Why does DH suddenly smell?

[PinkMonday]

Help! My DH stinks but I don't know why and I'm desperate for suggestions. He has a bath every evening, cleans his teeth, flosses, clean clothes but he still smells. I change our bedsheets once a week.

It's a really weird smell. Kind of like baby drool. I'm not pregnant so it's not like I am suddenly sensitive to smells.

It's only started happening in the last 2 weeks I think. He said he can even smell it on himself too.

I even started washing his back to make sure he's 100% clean but I notice by the morning he stinks again!

@Lastarse don’t know why but that really made me laugh 😂.Hope your DH gets sorted OP. I have a very greasy but non smelly DH. Off to google Japanese Persimmon soap in case I smell.

So much stuff I never knew (what that ‘old man’ smell is for a start)! Just to throw my tuppenceworth in, DH sometimes smells a bit like mild cottage cheese. It’s not a cheesy feet smell, it’s much milder, and he too showers daily. It’s localised to his head and face, particularly the crown. Gets worse sometimes, my theory is it’s when he’s stressed. On really bad days I can smell it as soon as he comes in the room. He works in an office so can’t go around niffy; went to the doctor and they prescribed anti-fungicidal shampoo and the pharmacist said to use diluted tea-tree oil on the scalp. He also uses tea-tree facial wash. Might be worth a shout (as and when anything more serious is ruled out).

I used to run an ironing service and ironed shirts for lots of men over 40. I would occasionally get the odd whiff of BO while I ironed but never a smell like OP described. And I almost certainly would have if it was a common occurrence. I ironed lots of collars!

What a weird question!

You have a health MOT to prevent things happening or find things you can't see!

Presumably he showers in the morning if he smells when he gets up?

My DH showers in the morning and before bed.

And sometimes in between if he's done sport.

There is a whole list of medical conditions that you can smell , definitely get him to go back to GP but ask him if you can go with him to describe the smell and frequency to gp and reiterate it is something new , so GP knows it’s not just your DH worrying

my ExH developed a severe and enduring mental health condition 10 years into our marriage. It took me a long time to realise the strange smell he had sometimes started at same time as his condition first kicked off (mental illness slides along slowly getting worse so not obvious). I have since found out his condition is known to have a distinct smell that some people can detect. Before he was my ex, I got pretty good at knowing how bad his symptoms were jus5 by if I could smell “the smell”. It was very weird, not exactly unpleasant in sense of BO, sulphury or something..it was almost a sweet smell. But because people shouldn’t smell like that it was definitely ugh and it was quite over powering if in a car or sat next to him.

What a weird question!

It's not a weird question at all. Often people (perhaps especially men) go to the doctor only when they have a feeling something is not right ir has changed, which could be linked to the smell he is giving off. Surprisingly few men attend for the 40 year old health check if they are feeling well.

Dh smelt wrong when he started with heart failure.

Here is best article I found on strange body odours and medical conditions

https://academic.oup.com/jb/article/150/3/257/867730

Don’t you mean the plant baby’s breath @PinkMonday . Smells a bit like wee? If that’s what you mean I’d be worried about kidneys

I am also wondering about diet. I have fish & chips once a week and next morning I always smell sweaty. Never noticed this at any other time. Food intolerances have crept up on me as I've got older,. I'm wondering if it's something that develops if your immune system is compromised, eg during long Covid in my case.

@Whiteroomjoy - What was the condition? My ex also developed this odd slightly sweet musty smell. (Also excessive yellowy sweat on the bedsheets 🤮.) He also developed issues with anxiety and depression around the same time - I'd never connected the two. I wd say he still has those mental health issues from what my DC say, so am interested to know what the link is. (Needless to say I got rid of the mattress as soon as I managed to get him to move out.)

I have, and certainly not due to declining personal hygiene. "Old people smell" is a scientifically accepted phenomenon - can be due to nonenal, ammonia (where you start smelling a bit like pee), etc.

Can other people smell it as well?

Or just you (and now him)?

If it's just you: Hormonal changes? Change of smell due to covid?

If other people can smell it as well: definitely do blood tests etc.

When you buy a different soap, get a gentle antibacterial one. This helped when my DH went through a phase of smelling weird.

🤣🤣🤣

Is that the car or the husband?

I don't think I could afford to change both...

Does he wash behind his ears? It can get surprisingly minging behind there!

OrbandSpectacle · Today 10:06

As you get older you do smell more it’s just ageing and decay.

😂😂😂

things like urine retention and infection can also give off a slightly greasy smell - ear infections, blocked sinuses digestive issues - perhaps take him off gluten for a couple of weeks and increase his water intake a little bit and as others said get appointment with the nurse and ask for blood tests to check other things (include PSA for prostate to if possible enlarged benign prostate can give you urine retention)

Are you sure it's him and not you? My sense of smell became hugely more sensitive with peri menopause. I can't stand any kind of perfume or deodorant smells now as they are far too strong for me.

You say it smells of baby drool. Is that because it smells like sour milk?

If so, I would suggest adding an antibacterial laundry cleanser to your wash in the first instance. A lot of body odour is actually down to bacterial residue on clothes, particularly under the arms.

Over the last two weeks, the weather has been warmer, which can trigger the residue in clothes to smell more strongly, I've found.

Look! Blackcurrant supplements are recommended for "old person smell".
Daily Mail article on the topic

He isn't old ffs!

I think this is actually gum disease and he should definitely sort it out because it leads to bone loss in the jaw and you can't fix it.