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

Hiperhidrosis also isn't an excuse.

I suffer from it and use super strength antiperspirant, wash thoroughly every day, sometimes twice a day and take a clean shirt with me when I need to. If I am going out for tea I wash under my arms, apply more antiperspirant and change top/dress and underwear before I go out.

THought of other reasons - my ex started to smell after he started taking a certain medication _ that he need for the rest of his life.

Dementia - was horrified to by how much my mum smelt when I went hoem to visit her - her dementia meant she was wearing the same clothes day after day, not realising she wsa doing this.

Infirmity making it difficult to wash.

I used to work with a man that had horrendous BO. He would quite literally honk out the office it was really unpleasant. But he was a nice man and I genuinely think he didn't realise. He lived alone and probably got used to his own stench.

I have to agree there can be loads of reasons why someone might smell. It might not be because they are lazy or just don't care. Be grateful you can walk away, they have to live with it

@MustStop thanks for that I'll give it a go. I'm off work atm so just happily stinking.. I'll try it though in preparation for September.

P.S. Never use mouth spray out of panic you forgot to put on deodorant. Especially not on a breezy day.

YourSarcasm

Are you a teacher? my dh has students at home and will often disappear to the loo, bag in hand, after a particular difficult hour

Must TA, so less hours and responsibilities but still smelly.

It really depends. I get more sweaty than DH. It has got worse with the menopause. I worry that the aluminium in deodorant is bad for me. I follow all the tips here. I don't smell as I shower every morning and wear fresh clothing and use deodorant,but it's always in my mind.

Stress makes it worse and driving in traffic etc.

@neverbroken congratulations. When I gave birth I found I smelled quite strongly, I think it's a natural occurrence so that our babies can smell us?

I found I really noticed it but DH etc. Said he didn't.

Keep normal hygiene, it does return to normal. Also I really rate the Sure Maximum Protection or Dove equivalent works wonders.

https://www.boots.com/sure-women-maximum-protection-clean-scent-anti-perspirant-deodorant-cream-45ml-10085746?cmmmc=bmm-buk-google-ppccPLAsAs--(GB:Whoop!)+Sure---(GB:Whoop!)+Boots+Shopping+-+Category+-+Toiletries+-+Mobile&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoKeSu-94wIVFuDtCh2e9Q7PEAsYAiABEgJYEfDD_BwE

I used to work in elderly mental health, some people on the unit hadn't washed or bathed for weeks because they would fight us off (literally) and the only way to administer personal hygiene was sedation, and you can't do that too often. I was up close and personal caring for them and I used to smell like that at the end of a 13 hour shift, as well as my own sweat from running around like a blue arsed fly.
Also worked nights and there were no shower facilities for staff, I used to change my clothes before I left but my uniform was still in my bag, and the smell clung.
Shock horror I used to go into shops on my way home as well as use public transport and likely I didn't smell great.
Tough, quite frankly.

I work with a lass that smells, she did today.
She openly admits she doesn’t get out of bed until 8.30am and has a 20 min drive to work to start at 9am.
She clearly does not shower in the morning.

My uncle’s family (wife, children) all smell of BO. They just don’t wash every day and wear the same clothes for several days.
I have talked about it with my parents, apparently it was brought up 30+ years ago during a family trip and my uncle and his wife said that they didn’t mind the smell and sometimes even enjoyed it as a turn on 🤷‍♀️

Oh and in addition I’d rather smell a bit of bo than stinky perfume or aftershave

Where as neither are good, with perfume/aftershave the definition of stinky is subjective, with bo no one likes it. I wouldn't chose to smell of bo out of thr two options.

This thread is awful.

I can't believe people who think people who smell should be using their money on deodorant and not food, or that they shouldn't be allowed to shop in a supermarket ffs.

There could be a plethora of reasons which some pp's have covered.

Or they could be doing it on purpose to keep you nasty twats away.

Having worked for the nhs for 16 years and looked after and met thousands of patients I would say for the most part it is lack of personal hygiene, they just don't wash every day. People also forget to wash coats, cardigans, dressing gowns regularly. They keep shoes for way too long and they become smelly. Which in turn makes their feet and the whole room stink of a vile cheesy smell. They also keep handbags for years and they are absolutely filthy. Very few people actually have a serious medical condition that means they smell bad. Imo.

I just came back from the supermarket- I lady and I presume her grown up daughter absolutely honked, everytime we crossed paths in the aisle I wanted to vomit. I could still smell them from about 2 metres away.

I had a series of flare up of bacterial vaginosis a few years ago (tested and diagnosed by GP).
Literally almost as soon as I finished my anti biotics it was back again.
It was horrible working in an office with people who would openly talk about how I was disgusting. I was called in to the office several times to be told other had been complaining about me and they were asking if it was caused by my weight or if I bathed regularly.
I was mortified, and while it can't have been nice for the other people, I had to pay the bills, I had to go to work, and it is a horrible feeling knowing other people are judging you for a medical condition that you are doing everything to remedy.

Wow! This is a kind thread. I showered this morning and put on deodorant. However I take medication that makes me sweat like nothing I’ve ever known. I was wearing cotton and run a lot (so am physically fit), but a quick walk carrying toddler and backpack to catch a bus left me sweaty and an hour later smelly. Thanks for making me and others who take life-saving (but sweat-inducing) medication feel like shit. Maybe we should just never leave the house.

That's not the sort of smell the op was on about though is it.

I know 3 people who have no sense of smell - weird to know so many, I know! Anyway, despite good personal hygiene as far as I’m aware, they just have no idea when things start getting a bit pongy. My DM also had severe MH issues and often smelt bad. Does it offend me? Not really, I’ve got more interesting things in my life to worry about

If you're in poverty you often can't afford to; wash your clothes(especially if using a laundrette and this is more common if in poverty). Wash yourself (hot water costs money, often upfront on payg meters). Keep you're home clean (cleaning products are expensive when it comes to the choice between food and a bottle of washing liquid)

As pp's have mentioned physical and mental health problems also can mean you're not able to keep yourself, your clothes or your home clean. So Yabu, it is gross when people smell that's not unreasonable to say but there are reasons people may smell that aren't simply because they want to be smelly.

@angeltattoo thank you. I’m getting so embarrassed around the neonatal nurses! Plus I don’t want baby girl to think she has a pongy mom when we’re doing skin to skin.

I honestly think some people don’t even realise they smell. They are so used to the smell they don’t notice it at all.

I had a smelly aunt and uncle. Their body odour was unbearable but they didn’t seem to notice. Their house was actually quite clean so there wasn’t a massive issue. They also had a granddaughter, my cousin who stank and all her peers had to complain at school because t was over powering. It’s like they are so used to it. It’s vile. I used to get paranoid people think that me and my family stink as well which we don’t at all 🤣

I also think that sometimes people who stink actually bathe or shower but they either don’t clean themselves properly or wear clothes that are smelly. Sometimes clothes that haven’t been washed or washed for a while absolutely stink of BO more so than the actual person.

Neverbroken, I was the same after both pregnancies, although my breast milk had a sweet biscuity smell that was stronger. I was advised not to cover up my scent as it helped my baby know me. In fact I would put a top I was wearing in my babies crib, so that he felt close to me.

In fact after putting perfume and deodorant on, my son would refuse to feed- several times my son screamed as I desperately tried to wash the deodorant and perfume off so he would know it was me and feed. I bought a natural crystal deodorant and it was great. I use a dove deodorant (I no longer use anti perspirants after being advised against it by a breast cancer consultant- who said that aluminium in anti perspirants was contributing to breast cancer).

Some people just don't feel the need to wash everyday (FIL, I'm looking at you). Others have reduced access to washing facilities (SIL, that's you).

Some people don't care if they smell.

The first sign that my mental health is slipping is that I struggle to wash and wash my clothes. It's been 20 years since it was very bad but it is definitely the first thing to go for me. Also, when I was very poor I couldn't afford to buy bras as I am very large Chested - therefore I had to wear the same
bra a lot and also couldn't afford to wash it often. It was terrible and my perspective on these things goes when my mental health does. It's not always clear cut.

@haverhill I was at secondary in the 80s in a village that began with W and I also had a fragrant classmate...did the name of this village have two words by any chance?