I don't know if this has been fully explained yet, but can you help explain omega suppressants and the use of scent blocking patches for both alphas and omegas. Some stories seem to have a short use of them before they cause terrible adverse effects but others are long term solutions.
Thank you in advance, your page has helped me a ton!
I've touched on it before, but never in-depth!
let's start with scent patches, which, as the name basically already says, are little patches one can buy (assuming a modern world, of course) that entirely block the user's scent, making it impossible to discern whether they're an alpha, beta, or omega. in stories where betas have no scent, this will make others assume the user is a beta so long as they don't see the patch. it can also be used to then apply alpha or omega perfume (again, really just a perfume that smells like alphas or omegas) to disguise oneself as the dynamic of the applied scent.
in some stories, certain situations require scent patches, usually in a world where society strives for equality - think job interviews to avoid discrimination, or professional sports, where a millisecond of hesitation because of an opposing alpha's aggressive scent could cost you the game. though their existence can just as well be used to discriminate - usually by requiring omegas, and only omegas, to wear them in the workplace or whatever other situation the characters have going on, and blaming them for any sexual harrassment they experience if they weren't wearing any.
most often, scent patches are applied directly to the scent gland, and thus physically block the scent from coming out. this is easy if there's only one scent gland (often located somewhere around the neck), but more troublesome if there's more. I've seen up to six - one on each side of the neck, one on each wrist, and one on each inner thigh. they can also work similarly to how real medications applied by patches work, though, in which case you can put them on any area of your skin, where they will then release hormones over the time of being worn, which stops the body from producing a scent. in this case, how many, if any, scent glands one has becomes irrelevant.
all scent patches generally share one trait - they do not last forever. how long varies on the story, I've seen it anywhere from a few hours to around a week. they also usually struggle and eventually fail to contain the scent of a heat or rut. the scent is too strong to be blocked, and the body going into heat/rut will be juiced up on those hormones, so it will produce that scent to attract mates and it can't be argued with.
prices and availability vary, though more often than not most omegas in society will be able to afford and apply them. most of the time, scent patches are relatively harmless, even if they often make the user feel uncomfortable, as it's just strange to suddenly not be surrounded by your own scent, even when you weren't actively taking notice of it. they can, however, have some adverse effects if used continuously if the author so chooses. this usually means stunting the scent production permanently. they can also in some stories lose their effect if used to much - the body will get used to them, and you'd need more/a higher dosage to achieve the desired effect. though all of this is optional, sometimes they are perfectly safe to use however much you want.
as for suppressants, let's quickly talk about scent suppressants, which essentially have the same effect as scent patches, but you take them as pills rather than applying a patch somewhere. they too make sure the body stops producing a scent, and will usually also fail during heats/ruts. they're also slightly more likely to have adverse affects or be prescription-only, though again, they're often widely available and overall harmless.
now, suppressants most often refer specifically to heat/rut suppressants. they're pills taken either regularly every day, or right before the heat/rut hits, to make sure the body won't go into heat or rut. one might still feel slightly uncomfortable, sweaty, or queasy, but generally, this suppresses all major symptoms associated with heats/ruts. it may function as a form of birth control too, but usually it doesn't.
suppressants may be taken simply for convenience' sake, though they may also be required for people wanting to hold a job under capitalism, depending on how often and how severe heat/rut symptoms are. if you need a week off once a year for a heat, it's reasonable companies would be required to give you the time off, but if you need a week every month, then they will likely lobby against such laws as much as they can. even if there are no laws, alphas/omegas might be functionally required to suppress their heats/ruts at least some of the time, as there's always the option to just hire a beta in their stead.
compared to scent patches or suppressants, heat/rut suppressants are much less likely to have no adverse effects. the most common one is failure due to overuse. while it may be perfectly safe to suppress a heat/rut, once you start suppressing all of them, it tends to become a problem. one or two heats/ruts a year is a number I've often seen as recommended numbers of heats to have when using suppressants though this can also vary wildly. in some stories, these suppressants only delay a heat/rut, and it's not healthy to do so more than maybe two weeks. if one doesn't follow these instructions, a lot of the time, the heat/rut will simply happen despite the suppressants. it's a classic trope, usually the omega will have been on suppressants too long, and go into heat unexpectedly with the alpha around, and then plot happens. or porn. possibly both. if an author wants to, there can also be more serious consequences (though these rarely happen and are simply warned about/used as a reason why the character needs to get off the supressants) like permanently stopping heats/ruts, or messing with their reproductive capabilities.
notably, once a heat/rut happens after taking suppressants, whether it broke through them or the suppressants weren't taken anymore, the heat/rut will often be more intense, longer, and sometimes (more) painful than having heats/ruts on a natural cycle, implying the body is still producing the hormones to trigger heat/rut, it's just not releasing them. once it does, it's more of a burden on the body than it would be if they were released on the natural cycle.
other tidbits I've seen about it would be that if there are fated mates, suppressants often fail when meeting the fated mate. I've also seen the notion that someone's first heat/rut shouldn't be suppressed, as doing so has the risk of stunting the development of their secondary gender.
but as always with the omegaverse, how exactly something works depends on the author's whims and the needs of the story, so all I can give you are general trends, and any individual story might go against what I've said here.