Anonymous
Post 12/16/2024 08:05     Subject: Old person smell
Before fast cheap fashion people owned much less clothing. Someone would own like three shirts and two dresses, one coat. They didn't wash stuff after each wear. Old people still have this mentality. They also think it's nbd to go a week without bathing. My grandmother is dead now but of the generation that went to the salon once a week for a wash and set and didn't touch their hair in between. This play people really used to use mothballs. All that plus old lady perfume and aftershave (who uses aftershave anymore??) is the smell. I honestly think everyone used to smell like this we just associate it with old people.
Anonymous
Post 12/16/2024 06:29     Subject: Re:Old person smell
I think a good preventive tip would be to start showering every day when you are younger.

Shower 🧼 preferably every morning - more so if you live in a humid climate.
Also in spite of what some people claim > shampooing hair daily does not necessarily dry it out + ruin it.
Not if you use a gentle formula and only use a small amount.

Also use scented body products & use a good deodorant as well.

As people get older - - they tend to shower less.
People get busier or maybe their appearance is not as important as when they are younger.
And older people may have more body aches along the way as well as some depression.
Anonymous
Post 12/16/2024 06:14     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What about old people teeth/breath? It smells like death.


They are dying. What do you expect?


Not necessarily. Geez.
Anonymous
Post 12/16/2024 06:12     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Two things I think people are overlooking:

1) bathing can be difficult and frightening for many older people. This may be why they do so less frequently.

2) when they go out people treat them as invisible and less than so there’s less of an incentive to put on a fresh shirt, especially if they are just going to a store.

Oh and 3) they don’t give AF what other people think of them.


I number one is a big one. There’s the danger of slipping, and the general effort of showering can be a bit much for an elderly person. Dexterity and flexibility can be a big problem.


DP. Another issue is the skin is fragile and thin and can easily break down or dry out with a daily shower. And it’s hard to stay on top of laundry and find clothing that’s easy to put on and comfortable. I don’t really believe it’s “body decay,” especially since I worked in a nursing home and was around elderly people all the time; I know where the unpleasant odors came from.

But as I said in my prior post, I have many elderly people in my life and none of them smell. And it’s probably because they do shower every day and wear only clean, laundered clothing.
Anonymous
Post 12/16/2024 03:37     Subject: Old person smell
My husband is 65 and smells like this. Might be his rewearing clothes. He showers daily; sometimes twice a day. But the clothes....
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 23:08     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:Two things I think people are overlooking:

1) bathing can be difficult and frightening for many older people. This may be why they do so less frequently.

2) when they go out people treat them as invisible and less than so there’s less of an incentive to put on a fresh shirt, especially if they are just going to a store.

Oh and 3) they don’t give AF what other people think of them.


Yeah probably some of this. They probably don’t feel dirty since they didn’t break or sweat or maybe haven’t left the house at all, so maybe they think why shower? Same with changing clothes daily. It probably doesn’t look or feel dirty. Plus older people get more hung up on not running the washer if there isn’t a full load, conserve to lower water and energy bill. I know my own spouse is 52 and lately he’s been trying to re-wear stuff that seems to me, past time. “But I barely wore it, it’s still clean” gets said a lot. Even when I swear I’ve seen him in it more than just one day
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 21:23     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:Two things I think people are overlooking:

1) bathing can be difficult and frightening for many older people. This may be why they do so less frequently.

2) when they go out people treat them as invisible and less than so there’s less of an incentive to put on a fresh shirt, especially if they are just going to a store.

Oh and 3) they don’t give AF what other people think of them.


I number one is a big one. There’s the danger of slipping, and the general effort of showering can be a bit much for an elderly person. Dexterity and flexibility can be a big problem.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 21:20     Subject: Re:Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:Did anyone actually read the Scientific American article?

[/i]“ Contrary to the popular notion that old person smell is disagreeable, volunteers in the new study rated the odors of the elderly as much less unpleasant and intense than those of the middle-aged and young.”

“Contrary to common complaints about "old people smell," the volunteers' blind ratings revealed that they found elderly people's odors both less intense and less unpleasant than odors from young and middle-aged people. Middle-aged man musk took top prize for intensity and unpleasantness, whereas volunteers rated the odors of middle-aged women most pleasant and whiffs of old man as least intense.”[i]



NP. I didn’t want to click on it, s thank you! Feeling reassured. I have a sensitive nose and don’t smell it on our moms. Dads are no longer alive.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 21:14     Subject: Old person smell
Two things I think people are overlooking:

1) bathing can be difficult and frightening for many older people. This may be why they do so less frequently.

2) when they go out people treat them as invisible and less than so there’s less of an incentive to put on a fresh shirt, especially if they are just going to a store.

Oh and 3) they don’t give AF what other people think of them.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 20:52     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ve noticed this in recent years with my mother, 72. It lingers in my house once she leaves, and like someone else said, it permeates food and packaging; I can taste it in cookies she brings over, and it sticks to the packaging of things she brings over for my kids. I can smell it in her house but she does her best to mask it with even more offensive room sprays. I know for a fact she doesn’t shower as often as she should, and doesn’t wash her hair enough. She has told me she only showers in the morning (I wonder if showering before bed would help) and only washes her hair a couple times a week. I don’t smell it on my dad.

I also smell it on MIL, but hers is slightly more offensive than my mom’s, only hers doesn’t linger or permeate the same way; MILs is like a cloud that lingers around her person, like Pig-Pen from Peanuts.


Wait - you don't think she showers as often as she should, but she showers every morning?? That doesn't make sense. How many times a day would you want your senior mom to shower?

When she showers, it’s only on the mornings. She doesn’t shower daily. What I was trying to say is, she SHOULD shower every day, but I doubt going to bed dirty helps things.


My mother developed the smell but I think my sister had a word with her. She showers daily now and I haven’t smelled anything since.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 20:50     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ve noticed this in recent years with my mother, 72. It lingers in my house once she leaves, and like someone else said, it permeates food and packaging; I can taste it in cookies she brings over, and it sticks to the packaging of things she brings over for my kids. I can smell it in her house but she does her best to mask it with even more offensive room sprays. I know for a fact she doesn’t shower as often as she should, and doesn’t wash her hair enough. She has told me she only showers in the morning (I wonder if showering before bed would help) and only washes her hair a couple times a week. I don’t smell it on my dad.

I also smell it on MIL, but hers is slightly more offensive than my mom’s, only hers doesn’t linger or permeate the same way; MILs is like a cloud that lingers around her person, like Pig-Pen from Peanuts.


Wait - you don't think she showers as often as she should, but she showers every morning?? That doesn't make sense. How many times a day would you want your senior mom to shower?

When she showers, it’s only on the mornings. She doesn’t shower daily. What I was trying to say is, she SHOULD shower every day, but I doubt going to bed dirty helps things.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 20:47     Subject: Old person smell
Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but there's a mango soap that can get rid of the smell. You can order it on Amazon.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 20:41     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:It's your body decaying from the inside out. No soap or perfume can cover it up.


Do you have some studies to back this up? It seems like a blanket statement.
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 20:34     Subject: Old person smell
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What about old people teeth/breath? It smells like death.


They are dying. What do you expect?


We all are
Anonymous
Post 12/15/2024 20:29     Subject: Old person smell
It's your body decaying from the inside out. No soap or perfume can cover it up.