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'm sure if many on this thread were to visit some the homes many people live in they'd never ask the question why some people smell. Some homes I have visited have been so absolutely filthy that it would never have crossed the minds of the inhabitants to have a bath. I have looked after other peoples children for many years and, for many, washing just isn't part of their lives. One little girl of six had never had a bath. When her mother was questioned about this she said that the bath was used as storage and filled with clothes, broken bits of furniture etc. It's just not important to many people to be clean

@TabbyMumz Read my posts properly. I said not everyone who has a hygiene problem has a mental illness. I never said 'no one' has a mental illness, I said not everyone does. Not only are you misinformed, you lack the ability to read posts.

flamingjune123 According to some on here, those people are mentally ill. Everyone who doesn't wash regularly is apparently mentally ill.

I think it's a sad tale all round. Adults who smell - a girl in uni smelt of filth and it was really hard. It was difficult to be in her company and her bedroom, but of course we didn't want to isolate her either. She had a partner who had no sense of smell so that didn't help. We did try to mention it to her tactfully but she got very upset and nothing ever changed. I think it was down to parenting - her parents were lecturers and very laissez-faire- she'd never been to the dentist before she came to uni. Her family's attitude seemed to be 'just let them crack on' and they'd neglected to teach her basic life skills. It was awful.

When depression and MH come in it's awful but I don't think ignoring the issue helps. instead, the person should be encouraged to get support. Leaving them alone and having that impact others, isn't good

When it comes to children, I have so much sympathy. Poverty is a big factor and there were children in my class in school who smelt. Curiously enough they were from families where the parents drank and smoke but there was never enough money for food or hot water. Poverty isn't the only cause in itself- in fact I know lots of families who live in poverty but would never let their kids leave without being immaculate. Going back years , in my area (Welsh valleys) most people were poor but families took pride in keeping their homes clean and their children immaculate. So I hardly think poverty is am excuse.

It's the parents. Either it's different priorities, or financial mismanagement, a lack of pride, or perhaps the parent has depression. Either way support and guidance should be given. What we shouldn't be doing is normalising children smelling and accepting it. Bullying shouldn't be allowed obviously but rather than accepting it as a given or sending the child home from school with some soap (the 5th bar in as many weeks that never gets used) the root causes should be tackled. Blaming poverty and UC does nothing except provide convenient excuses and does nothing to help the poor child, suffering through no fault of their own

@Pieceofpurplesky I wholeheartedly agree!! I have a caseload of 10,000 children, the government will not release more funding for more school nurses. This is despite their own targets being missed every year 🤷🏻‍♀️

@SaraNade..I know you said not everyone has a mental illness, not that no one had one..it is you getting confused, not me. You were making out not everyone has a mental illness and were referring to people being lazy. My point is that it's not just people with a mental illness who might have an excuse and have pointed out lots of other medical reasons as to why people might not wash and have some compassion. I've no idea why you think I thought you said no one had a mental illness? It is you that cant seem to process posts?

No YANBU. It costs next to nothing to be clean. It’s obviously different if someone is disabled and hasn’t always got the energy but on the whole no there is no excuse. Saying that though. My dad was disabled in his later life and he made sure he got washed each day, even though it was a struggle.
This thread will probably be deleted soon. Another thread of the same nature got zapped only a few weeks ago and op was eaten alive.

Even if money is scarce. You don’t have to get a bath. Just a good wash down by the sink will suffice or a bowl and a kettle of boiled water. No is suggesting anyone spend 2 hours a day in the shower.

Or bath

Nobody needs an 'excuse' for anything unless it is something illegal and a police officer is doing the asking. If you are unimaginative enough not to be able to think of reasons people might stink and sensitive enough of nose for them to stop you eating your food, you're probably not fit to be out in society tbh.

Sometimes it can be the clothes that people are forced to wear. We had a summer uniform at school of a patterned dress that could only be bought from one retailer. I was at boarding school and we weren't allowed a dress a day to be laundered though we did manage to handwash the underwear we weren't allowed to send. The armholes were cut very tight into my armpits for me as I have quite broad muscular shoulders, back and upper arms, leading to sweat retention. We were allowed 3 baths a week of 15 minutes each. Those 15 minutes included running the bath, washing, draining the water, and cleaning it for the next person. We stank.

Types of fabric in work uniforms, ie a high amount of polyester, doesn't help.

@TooManyPaws poor you. I imagine that hopefully doesn't happen now. Boarding schools these days call for 3 sets of uniform as a minimum.

"According to some on here, those people are mentally ill.Everyonewho doesn't wash regularly is apparently mentally ill."

@SaraNade..I don't think a single person has said that on here?

I’ve noticed that some people smell like musty damp. The horrible smell when clothes don’t dry quickly enough. I worked with a woman who had smart clothes, tidy hair and make-up but who always smelt like damp.

Some people must live in damp housing and not be able to afford heating and a tumble dryer or have no space to hang clothes out to dry.

The thing is is that most people know they stink and are embarrassed enough already. You can't judge because you can't tell just by looking at someone what that reason is.

Since I got the implant in in May, my BO has gotten worse and worse to the point now that I need two thorough showers a day and apply lots of deodorant and have to choose my clothing very carefully. And this is on days when I'm not even really physically active. That's my normal now because of the implant. Physically active days, you don't even want to know.

I've tried different shower gels, different deodorants, etc. and guaranteed my pits stink again in a matter of a few hours. Just one of the many reasons I'll be getting the implant out soon, I used to never smell.

@TooManyPaws
Sounds awful.
When was this. I suspect your dps paid for you to board so you would think you would be allowed to have a decent time to have a bath. We had borders at school in the 80s

Some people must live in damp housing and not be able to afford heating and a tumble dryer or have no space to hang clothes out to dry.

The flat gets horribly damp in winter. Nothing fucking works.(dehumidifier,stopped putting clothes inside to dry,hearing on,windows open,damp traps) Things(furniture ,carpet,clothes) get ruined or stink. It is what it is.

Boarders

When I fractured a bone in my foot I was in plaster and couldn’t shower for a couple of weeks. DP washed my hair over the bath and I had to use flannels and shower gels and wet wipes. Until the plaster came off and I was in an orthopaedic boot and could balance for a few minutes in the shower.

I’m sure I didn’t smell amazing.

I think some people honestly just get used to their own smell.

God love them but my parents have started to smell how i remember my Nan and granddad smelling - i find myself secretively spraying the house. But they shower, use deodorant etc.

I notice more people smelling of damp/musty than BO these days.
I think sometimes it's where clothes are washed and left in the washing machine for several hours or more before being taken out.

@TabbyMumz As I said in my first post that you seem to have overlooked, there aren't many if any real medical conditions that would have a physical abled body smelling so bad that people cannot eat food near you. If you have a medical condition, you would perhaps be on medication and aware enough that you are washing at least once a day, if not twice a day due to the condition. It is simply not possible to smell that bad, regardless of a medical condition.

If you have a medical condition, you would perhaps be on medication and aware enough that you are washing at least once a day, if not twice a day due to the condition. It is simply not possible to smell that bad, regardless of a medical condition.

I assure you it is, to the point where I only go out to appointments. You are painfully unaware. Medication isn't always this super, amazing, thing that cures all issues.

@SaraNade...I get that you are talking about physical conditions causing someone to smell. My point has been that it's not just physical reasons. So people might normally not smell if they wash, however something in the brain might not be right so they don't wash. You were referring that everyone else ie who doesn't have a mental illness and doesn't wash is lazy. That's not the case.

When I sat physical, I mean something like hydroses or a hormone issue or the like.