Does anyone know what causes that particular smell that some older people have?

[Laurie4b]

I know that's an odd question, but there's a certain smell of some older people is aversive to me. I've wondered what causes it. Is it just a form of body odor? (But it doesn't smell like younger people's body odor.) Or is it something else? I've known 90 year olds without the smell and 60ish individuals with it. What is it? Is there anything that can be done about it? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I know that's an odd question, but there's a certain smell of some older people is aversive to me. I've wondered what causes it. Is it just a form of body odor? (But it doesn't smell like younger people's body odor.) Or is it something else? I've known 90 year olds without the smell and 60ish individuals with it. What is it? Is there anything that can be done about it? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

My theory is that there is less bathing going on, but their sense of smell is declining and they don't perceive it as a problem.

[Laurie4b]

No. I figured I get into difficulty trying to describe the smell over the internet, LOL!

[Laurie4b]

I actually like the smell of Bengay. The smell I'm talking about almost smells like something rotting.

[Laurie4b]

I've wondered the same, but why wouldn't it smell like younger people who weren't bathing as much? I've certainly smelled the smell more often in nursing homes (perhaps the staff weren't taking great care of the patients), but also in some people who were still very active and involved in life.

 

I was hoping that maybe they taught these kinds of things in nursing school! :)

[TwinMominTX]

I think it is bad teeth/oral care. I was at teh dentist recently and someone was getting their teeth done next to me. It was that exact smell and the person was elderly.

[PrairieAir]

It depends. It's kind of hard to say sense you didn't include scratch and sniff in your post. Ew, I just gagged a little thinking about that.

 

I've noticed that some smells that older people seem to have are due to the fact that they can't see and/or smell as well and do not notice they're not getting things as clean (homes, things in them, clothing, and selves). When dh's great grandparents were still alive and we'd go to visit, I'd rewash their dishes for them. Both of them had very poor eyesight and there would be dishes in the cabinets that had not been properly washed and some smelled a faintly sour or like spoiled food.

 

There is this other smell which really bothers me, and I've noticed it on people of different ages. I encounter it often at Salvation Army Thrift stores (which is why I only shop Goodwill and DAV now) and a few other places. It's a smell I often equate with poverty or with elderly people, but I've come across middle class, younger people that smell that way, too as well was many poor people who do not smell that way. It's so hard to describe smells! I have noticed that certain cleaning products smell somewhat similar. I have a orange scented soft scrub that I can barely bring myself to use because rather than oranges, it reminds me of this awful smell. The smell is like that cleaner and dirt combined, like filth was not really removed but only covered over.

 

I'm a little sensitive to smells. Can you tell?

[Nestof3]

I know what you're talking about -- I remember some older people smelling like vinegar or something.

[KJB]

laundry is done less frequently and clothes tend to be well-worn and often less than favorably perfumed. Dental hygiene suffers as well.

 

Also, some medicines can give off an odor as well as lotions.

 

But honestly, it's usually a combo of lapsed hygiene of body, mouth, and clothing and urinary incontinence.

 

And we'll all be there someday....

[Vida Winter]

Part of it is bad breath. I call it "old man smell."

 

Another part of it is not bathing as much, kind of a stale, sweaty, rotting smell that is hard to describe. It is from bacteria.

 

With proper care these smells can be eliminated but I agree, many of the elderly may not be aware of it and some may just not care to do anything about it (someone who is depressed would probably not care about their appearance). And sometimes bathing is just hard for an elderly person. They may need help and the help may not always be available.

 

I was born with a terribly acute sense of smell. It is somewhat of a curse, really -- it makes me feel ill when others don't even notice odors.

[Tammy]

I know what you mean though.....it is odd. My girlfriend lives in a place full of retired people.....and the building she is in smells like mothballs, LOL!

[elegantlion]

I wonder if it could be a side effect of some medications. My dad has developed this over the last few years. He has very good hygiene habits and good teeth, but he is on several medications for various disorders. I always assumed it was the medicines.

 

My mom is not on medications and does not have an issue. Same household, same routines otherwise.

[CAMom]

I was born with a terribly acute sense of smell. It is somewhat of a curse, really -- it makes me feel ill when others don't even notice odors.

 

Me too. My kids call me a hound dog. I'm always saying, "What is that smell?!?" And, when I'm pregnant? Forget about it! My dh always knows when I'm pregnant before I do because I really start complaining about smells.;)

 

But honestly, it's usually a combo of lapsed hygiene of body, mouth, and clothing and urinary incontinence.

 

:iagree: I spend lots and lots of time around the elderly. My grandma lives in a community for the elderly and we encounter them in the bank, grocery store, doctor's office, etc. (in much, much greater concentration!) and the smell is very common.

 

My other grandma definitely had that smell. My grandma who's still alive smells so good...all the time! She is very particular about keeping clean, though. She bathes every single day. Brushes her teeth and uses listerine religiously. Will not wear an item of clothing more than twice before washing. She's also very conscious of incontinence and takes very special care in that regard.;) I love the way she smells! It will definitely be one of the things I miss the very most about her when she's gone.

[Nestof3]

I was born with a terribly acute sense of smell. It is somewhat of a curse, really -- it makes me feel ill when others don't even notice odors.

 

Same here. It's really a curse! A soon as my husband comes home, I know where he ate that day. I also have an acute sense of hearing. :(

[lionfamily1999]

When my husband's grampa died, we both missed his smell. It was a sort of sickening sweet smell and one that I smell on random older people all the time.

 

When I finally decided to clean out his room, I lifted the mattress and was overwhelmed by this wave of grampa-scent. Under his bed was a bottle of hair tonic that had a broken cap and been leaking, slowly, but surely, all this time.

 

I had always associated that smell, and the wierd metallic, sour, flowery smell that some older women have, with age. It turns out that the smell I've found on older women was a type of perfume/cream/stuff. It comes in a tin case and looks almost like a balm. And the man smell was hair tonic.

[CAMom]

Same here. It's really a curse! A soon as my husband comes home, I know where he ate that day. I also have an acute sense of hearing. :(

 

Yep! I can smell if someone's eaten at Subway no matter how far away from me they are! Up close, I can tell a lot about a person from the smells.

[AuntieM]

if we lived a century or so ago, or in another culture, this might not even be a subject for discussion. Or maybe it would... just pondering...

 

Anyway, I vote for the combination of causes, predominately less frequent laundering and generation-old hair tonics and perfumes.

 

The odor I really am curious about is the one that *little* kids get, in which they play outside on a hot day and then come in smelling like something akin to...puppy breath!

[lionfamily1999]

if we lived a century or so ago, or in another culture, this might not even be a subject for discussion. Or maybe it would... just pondering...

 

Anyway, I vote for the combination of causes, predominately less frequent laundering and generation-old hair tonics and perfumes.

 

The odor I really am curious about is the one that *little* kids get, in which they play outside on a hot day and then come in smelling like something akin to...puppy breath!

I still get that. Dh thinks it's adorable. If anyone knows, tell me, then tell me how to never get that again. Please, pretty pretty pretty please?

 

Also, everytime I see your pic now, I automatically think, 'naughty list!'

[Tabrett]

I think it might be hygiene problems too. I know you don't produce as much body oil when you get older. Do you sweat less when you are older? I think an unclean elderly person's sent would be different from an unclean young person. Unclean teenagers smell much worse than unclean adults.

 

I wonder if elderly people don't think they are dirty because they aren't sweating as much and their skin isn't as oily as it use to be. Causing them to not wash their clothes and bed sheets as often as they should coupled with odd powders and creams.

[Rhondabee]

When my husband's grampa died, we both missed his smell. It was a sort of sickening sweet smell and one that I smell on random older people all the time.

 

When I finally decided to clean out his room, I lifted the mattress and was overwhelmed by this wave of grampa-scent. Under his bed was a bottle of hair tonic that had a broken cap and been leaking, slowly, but surely, all this time.

 

I had always associated that smell, and the wierd metallic, sour, flowery smell that some older women have, with age. It turns out that the smell I've found on older women was a type of perfume/cream/stuff. It comes in a tin case and looks almost like a balm. And the man smell was hair tonic.

 

My dh received a very expensive after-shave lotion for Christmas two years ago, and it had the smell I've always associated with "old men". Yuck! Needless to say, I forced him to stop using it, even though it was something we would *never* have spent our own money on.

 

OTOH, I love using certain household products because they smell like my Grandma!

[Sharon H in IL]

Same here. It's really a curse! A soon as my husband comes home, I know where he ate that day. I also have an acute sense of hearing. :(

 

Me three. I always figured DH would never get away with fooling around, because I'd know he'd been up close and personal with someone else, or that he'd showered with a strange soap.

[lionfamily1999]

My dh received a very expensive after-shave lotion for Christmas two years ago, and it had the smell I've always associated with "old men". Yuck! Needless to say, I forced him to stop using it, even though it was something we would *never* have spent our own money on.

 

OTOH, I love using certain household products because they smell like my Grandma!

You know, it's funny, I really hated that smell when Grampa was alive, but since he died I find myself sniffing old men (jeez, that sounds so perverted). It makes me feel closer to him, though.

 

My gramma smells like lavender. I have lavender candles, lotion, air fresheners and things. I use them, because it's like having her here, instead of Northern VA.

[Laura Corin]

I've wondered the same, but why wouldn't it smell like younger people who weren't bathing as much? I've certainly smelled the smell more often in nursing homes (perhaps the staff weren't taking great care of the patients), but also in some people who were still very active and involved in life.

 

I was hoping that maybe they taught these kinds of things in nursing school! :)

 

When my father was in his last illness, he had a sponge bath every day, but he never smelled fresh. Previously, he had never smelled.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[SapphireStitch]

The odor I really am curious about is the one that *little* kids get, in which they play outside on a hot day and then come in smelling like something akin to...puppy breath!

 

:iagree: Me, too! My son gets that, and his older sister gets downright offended at having to smell him. She calls it smelling "outdoorsy".

 

If we hang our laundry outside on a still day it comes in smelling like that, too. Ick.

[Hot Lava Mama]

actually talked about this last time she was out for a visit. It's actually some of the body rotting away. As you get older, parts of you rot (like when you are dead) and don't get regenerated as quickly as when you are younger. On top of that, they usually are on a lot of medication which can also have a smell, or make the "rotting thing" smell even worse. Gross. I know. But she was noticing that it was starting to happen to her! (She's in her 80's)

 

EWWWW. But by the grace of God, hopefully I will live long enough to "rot" away! Know what I mean!

 

Hot Lava Mama

[Tarheel Heather]

The chemical makeup of sweat changes over time and that also contributes to a different odor.

[Tree House Academy]

I think that another thing is what they eat. Their bodies do not process food the same as younger people and sometimes the smell lingers. My MIL often smells "garlic-y" and it makes me want to puke.

 

Also, cancer has a smell and many older people in nursing homes have cancer that cannot be treated or rather they or their families have decided not to treat it. :(

 

I can't stand that nasty "outside" smell. Blech. You could walk out the front door for 2 seconds when we lived in GA and smell that way instantly.

[swellmomma]

I call it the smell of death, I noticed it most in my grandma and my long term care patients when they were nearing the end due to cancer, diabetes and other conditions. It was the smell of cell death in large quantities to me. My long term care patients who did not have these sorts of health problems, just were merely aging never had that smell to them. With my grandma at the end though the smell was so bad you could not be in the same room as her for more than 5 minutes before wanting to puke, and it was not because of bad hygiene, her body was literally dieing and rotting.

[Alexandra]

:iagree: Me, too! My son gets that, and his older sister gets downright offended at having to smell him. She calls it smelling "outdoorsy".

 

If we hang our laundry outside on a still day it comes in smelling like that, too. Ick.

 

ozone. Not sure if that is correct...

[JenniferB]

I didn't read all the replies, but I noticed a particular weird sweet kind of smell, but not really sweet, just a weird sweet smell in people with diabetes. It's kind of sweet, but also odoress. Sorry, it's hard to explain. But, in several people with diabetes, I've recognized it, and it's the same smell on each one. They were all olderish, like 55+. I haven't noticed the smell in younger people with diabetes, though I've only known one.

[imeverywoman]

smell WONDERFUL! My mom let me use her cell phone last week and every time I opened it, it made me smile because I could smell her lovely perfume.

 

Makes me feel all warm and cuddly.:)

[sagira]

:iagree: Me, too! My son gets that, and his older sister gets downright offended at having to smell him. She calls it smelling "outdoorsy".

 

If we hang our laundry outside on a still day it comes in smelling like that, too. Ick.

 

I call that smelling like the sun :)

 

Acute sense of smell here too.

[Miss Peregrine]

I call it the smell of death, I noticed it most in my grandma and my long term care patients when they were nearing the end due to cancer, diabetes and other conditions. It was the smell of cell death in large quantities to me. My long term care patients who did not have these sorts of health problems, just were merely aging never had that smell to them. With my grandma at the end though the smell was so bad you could not be in the same room as her for more than 5 minutes before wanting to puke, and it was not because of bad hygiene, her body was literally dieing and rotting.

This thread is making me sad. My dad smelled that way before he died but the was only 57...

[elegantlion]

This thread is making me sad. My dad smelled that way before he died but the was only 57...

 

:grouphug: (hugs) to you.

[jensway]

I've talked to a doctor about that smell that some old people get. He says that he believes that it is either some organ failing or the persons liver not being able to process--filter and clean the blood as throughly as it did when they were younger. Thus the smell emits from the pores.

[JWSJ]

Old Spice?

 

I've noticed the same smell but only on old men.

 

Like the inside of an old person's care.