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

I feel really sad when I read threads like this. I suffered from mh problems for years, I often couldn't even leave the house, let alone wash. When I did have a job, it was often all I could do to get to work every day.

I was also neglected as a child so I didn't really understand how often I needed to wash until I was older.

We also grew up in poverty and only had a bath and little hot water so it was hard to even get clean.

I've worked with children in poverty, and yes, they often smell. Or children whose parents have plenty but just don't know how to care for them.

And yes there are cultural differences too.

There are so many reasons people might smell but so little sympathy or understanding of other people's circumstances. You can gently tell people they smell, but have some sympathy at least.

"looked and smelt as fresh at the end of the second day of wearing the work shirt as he did on the morning of the first

Absolutely not."

How the hell can you know? I see people at work who wear the same clothes for a couple of days and they don't smell at all.

Not everyone sweats as much as others.

I know a woman at work who says she only washes twice a week and she never smells.

Showering every day is a relatively modern invention as is deodorant, presumably I the 60’s and 70’s people weren’t in a permanent state of disgust?! I dunno I wasn’t there.

But definitely when my MH has been bad having a good scrub physically hurt. If that went unchecked for a couple of years I can’t imagine the result would be good.

I had crippling depression at the start of the year, it was a monumental effort to get out of bed, let alone brush my teeth, then the thought of a wash (not even a shower) afterwards was an unachievable goal, so yes, sometimes people have a reason to smell, not all disabilities are visual

I work with a guy who really really smells. I can tell it's because he's using a body spray instead of antiperspirant deodorant (I know exactly which body spray it is because I used to work for the company that sells it and the smell is unforgettable). That's just poor common sense on his part I think and he's a bit like that, but the stench is almost even worse than just BO, BO being masked by a cheap body spray!!

He genuinely leaves a trail of scent, you could follow it to exactly where he is, but no one ever says anything to him. I don't feel I could but it is maybe the job of someone higher up/one of the other men in the office but I guess no wants to be that person to hurt his feelings!

flashing

exactly. Even in the 80s, not everyone had showers/hot water etc to the extent we do now. I don't remember people particularly smelling bad.

Some people on here are obsessed with the fact that unless you shower and change your clothes every single day, you're going to smell. But there are loads of countries where people don't do that - either out of choice or necessity. And guess what, they don't all smell.

I generally find that people smell more due to not washing their clothes enough more than not washing. The smell of fresh sweat is really different to layers of it on unwashed clothing.

If you air your clothes after wearing, there is no need AT ALL to change them every day especially in winter (socks/underwear excepted).

Cheeseoncrumpets
There are different types and levels of mental health.
When you see a person barely coping because their thoughts are elsewhere, personal hygiene is probably down their list of priorities.

Also apparently if you stop washing for long enough, you can no longer smell that you are smelly.

I have a friend who fought his way across the Falklands. They didn't have a chance to wash between the landing and washing facilities being set up in Stanley after the Argentinian surrender; they were too busy fighting and yomping. He said that no one noticed any BO until after having a shower and then they REALLY noticed the smell of those still waiting.

I find that it's often clothes that smell and there is a particular damp smell on the clothes of people without central heating, or just storage heaters etc.

We all know that homeless people or people with mental health issues might smell and it's not their fault.

But we also all know that there are people who just don't bother to wash and it is disgusting.

Some people smell as they simply don't like washing at all. A long time ago,my late Mum used to live next door to a woman,who only ever stood at the kitchen sink to swill her face in the mornings,and that was it,every single day. I used to know this woman too, she was about 40 ish then. She used to wear the same black and grey dress every single day,for months and months, never had any washing out. She had a bathroom downstairs like my Mums, but she never had a bath,as she kept firewood and coal in the bath..

I used to live in an area of high poverty and mental health issues. Some people were stuck in a loop and wore the same clothes therefore smelling quite a bit, if it wasn’t BO it was cannabis. If I judged everyone in the town for all of their different issues, I wouldn’t have time for anything else so therefore I don’t.

Even in the 80s, not everyone had showers/hot water etc to the extent we do now

WTF?

I take it you mean the 1880s FFS.

well so sorry princess Jemima but I didn't have a shower nor any hot water outside a very expensive immersion heater that we could only afford to run a couple of times a week so yeah.

Not everyone grew up in the same circumstances as you.

What a nasty, poisonous and sneery thread to even start in the first place!

This thread says FAR more about op and those who have agreed with her than it could ever say about some poor soul with BO for whatever reason!

There are TONS of reasons why someone may smell bad, not all of them even point to a lack of hygienic practices.

How about instead of having a sly anonymous dig at someone who has done you no harm and may well be having a completely shit time of it (and frankly given where you were "eating out" it is ENTIRELY possible the person was street homeless and had a small amount of money to be able to get a rare quite cheap hot meal) you take the time to learn about the difficulties people in this country are currently facing and MAYBE EVEN BETTER do something to alleviate such people's troubles?

Nah thought not!

Too busy bitching about someone who is very likely much worse off than you'll EVER be.

NASTY NASTY VINDICTIVE THREAD!

@FurrySlipperBoots If she had terrible greasy hair (indicating she doesn't wash her hair enough), IN ADDITION to bad BO, then I think it's safe to say it was a hygiene problem due to laziness, ie there was no real excuse.

@Jemima232 we didn't have central heating, a shower or instant hot water in the 80s. When dad was out of work we couldn't afford the immersion heater to be on. I used to strip wash in cold water - but not very well as often in winter the house had ice on the inside of the windows. It was bloody tough up north.

Oh ffs Graphista, there is almost NO excuse for stinking so incredibly bad that people cannot eat there food. I don't care what anyone says there is simply NO EXCUSE. Bar homelessness, and if you are so mentally ill that you cannot take care of your hygiene, then perhaps you should have a carer with you.

Wow. Just. 😮

You realise you just said that if you smell because you're mentally ill you shouldn't be in public without someone to supervise?

Supervise what exactly?

How much you bother the ignorant?

"We aren't talking like a couple of days unwashed smell, we are talking about a miasma that is so over-powering you can't eat your food. Medical reasons would only account for so much, because if you had a medical condition and took medication for it, while washing daily (sometimes twice a day if your condition is that bad), it wouldNEVERget toTHATstage that the stench was THAT overpowering. That's not even physically possible. Lets berealhere, and stop creating excuses for what is essentially laziness and bad hygiene. Plain, and simple."
@SaraNade..let's hope someone close to you never gets ill as you have zero understanding

it would NEVER get to THAT stage that the stench was THAT overpowering. That's not even physically possible.

I work with someone that sometimes absolutely reeks. Eye watering, strong enough to smell it from a distance, stench still lingers hours after smell.

She doesn't smell AT ALL when she comes into work. Not even a whiff.

She's a lovely person,very put together and clean.

It's possible.

God this thread is so sad, if someone is really smelly I generally just feel sorry for them!

Wow. [hmm'Telling it like it is isn't really appreciated with people who make excuses, is it? I know more about mental health than many people on here could imagine. Not everyone who doesn't wash regularly has a mental illness. Some are just lazy, that's a fact. And those that do have MH issues to that extent, need help and support. That was my point.

I can’t believe that everyone who smells has mental health problems or a medical condition. Some people are just lazy. I’ve worked in offices beside people - men and women - who were definite strangers to soap and water not to mention toothpaste. One girl I worked beside was immaculately made up with lovely hair but smelled awful. She laughed about the fact she couldn’t be bothered showering and it didn’t matter because that was what perfume was for🤢.

I work with someone that sometimes absolutely reeks. Eye watering, strong enough to smell it from a distance, stench still lingers hours after smell.
*
She doesn't smell AT ALL when she comes into work. Not even a whiff.

She's a lovely person,very put together and clean.

It's possible.*

I take it you're not just talking about BO but a different smell ?

This thread wasn't about BO, bad breath and summer sandal feet smell. We've all get that.