It's official, older people smell different- from age 40 upwards!

[Princessfluffy]

Article in today's Times details how people over 40 smell different due to the presence of a chemical called 2-nonenal. The older you get the more you smell of this chemical.

Seemingly eating mushrooms can keep this smell at bay.

OMFG. I am 56. A daily mushroom it is then.

In my experience the older you get the nicer you smell !! My two grandmas and older aunts always smelled gorgeous. I suppose it could be because the older you get the more you pay attention to your personal hygiene if they were were aware of the smell of this chemical themselves.

The worst smell was teenage boys. They turn the sheets yellow, ditto pillowcases. When one went to university we bought a new bed so brought old mattress down stairs for the men to take. Ugh the stench in the hall. We had to move it to the garage.

Deffo do smell. Grandparents had thr smell and now my parents do despite washing. My mum was a home carer when I was young and I used to along on school holidays..the smell is the same. I read its the slow decay of cells emitting the smell

@NewJeans that's a load of bollocks. I think I was more tired in my 30s with young children than I am now in my early 50s. I don't know anyone my age slowing down.

I might start eating mushrooms just to be safe on the smelling front though.

Ah well fuck it.
I’ll just smell.
perhaps I already do, am mid forties!
oh well

How old are you??

Since leaving home I can smell a strong smell at my parents house , it permeates anything that comes from their house , clothes , books anything. My children can smell it and say whose house it is. I didn’t notice it when I lived there. I don’t like this smell.

The same with my in laws , their house has a definite smell , again it is will be on any item from their house . They don’t smell of this smell as such ? I‘m not keen on this smell either 🤣

When my dog goes to doggy day care, she goes off not smelling , apart from her biscuity ears & feet, and returns smelling really strongly doggy. This goes by the next day and she then smells like she normally does ( delightful !!)

Can anyone explain these smells to me and why I didn’t notice them whilst living at home?

Amazon has now sold out of that Persimmon soap due to an over 40 mumsnetter frenzy no doubt.

Not surprised !!
I was looking at it , with good reason after my post !!! I keep saying to DD who has moved out, does our house smell weird yet? She says no!! Yay !

Why is being older than 40 past your prime? What is prime?

I'm fitter, earn more money, am successful, juggling multiple things, taking professional qualifications, writing a book. I am better than what I was in my 20s and 30s. Or am I measuring my success by how attractive I am?

I just moved into a house whose previous owners were 80s. Trying to get rid of this exact charity shop, granny smell! No offense to grannies, love them, but this smell is maddening... Ripped off carpets, curtains, it's still here. What do I do, use bucket fulls of this kareishū Japanese soap thingy? Smear the house with mushrooms? Help!

🤣🤣🤣Love this post.

I thinks its probably to do with hygiene/cleaning. I would never miss a bath/shower for one day (neither would my DH and kids). Pretty much all clothes worn just once and house cleaned top to bottom weekly. Im sure the certain smell some older people have is because they physically cant keep on top of everything anymore - the house becomes too much, the daily shower becomes a quick wash for some people and if you dont do as much, clothes probably dont get washed as much.

I notice at my in laws (who are still only in their 70’s) that they never open the windows, even with strong cooking smells. We open ours every day so house hopefully doesn’t have a smell. I presume its to not let the cold in, but it does give the (old) house a certain musty smell which must linger on them.

It’s mushrooms and Jo Malone for me in the future 😊

Why can't you be more attractive past 40?

I wonder if JoMalone is going to bring out a Mushroom and Persimmon fragrance and body care line next @Ilovecleaning

If they do, I’ll buy a bottle! 🤣

I suppose, in biological terms, from 40, definitely after 50 the human body is going through the ageing process. It is what it is and it's not necessarily visible on the outside for everyone.

As regards old people smell, I haven't encountered it in real life. Both my grandmothers didn't smell at all, ever. No idea how because they were always active and on the go. My mother doesn't smell either. Older women friends that I know very well don't smell. And I haven't encountered the smell on older male relatives or acquaintances.

I think it's probably something to do with not keeping the home fresh with opening windows/doors and wearing the same clothes for too long.

Some of the smells I find revolting are of people who drank the night before, there's something there which is most unpleasant.

Probably what we eat/drink really affects the way we smell more than we think.

An Asian friend says that she can smell meat eaters. There's a thing called meat sweat I seem to recall.

As a home carer I can definately say that this is true.

I also have lodgers. For the first time ever, I have an older lodger (73). She has this smell about her too and i've noticed it when i come in the front door.

It's not necessarily bad hygiene, but there is definately a connection between the smell and that nonsense old people have about not opening windows.

Quite a lot of the 50 odd year olds I know are in peak career. I do know some who are much more relaxed about life, but they always were..

I’m finding peoples attitudes to being 40/50/60+ hysterical. I don’t know ANY “old” people in that age group and didn’t in my parents generation.

Nasty ageism masquerading as science

Smell when someone has a migraine? I've heard it all now.

I can tell non-hormonal migraines coming on hours before by how my wee smells. It's absolutely a thing. Sadly those migraines don't respond to my medication as well as the ones that are linked to my cycle, but at least it allows me to get home in time before the visual disturbances set in.

As a nurse who looks after older people in their own homes I can definitely say that it's NOT true!

My patients are wealthy and can afford a private nurse to assist them to shower/bathe every day; they eat the best of food; they live in nice houses with all mod cons; they have cleaners who change the bed linen, hoover, dust clean on a regular basis, etc.

An average older person, particularly with mobility issues, who can afford no such luxuries might not be changing clothes daily, not showering daily, sitting in an armchair for long periods, in an unventilated house, might not be so fragrant!