To think there's no excuse for being smelly?

[ohflowerofscotland]

eating out with DM and a lady has walked in and the smell of body odour was overpowering, so much so that it really put me off eating and made me feel sick.

what's the excuse for such poor hygiene? I've never understood it

There are lots of things that can cause BO not related to hygiene.

• Anti-depressants can have a side effect of sweats & body odor
• Diabetes can worsen BO
• Thyroid malfunctions can cause BO
• Liver and kidney disease can cause very bad BO because toxins can’t be broken down and so are sweat out as a last resort
• Genetic disorders like Trimethylaminuria (make you smell of rotting fish) can cause BO
• People with colostomy bags can also exude BO
• Skin infections...like fungal infections, jungle rot(trench foot) can cause BO
• some people are actually allergic to deodorant (I worked with one such civilian man), he would shower 3x a day (went to base gym to shower at lunch) & shaved his body hair to manage BO.

I find strong smelling deodorant or perfume to be way more invasive than someone's natural body odour but ya know you live with it

Self neglect is usually the sign of serious mental illness. I work with 17 people in a mental health rehab setting. All of them have severe and enduring mental health conditions. Of them maybe 8 have very poor hygiene routines for various reasons and have to be prompted to attend to their hygiene. It's not just washing, it's washing their clothes and bed linen which is a lot of effort when you can barely drag yourself to get out of bed.

I'm so glad that other people are able to cope with mental health and hygiene but you are not all people with mental health difficulties and people have different focuses in recovery. Some people make take all their energy to go out and washing themselves and their hair and clothes is too much that day. They could have sensory processing issues which makes water on their skin excruciating.

Can we be a bit kinder to each other? It may be a few moments of discomfort for you but probably nicer than the person having a massive amount of people stare at them, make disgusted faces and talk about them on the internet.

Oh, I forgot, menopause. Some women get really bad BO from their minge during menopause due to the hormones.

There was a girl at school (40 years ago!) who smelt. I still cringe at the treatment she received, I wasn't a part of it, but I could have supported her better than I did.

Her mother had died, she lived with an unemployed father who had sunk into a deep depression and a slightly older sister who was also grieving and was trying to run the household with no money.

It was unreasonable that children were cruel to her then and it is awful that adults here would judge that family today.

Can we be a bit kinder to each other?
I agree with this.

As a daughter of a Mother who is likely suffering from dementia/ alzheimers (on a waiting list for diagnosis/ memory clinic) I have found that my lovely, wonderful Mum would forget if she had washed/ eaten/taken her insulin without my Dad and carers to support her. Thankfully my Mum has that support but I remember my Grandfather becoming smelly/ not washing his clothes/ sometimes wearing several layers of clothing. If the woman you are talking about is older (even 40’s plus) then there is a possibility that they are in the early stages of dementia (in fact any stage prior to the end stage this is possible)- so yes there is an excuse for those in that situation. My lovely Mum would be really embarrassed if she realised that she had been smelly/ hadn’t washed.

To be fair, if you don't know the person in question, you don't really know what happened in her day for this situation to have occurred.
I think it maybe a bit harsh to judge someone that may be due to matters outside her control.

Hyper hydrosis doesn’t make you smell, but it can be a bigger issue if it dries then it may smell
I have HH but I am very careful about what clothes I wear so limited contact for the chance to dry to smell and I will wipe it up frequently or use products to help it

It is true though that at some point you don’t know what you smell like because you become so accustomed to it. I don’t know if my house smells of dogs or not, I can’t smell it! I think not everyone can smell their odours as well as strangers can

Self neglect is very sad and we should not be telling people they should just get a grip and shower it’s not as simple as that!

I.also went to.school with somone who had terrible BO,,it was really bad it used to make the classroom smell ,she just have been aware of it because people used to tell her bluntly that she stunk this was in the 80,s.

Certain illnesses for sure. Or just forgot to put deodorant on after their shower on that one day you were near her? I forgot once in work and only realised when it was too late and I couldn’t get out for hours to get to the chemist. I used a male colleagues spray but it was a bit too late 😳

My teen has had issues for years and she’s tried everything - antibacterial soaps, 48 hour deodorants, antiperspirants. Sprays prescribed by dr... yet can be smelly again v quickly. Her clothes require v intense washes with a cocktail of products.
It drives me insane and causes plenty of arguments.

I consider myself to be ultra tolerant and broad minded of everyone, am known for making excuses for every waif and stray and I don't even mind if people think I'm a ridiculous sap. But this is the one thing that gets in the way for me I'm afraid, it's involuntary but I can't abide bad smells at all. I would love to volunteer at homeless shelters, help with the elderly in their homes or a million different jobs where I can help vulnerable people such as social services, but I feel physically sick. I don't judge them at all but I know people will judge me after reading this but Fwiw I hate that I have this .

It would be nice if instead of judging people, everyone would take a little time to think what could be going on in someone's life to cause whatever the annoyance is.

It doesn't take much imagination to think of scenarios that might cause BO. Poverty, mental health, homelessness, ill health. Apparently such kindness and thoughtfulness is beyond you OP.

Unless there is a genuine, genuine medical excuse then there is no need to not have basic personal hygiene.

I know people who don't smell great. Generally they are living in poor conditions, usually damp flats or rooms that make it difficult to get clothes dried.

Personally I don't judge them, and wouldn't judge a stranger for it either.

I had a female friend that had no sense of smell. Like people can be blind, or deaf there are some people born with no sense of smell. She was paranoid about BO and would depend on us, her friends, to let her know if she got whiffy. She had good hygiene and stuff, but on a hot day it can be hard to tell if you’re sweaty or sweaty AND stinky if you have no sense of smell.

There a million and one reasons why someone might stink. In the vast majority of cases when I've noticed someone has really bad BO, it's also been fairly obvious that they are someone who struggles with social norms in general and/or might not have access to hygiene products/facilities. So, in most cases I just feel sorry for them.

The only times I've met people who stank of BO without having additional issues were people who didn't believe in deodorant and think that 'just washing with water instead of covering the body with chemicals' is enough and that BO is 'just our natural scent'. I'll be honest: I've got absolutely no time for those fuckers.

As others have said, most people who sweat excessively don't necessarily smell at all. Firstly, sweat only smells when it's been hanging round for a long time, and secondly, the deodorising element of a deodorant (eg the chemicals that neutralise any smell) still works even when the antiperspirant element (ie the chemicals that reduce sweating) aren't up to the job.

Although I find BO generally a bit rank, I would probably rather smell BO than that weird, stale, greasy smell of people who just don't wash their clothes/hair.

I have a medical condition that makes me sweat. I have prescription deodorant to help but I find it makes my underarms itchy, red and sore but I persist until it just stops working. I find I can only use it for 2 weeks before it becomes ineffective and I need a break from it. I wear clean clothes every day, if I’m at home I’ll often change tops in the day.

The condition also makes me very susceptible to temperature. If it’s warm I’m boiling and if it’s chilly I’m freezing and shivering makes the sweating worse. I wear layers to work but they brought in AC which makes my faulty body even worse at regulating temperature.

When I was 20 and in my first office job I was given a talking to about it at the start of my shift. So I had to sit there for 7 hours feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

I’m so glad that everyone who “sees no excuse” for it are not only so highly medically trained that they can see health issues at a glance, but that they’ve never had an embarrassing health issue and required basic human kindness or empathy. I only hope that they never have occasion to be treated/ spoken about by others the way they have.

The only thing that stinks on this thread is some people's ignorance.

Mental health, and other conditions, affect us all in different ways. You might be able to get up and wash and put on fresh clothes in a morning, someone else might only manage one or two of the three things. And sometimes even managing one is a bloody achievement in itself.

If someone smells, take a few seconds to think about why that is. I can bet they've got more going on in their lives than the little inconvenience that bad odour causes you.

The people I have met who reek ‘didn’t believe in deodorant’.

I believe in deodorant, unfortunately, my body objects to me using it (as it does many things). In which case it's a matter of trial and error to find something that my skin can tolerate and that also keeps me from being too smelly. Not saying it's true of those you've met, just that there can be other reasons.

I also struggle with shampoos, shower gels/soaps, sun block, moisturisers, face wash (given up on that one) and so on.

Even if it is MH does that mean other people should have to stomach it?

There are lots of unpleasant smells in the world. I hate the smell of other people's BO but I don't feel particularly more entitled to not smell it than whatever's going on for them, if there is a rain like mental or physical health problems. I can move away from them - they are living through it.

I have friends who have chronic fatigue. Sometimes they don't have enough spoons for a shower and a chance to have coffee together. I'd always rather still have coffee, though I understand if a shower is more urgent to them!

I used to work with a woman who smelled really bad. She wore suit for work and when she took her jacket off, the smell was even worse. Her house was grubby and she admitted she only showered twice a week " as she didn't feel the need". No excuses, she was just dirty.

I understand that there are people out there with medical conditions whereby they really can't do anything about their odour

But I'm not BU to believe this isn't the case for most people

In the instance that I'm talking about, the person in question could afford to buy a KFC. They can therefore afford basic hygiene products, there's no excuse in most cases.

I think there is little excuse for poor hygeine ,and would go as far as to say smelly people should not be served in a food establishment as its unhygenic!.Our local SM had a dreadful smelly man in there and its horrible that he may pick over food that others will have to handle.SOAP quite cheap !.

I’m pregnant and shower/wear clean clothes everyday but I feel like I’m sweating and smelling more by the end of the day. Some of it just can’t help it.