for us. Ramp agent came back and smelled the same odor as he was opening the aft galley door. He asked what that smell was. I asked if he had cleaned the lavatory earlier when he brought the ice and changed the trash. He said he did not go in the lavatory nor did the inbound Flight Attendant. Neither one of them noticed this odor either. Two ramp supervisors came up and noticed the odor and had no idea what it could be. We asked if there was a new blue water they were using or if they had some kind of new cleaner; they all said no and also said they had no idea what the odor was. Since both doors were open; the smell dissipated a little bit; and the Captain made the decision to go. The 'A' Flight Attendant came back and told me to do the demo from the front galley to give me a break from the smell so that's what we did. I returned to back galley for takeoff. I checked the lavatory again and the smell was back just as strong as when I first boarded the aircraft. I strapped myself in the aft jumpseat and we were cleared for departure. I don't have a clear recollection of what happened after takeoff only that I passed out on the jumpseat from the strong odor in the aft lavatory. My crew administered 02; called for a doctor; and I landed in the front row of seats with portable oxygen. I was attended to by paramedics and transported to a hospital. I remember 3 or 4 other passengers complaining about the odor on boarding; and I believe 4 passengers were treated for complications. I have never smelled any cleaning products on an airplane that came close to smelling like this. No one poured any cleaning agents on the floor of the lavatory in my presence. I did not pour any cleaning agent on the lavatory floor. This substance and odor was present when I boarded the aircraft. I was unable to get any witness information or the doctor information since I was basically incoherent. I was met at the hospital by a HAZMAT team in full hazmat gear. I was required to take a decontamination shower in the presence of a nurse. My clothes; luggage; phone; and all personal items were bagged and checked for contamination. Several tests and procedures were performed on me. I was released about 7 or 8 hours later. This was not lav spray or cleaning solvent as reported by my company. This was a definite chemical odor that burned my nose; throat; eyes; and made me vomit! I have been around lavatory spray for 25 years; I know the difference. I did not spray any lavatory cleaner or freshener in the aft lavatory nor did the Ramp Agent or supervisors who came up to inspect. This chemical/odor was present when I boarded the aircraft!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.