What can I do.Feeling paranoid with hot flashes and colleagues mentioning smells😢

[whatisforteamum]

I've always loved work.A bit of a workaholic most say.Recently I've felt depressed and irritable so the Gp looked into HRT as a possibility as DM had ovarian cancer so it has taken time to obtain.
Meanwhile I am having more hot flushes.I also work in a very hot environment.So for a few years I get up at 7 have a bath.Have one in my lunch break with new clothes and one at night when I get in at 10.
The other day a teenage colleague was hungover and almost gagging at work.I was working near.them and decided perhaps my uniform hadn't dried properly so changed it.
They commented again.This co league doesn't particularly like me and as far as I know wants my position at work.
The next day someone said they could smell cabbage!.
When I was doing some strenuous work at the end of the day I had a huge hot rush come over me.
I've always maintained great personal hygiene and clean clothes.I've invested in the best fruity shampoos and deodorants.
My self esteem is in my boots.WWYD.I do have extra uniform s btw.Help.
Also I know there is a kind of witch hunt on me of sorts which I have never experienced as the team changed a bit and I am 30 plus years older than most of them now.

I agree with others .. I doubt you smell. It sounds like you’re being bullied.

Clothes ... IF that’s a problem- i wash mine, hang them on a clothes airer and they’re fine the following day, they don’t smell at all. So maybe your washing machine smells? Needs cleaning?

Another one recommending halo sports wash
Sainsbury’s sell it

Are you hanging things to dry after the washing machine or just folding them and putting them in the airing cupboard? My clothes would smell damp and horrid if they weren't completely dried on an airer before being put away or worn.

I'd try and smile through it, sounds like they are looking for a rise.

Thank you all so much.I did have a couple of aprons that smelled cheesy due to the fabric and no radiators being on yet.I had a nephew that would wear clothes that ALWAYS smelled dreadful so make every effort to be clean everyone comments how nicely I dress too.
I am a slim woman who has never been sweaty.
I think what has happened is one man has been gossiping and putting me down.Someone who should know better I've known them over a decade and got along well previously.They need someone to hate so now it is my turn.
Last year the team went odd with me and excluded me then I stuck it out and it blew over.
Now I'm being nit picked alot and this man is confiding in the teenagers over a pint of two or is it ten.
Add in the good old meno anxiety I feel almost paranoid.I have said previously I would die if someone thought I smelt.
Like I say I can smell my hair some times.
My son said I don't smell.I just think older women are spoken to in a way.I have never been in my life.
The older of the young guys is my boss.I think he wants the teenager to have my position as they both have a childish sense of humour.
Normally I am quiet resilient now I am in a low mood and they are worsening it.
Others they have disliked have been let go....this will not happen to me.😡

I don't smell down below.
I have spoken to my line manager who is a very young man.as I have GP appointment s.
I doubt he understands as I would nt have until the meno hit me.

If your washing takes too long to dry, could you consider investing in a dehumidifier? We have a small one and it has made a huge difference to condensation and drying times on laundry days.

I have Hyperhidrosis and sweat does not smell op until/unless it's a day or two old. The amount of baths you're having is unnecessary. You don't need to change your clothes more than once per day either

I wouldn't underestimate how stinky clothes are when they're not dried properly. Perhaps that's all you need to get on top of. I've not started hot flushes yet but are they really enough to make you stink if you otherwise have good hygiene?If not, perhaps you are worrying unnecessarily. The smell of coffee is too much for many people when they are hungover. It may well have been nothing to do with you (i.e. you weren't source of smells and maybe they weren't suggesting that).

sweat does not smell op until/unless it's a day or two old

I have an highly sensitive sense of smell and I can assure you that's not the case. My OH smells within minutes of getting out of the bath if he does not put deodorant on. This old wive's tales I think is responsible for a lot of stinky people!

I second the fact it maybe your washing, if I wash thick stuff like jeans they can take an age to dry and smell sort of musty it does help to give them a blast outside for a bit
however I think your colleagues are being arseholes and are trying to get you out

Op this sounds like a horrible situation, and that you are being bullied.

Re clothes drying I use a lakeland heated drier for clothes (with a towel or sheet as cover) and this really helps dry clothes quickly.

Hope that the situation improves for you soon.

I'm going through the menopause and experiencing hot flushes that make me sweat so I also get the anxiety and paranoia about smelling.

A couple of things I find help:

• don't use shower gels, use a bar soap preferably something like Cidal which is a natural antibacterial soap

• if the armpits of clothes aren't coming out of the wash as fresh as you'd like then spray them with white vinegar and leave for a few minutes before putting clothes in the wash

Oh yes.the Lakeland drier.sounds good.I did know a woman a few yrs ago who was very smart wore fantastic clothes and perfumes now her she did develop a smell when she was in the menopause.Not badly but I could smell warmth of u know what I mean.
Another person was.insubordination to me tonight.
I swear she muttered the word bitc h under her breath.I will have to take it further with my boss on weds.
No idea why people have turned on me tbh.😢
Disrespect seems contagious.

Could it have been your clothes? If put away damp, they can smell of cabbage. This happened to my duvet, when I was young and fancy free I thought it was my new squeeze. It was my damp washing.

OP apart from your revolting boss - is there some other manager or senior person or HR who you can talk to? Because i get the feeling this is bullying and all the talk of washing, drying and bathing is circling the real problem.

Oh you poor thing. I think it is time to take this to hr. You are living in a terribly toxic environment. Saying someone smells is school child stuff. It sounds as if a lot of them have never grown up and / or are very young. It is likely they have decided you don’t fit within the company. This is such a shame. I remember having lovely conversations with older ladies when I was in my early / mid 20’s at work. Unfortunately a lot of people have either not been brought up or have the insight to understand the wisdom that can come with age.

I wouldn’t let insubordination like that lie to be dealt with another time. Needs to be confronted there and then- a quick “I need a quick word in private” followed by “that is completely unacceptable language to use to anyone, let alone a colleague and a superior, do it again and you’ll be suspended pending disciplinary investigation. Consider this a formal verbal warning.” Then record the conversation and put a note on their file that they were warned and what it was about. Detail that they were insubordinate and exactly what they said, when, what context, etc.

They won’t do it twice.

Just spoken to my boss.He isn't revolting btw.I explained.about this 5th incident.of insubordination.He agreed she wouldn't speak to the other male bosses in this way.He told me I handled it correctly which is good.He is speaking to the person.asap.THE he was.busy and didn't give me time to explain other little incidents.
I can honest ly. say that I have formerly been treated with due respect and even teased for my hard work ethic.This is the second person at the same place to be like this.

Many thanks you lovely MN ladies.Today I am convinced I don't smell😀.I am contacting the GP thursday.I also have scent boosters for my uniforms and DH has been instructed to prioritize the aprons for drying.

Good for you @whatisforteamum

Update...I have spoken to a GP who is giving me oestrogen and progesterone and says it takes time for all flushes to stop.
I got up at 630 am to wash my hair and have a bath despite feeling lousy.with earache and a sore throat.
My young colleague said he could smell sauerkraut today.My boss said he couldnt. We were cooking cabbage though.
I have an interview thursday.😊

Good luck with the interiew. It sounds as tough you are currently working with a bunch of utterly immature twonks!

I stil get flushes. DH hugs me mid flush and reassures me that I may look red and get weird buzzies but I still feel and smell just like my usual wonderful self. Stopped me from getting paranoid about them from the very first one he noticed

Aww that is lovely.Reassurances to a long way.😊

I imagine you don’t really smell, if you work in a hot kitchen, everyone will smell of food.

Try Mitchum deodorant.

Wash clothes in biological powder at 40 degrees, and towel and bedding at 60 degrees.

If you don’t have a tumble dryer, think about a heated clothes drying rail ( Lakeland or similar)
Clothes which are properly dried smell horrible.

Try using baby wet wipes and fresh deodorant in breaks, these wipes don’t flush, so dispose in a bin

Don’t stress, it’s probably not really a problem, and the more you worry about it, the more it gives you stress.

Try starflower oil capsules.

Clothes which are not properly dried **smell horrible