to tell my colleague she smells of tinned tuna?

[Gloribe]

I've never actually seen her eat tuna, but somehow she smells of it. I don't like to ponder on what orifice it's emitted from but I can confirm it is rather unpleasant.

Living with a smelly DP (as you may recall) I have a reasonably high tolerance for odours. However, this woman is in a client facing position and I fear her aquatic scent is a poor reflection on the business. (Not to mention her personal life.)

AIBU to want to tell her she smells of fish and this is a: bad for business and b: possibly the reason she never makes it to the second date?

OK so feelings may be hurt initially, but if I smelled like a John West warehouse, I'd want to bloody know.

Anyone else mentioned it?

Not to her face. Which I dislike

perhaps you have a particularly strong sense of smell

Tell her. It will be painful but she'll thank you for it.

I'm normally the first to roll my eyes at the MN mantra 'she might have SN/a hidden disability' etc. but there really is a medical condition called fish odour syndrome. She may have no idea and may not be able to do anything about it.

No don't

I knew two people who stank of fish (one smelled of cat food)

And both were on certain medication....can't remember what for though as this was years ago.

She could have Fish Odour Syndrome. Is the smell worse at times than others?

Oh God, how to broach this.

'*, you smell of fish'

@TooEasy- the smell is at its most intense around elevenses, but eases off mid afternoon. I'm disturbed that I know this.

Fish Odour Syndrome- I can honestly say I had never heard of, and thus considered, that condition. I'm going to get busy googling that immediately.

Time of the month and certain types of food can improve or worsen the smell if she has FOS.

Weird. I used to know a girl in school who used to smell of cucumber.

Maybe she eats too much fish oil or something for her joints and it oozes out of her system through her sweat?

Maybe you should establish whether anyone else has noticed before you go ahead and tell her. If they have then you'll be doing her a favour, if you go about it nicely!

Fish Odour Symdrom : Getting funny looks in the street? Colleagues fighting over who has to sit by you at work? Tramps gagging as you walk past them, insisting that you don?t spare them any change, even offering their own day?s takings so that you can go straight to the shop and buy a bar of soap? You may be suffering from TMAU, or Trimethylaminuria, an unusual metabolic condition which means you have difficulty breaking down and digesting certain compounds found in food. Most people?s bodies don?t have a problem breaking down timethylamine (TMA) and turning it into timethylamine oxide (TMAO) but for those that do the Trimethylamine is instead disposed through your sweat, breath and urine giving off a pungent fishy aroma. Yes that gut wrenching fishy stench that you presumed was the local harbour has actually been coming from you. All of a sudden the alarm bells start ringing and one gigantic penny drops. Sadly we?re not talking salt-baked Sea bass with a Sorrel Hollandaise here either; this is the rotten, decaying variety ? think Captain Birdseye?s jockstrap after 6 hard months at sea. Unsurprisingly it can be a tad distracting and more than a little embarrassing and additionally for the lucky ladies the smell tends to get worse around menstruation. However, there is help at hand for sufferers with a variety of antibiotics and probiotics available that can help ease the condition. Eating a diet low in choline also helps though can be tricky; choline is found in high amounts in eggs, wheat germ and certain meats but a doctor should be able to provide you with further information.

Oh shit. Now I think she might have Fish Odour Syndrome. If it's a syndrome, I can't very well take her aside and tell her everyone thinks she smells like a fishmonger's bins, or something more senstitively worded.

I wonder if she knows she has it.

She does eat a lot of eggs. Egg mayo etc

lol @ "aquatic scent"

that is all

Tricky. You can't really say 'you smell like a dolphin's lunch'.
Maybe say that a client had complained about the smell at a meeting (if there are a few people there) & could everyone ensure they are showering,fresh clothes etc.

Print out some info on fish odour syndrome and have a word, then give it to her. At least then she can do something about it. Poor woman

Some people can't eat garlic without it coming out of their pours the next day, fish obviously does that to her. Tell her about it or find something on the internet to show her.

I can't imagine having any kind of conversation about this which wont result in the poor woman dissolving into tears at some point. Telling someone they smell is just about impossible;but I always wonder how they don't realise it for themselves. I don't envy you!

My urine smells strongly of fish if i've been eating Salmon (weird or what).

I just don't eat it now.

She might suffer from Bacterial Vaginosis, which can be easily cleared with a dose of anitibotics from the doctor.

Captain Birdseye's Jockstrap - arf!

Seriously, get a second opinion from someone else at work just to check it's not your sensitive nose.

Totties beat me to it - was going to say could have BV. God knows how you roach the subject though....

ged it?
roach!.....oh i give up.

Had exactly this problem with a lovely colleague at work. She was aware that something fishy was going on but was scared to go to the doctor.

She asked me if I could smell her and I told her I could...she was mortified and did immediately make an appointment.

Turned out she had Bacterial Vaginosis...one of the symptoms is a fishy odour with a yellowy discharge...easily treated with a course of antibiotics.

This is something Personnel should really be dealing with.

She needs to be told. Either it's poor hygiene, in which case she can do something about it, or it's medical, in which case she can get sorted. (unless it's that fish odour thing - am I right in thinking there's not actually a cure for that?)