Can you smell illness?

[Sniv]

Maybe this is a well-documented phenomenon, but it surprised me...

Over the weekend a family member was feeling under the weather and had a temperature. I looked in on him sleeping and thought "it smells like a sickroom in here" even though the bed had been stripped and changed that morning, he'd had a shower a few hours ago, and he hadn't been sick or anything. It just had THAT smell. Fast forward a few hours and he was at the hospital with a serious stomach bug (he's OK now, btw).

I'd heard of dogs being able to smell illness, but not people so much. I thought the 'sick room' smell was a combo of sweat/vomit/cleaning stuff, but I googled and it turns out that various elements of your immune system going into overdrive can cause a distinctive smell. It's something I'll definitely pay attention to in future!

Just wondered if anyone else had any experience of this phenomenon?

Tonsillitis stinks. I can tell that one, I'm not sure about any others though. My dh is the one who gets tonsillitis.

It's a really interesting concept, and I do believe in detecting thus far undiagnosed conditions.

Yes. I can always smell when DD is coming down with something. And since she was born & I know what I'm smelling for, I can detect it in other people as well.

Also, ever since I was a teenager, I've been able to smell when people have a really bad diet. It's usually people who are really severely overweight, but sometimes it's an indicator of depression, even in people who otherwise appear completely healthy & happy.

My youngest smells grim when he’s ill, the kind of grim that makes you wish you had a full filtration gas mask. The middle one has a combination sour/fusty smell which lingers until whatever fever he’s brewing breaks. The eldest doesn’t have an odour when ill, oddly.

I can smell when my DD is about to get an ear infection, she smells like rotten eggs. Also DH has a chronic condition and I can smell when he’s about to flare up. As a kid I shared a room with my aunt and could smell pear drops in the mornings. Turns out she’s type 1 diabetic and it’s quite common for them to smell like that, but no one else in the family noticed it.

Always been able to smell when the kids have been ill.

Also I can smell when dh or older kids are feeling unwell with chronic condition neurological symptoms. It smells sort of dusty, sort of sweet but not the acetone smell, it's different to that. I've been able to smell similar on other people who have some kind of neurological illness too (my dad, my grandma), but also could smell it from a work colleague, occasionally passed people in shops etc who smell of it. It's very distinctive to me.

[quote magicstar1]@BessMarvin I remember getting this strange smell and I didn’t have a clue what it was. I googled it, and asked on a forum (might have been on here) if anyone had the same experience. A few results came up for diabetes so I asked DH to get checked.

I didn’t instinctively know at first...now it seems obvious.[/quote]
Thanks, that sounds really useful to be able to do.

When DS2 was little he was prone to tonsillitis and ear infections. I always knew when he was about to go down with one by the way he smelt, DH thought I was bonkers!!

I once went to the loo after someone and afterward randomly commented to a 3rd person "smells like hepatitis", to which the 3rd person, stunned, said i was right! The 1st person was hep c positive, poor thing.

Oh, and giardia! The smell of a giardia fart will never, ever leave you. I backpacked for a couple of years, so had plenty of opportunity to put that knowledge to good use.

duds had you smelt hepatitis before, or did you just instinctively know what it was?

My mum was a teacher and used to come home day “smelled like chicken pox today” 1/2 the class will be off by the end of the month. Used to drive her crazy when parents sent their kids in clearly stinking of chicken pox (before any spots). She could smell various illnesses. Anyway she retired after 40 odd years but refused to drop ds at nursery one day as it smelled like measles (never mind they were fully vaxed). Shame you can’t go to the dr and say “they don’t smell right”

@bluebluezoo

It’s called Key tones

😂😂😂😂

Why so funny? The body produces ketones and they can smell like pear drops. The liver has started burning fat and it can be dangerous in some situations such as diabetes.

@TheFormidableMrsC, wishing you all the very best with your treatment.

No, I certainly won't stop my dog sniffing! I always look for changes in her reaction after she's had a check.

@ShirleyPhallus

Yes I can!

Sick people sort of smell like pear drops and acetone. That’s the best way I can describe it

That's exactly how I smell sick people

Its only happened once for me...20 years ago my darling mum was dying of cancer...she was 52....i remember leaving her house one day and kissing the top of her head....something jolted through me and i knew she would die soon...i can't describe the smell...maybe chemical or metallic but i just knew....she died 2 days later.

Both of my parents claim they can smell advanced cancer. My grandmother could also smell when my grandad had bowel cancer. That was apparently a metallic smell after he’d been to the toilet.

My dad smelled different to me and eventually got diagnosed with Alzeimer's. I can't be sure that is what it is but i strongly suspect so. It's horrible tbh, makes me recoil.

Unfortunately this article about the odour of various diseases rings true

I can smell illness brewing in my children.

I've smelt death in a loved one's last few days, it's actually one of the things I find most upsetting to recall.

Yes, I can smell when DD is about to be ill. I've also noticed a different smell, which I think is teething.

DH wasn't at all phased by this, both DPILs were doctors, and DMIL can smell appendicitis with unerring accuracy.

I can smell when DS or DH are about to come down with a cold, and DS smelt very distinctive for about a week before he got chicken pox. I can also tell by the smell of a dog whether it's got a high temperature, which is a bit of an odd superpower to have

I feel like this should be a thing, book with bupa, go in and a load of people with different smell abilities will sniff you to see if you might be getting something as yet undetected.