To think my body is rotting as I get older? (TMI)

[MrDarcysMa]

Sorry this is a bit gross. I was just thinking.... not that I'm planning to, but if I ever end up single, I'd be in trouble. Aside from the weight slowly creeping up which I'm ok with really .... everything else just feels a bit gross as I'm getting older !
-I fart more, get constipated more, body hair is spreading and more difficult to manage. I get dry crusty skin on my feet, morning breath is worse and takes a lot of flossing and hygienist visits to keep on top of (o swear it wasn't an issue 20 years ago ! My periods feel messier and (sorry) smellier and I have to shower more regularly during this week.

Has anybody else noticed this type of thing? AIBU to think my body is rotting ? (I'm almost 40) it's taking a lot more effort these days to keep on top of!

[c75kp0r]

Do you think your sense of smell might have changed?

[EggysMom]

Just me with super-bogies then :D

[Alsohuman]

I’m in my late 60s and my body isn’t rotting. It does just fine with a daily shower/bath and twice daily tooth brushing just as it always has. I actually get less tartar on my teeth and regular pedicures take care of hard skin. The only real difference is the wiry whiskers that have to be tweezed from my chin.

[damnthatanxiety]

@justanotherneighinparadise

It’s what you’re eating OP. Honestly. I am always much more prone to all those things if my diet is high in sugar and processed foods. Directly I clean my diet up the morning breath disappears, you won’t be prone to so much plague, your constipation will go, the body hair is caused by the sugar increasing your androgens/hormones etc etc.

It is way more that just what people eat. Morning breath is mostly due to dehydration overnight. Mouth breathing and not drinking for 10 hours. No diet changes that. We ALL have bacteria in our mouths no matter what we eat. Body hair is indeed hormonal but normal peri-menopausal hormone changes cause this and no clean eating removes the menopause from the equation. This is also true of constipation. Food has massive impact on digestive issues but so do hormone changes during the menopausal journey. Eating well and being healthy helps everything but it won't eliminate it all.

[MrDarcysMa]

sorry @EggysMom

[stellabelle]

I'm also in my 60's and not rotting. If you're still getting your periods you're not all THAT old, OP ! Just take care of your grooming , shower regularly and pluck the odd facial hair.

[MrDarcysMa]

thank you @damnthatanxiety I got a bit frustrated with people popping up without reading the thread and telling me to stop processed food and start exercising - I do both of those things!

[Ilovegreentomatoes]

Really baffled as to why shower gel is no good for washing as you get older? I'm 41 and everytime I use soap to shower with it just leaves my skin really dry.

[Alsohuman]

@Ilovegreentomatoes

Really baffled as to why shower gel is no good for washing as you get older? I'm 41 and everytime I use soap to shower with it just leaves my skin really dry.

Same. Shower gel gets me squeaky clean.

[differentnameforthis]

Stomach issues - you could try a low fodmap diet for a bit to see if you have trigger foods.

[Emeraldshamrock]

The older you get the more self care you need. Diet plays havoc with your skin, the wind from bloating.
There is not much we can do for saggy skin without surgery but plenty of water and good food makes a huge difference to how you look and feel inside and out.

[MitziK]

For those who don't smell clean straight from the shower, especially in skin folds or their feet, it could be fungal/bacterial colonisation that isn't being removed effectively by nice smelling shower gel.

Try showering with Hibiscrub for a week and see if there is a difference, especially if also paying far more attention to exfoliation in the same areas. I've known several people who did that in preparation for operations as part of the MRSA precautions whose difficulties completely disappeared afterwards.

[vanillandhoney]

What kind of diet do you eat (sorry if I missed it somewhere) - it could be a food intolerance? Just because you avoid processed food, doesn't mean your body agrees with what you do eat.

[justanotherneighinparadise]

OP don’t feel defensive, people are just trying to help you. It doesn’t matter that you cook from scratch, you said yourself you are overweight, so you need to lose weight, give your digestive system a break by regular fasting and I bet you will find the majority of your issues disappear.

The reason we don’t want it to be about what we it or how much we eat or our weight is because we don’t want to change our lifestyles.

[HepzibahGreen]

I'm not finding I need more "self care" and I'm a bit older than OP.
I think talking about our bodies as if they were "rotting" is, as a pp said, a sign of depression more than anything else.
Your body is a wondrous machine! Feed it nutritious foods, avoid alchohol, and excercise in the outdoors to feel happier.
Peri-menopause can cause your sweat to smell weird, but it's just hormones going a bit haywire, that's all.
Fuck grooming. I get my eyebrows done now and again (I like a good strong brow) but I'm not spending my remaining years waxing my bumhole ffs!
Do men worry about any of this shit? Nah, they get up, stretch,pat their bellies, fart and think they're looking pretty good on the whole!

[Delilah21D00LoT]

@MrDarcysMa I could have written your post - I totally 'get it'. I sweat more and I sweat in places that I didn't know you could sweat (tmi - apologies) too.

[MrDarcysMa]

@vanillahoney mainly veggie (DP is veggie) I love veg and fruit. eat loads of kale, spinach, tenderstem broccoli. We eat one large potato a week between 2 of us (last night I made it into french fries for example). Overnight oats with frozen fruit and greek yog for brekkie.... often poached eggs on toast at the weekend. We make a small sourdough loaf most weeks (so probably bread 2x days pw) and sometimes sourdough flatbreads. I don't buy processed supermarket bread but we do use flour in the bread. About twice per month we'll have an unhealthy takeaway - curry or thai, whatever. I'll usually have a meaty dish!

I do, however eat a bar of chocolate pretty much every day! That is my downfall. And I do eat cheese and greek yog, would find it hard to drop dairy- I want to keep fermented foods in my diet but I'm not keen on kimchee/ kombucha. I did a nutrition course last year and found that generally my diet was pretty good. I changed the oils etc I cooked with as a result.

@justanotherneighinparadise apologies for being defensive. I am about 1.5 stone overweight according to BMI charts but I do a lot of weight lifting and don't look overweight iyswim and am muscular rather than jiggly so I just got frustrated with everyone assuming I'm fat and lazy!

My consipation always appears before my period as well as bloating so it's possibly hormone based but exacerbated by a food intolerance maybe?

[MrDarcysMa]

Diet aside - sweating more, whiffy periods, the new wart on my scalp, dangly eyelids, rapidly extending bikini line, dry feet, this was meant to be lighthearted but thank you everyone for your concern. I will try to see the positive side and appreciate being fit and healthy ;)

[Emeraldshamrock]

Your body is not rotting. My stomach really plays havoc before my period I'm not over weight I eat far to much wheat so I've cut down on bread.
I have bloating and period pains for about 2 weeks.
I intend to go for an abdominal scan I suspect I might have deveoped mild IBS
How is your MH? To describe your body as rotten? Go to your GP there is something playing up and you need to investigate it.
Are you on medication?

[ScribblyGum]

Rotting? What a strange choice of word OP. It’s so laden with disgust. Changes in our bodies as we age should be met with curiosity and reflection, not horror and revulsion.

[GracieLane]

@EggysMom

Oh no my nose is a bogey factory too. I wonder if the bogeys are bigger because our noses get bigger as we age? Mine doesn't look like a very big nose. Sometimes it's like silly string it just keeps coming and I worry where it's all coming from

[SugarMiceInTheRain]

@draughtycatflap

The irony of getting older is just as you find yourself less able to stretch and contort your body you suddenly find yourself needing to Immac your own bumhole... 🙁

That has made me howl with laughter. I'm comforted by this thread, only 39 but can totally relate to many of these...

[GracieLane]

Sometimes it's a problem with gut bacteria.

[Idontlikewednesdays]

You’ve described the ageing process perfectly. Why do you think most very old people and old dogs stink.

[QueenCT]

Sometimes you just need to swap things up a bit

I use a microplane foot file on dry feet, then slather a urea based foot cream on, socks and bed
For shower, I use soap under my arms. A proper soap, not the dove type. On a dettol one at the minute. I also use hibiscrub due to a medical condition and use that under my arms, and on bum/crease areas
And I do a double wash on my armpits which sounds mad but basically lather up and scrub to shift any antiperspirant then rinse, and repeat to wash the actual skin
Dettol laundry cleanser for any tops with stinky armpits
Dove stick (the £5) at night, then a spray of anything in the morning
I use a water flosser and actual floss too