Have any people involved in tis issue ever thought that this may actually be the tip of an urban myth iceberg. While, it may have some minor ralthy. it is as likely to be the copresed and collected prejudices of other people. I can remember as a 4 year old, when children would roam as groups, to play around, in and at the walls of city buildings, that we could instantly identify who lived in which apartment and how many children -especially new born babies in cotton, washable diapers. The absence of large families and what was once common-the re-usable diaper and home washing of clothes, may well have dumbed sown and blunted the senses of many people. I don't notice this , and have rarely heard another mention it. But it might be the sortt of thing a 7 yer old or a teen sing perfume and makeup, for the first time, would notice. With no experience in the real world-the idea of "old person smell", is floated.
I have always figured that people , always exfoliating the outer layer of skin cells, probably can be associated with the foods they eat, the often odoriferous materials used to shave or wash their hair with.
Clothes add to the combo & pretty soon, wee are all like a bunch of holiday dinners and desserts.
But it is a an idea which may disappear as young people become old people and begin to realize even they are not immune to olfactory messages-exudates from cells near the skin surface. The real experts to ask are our dogs and cats. . .
The topic that interested me the most on The New York Times this week was an article titled "Do older people smell different" which was written by Ann Bauer. This article interested me the most because I have always spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house, and I still do. I have always wondered this question, if "older people genuinely had a smell or if it was just because it was a different household. I thought it would be interesting to finally get the answer to that "frequently asked question and thought." While reading this article I came across a really close answer to this question. The article stated that "Johan Lundstrom, a forty- six year- old biologist with the Monell Chemical Research Center, says his studies confirm what Japanese researchers found in 2001: An unsaturated aldehyde called 2- nonenal is more concentrated on the skin of older people, often producing a distinctive grassy, waxy or fatty odor." The article also stated that "Old people actualy smell less than young ones," Dr. Pretti said. "Unless you go to a nursing home, where there are hygiene issues in the mix, you are not going to find this musty, unpleasant odor everyone is talking about." Despite all of that, Dr. Lundstrom said to "ignore what Dr. Pretti told us because he is old himself. They ran more tests and actually concluded middle aged men to smell the worst and middle aged women to smell the best. It's confirmed that old people have a distinct "smell", its just not unpleasant.
In the late 70s, early 80s I lived at the Sloane House YMCA in NYC as a graduate student. In that residence hotel they segregated the older residents to the 5th floor (more for their protection than anything else). I was on the 15th floor and remember whenever the elevator doors opened on the 5th floor there was this overpowering, unhealthy smell, that I’ve come to associate with old people.
Since then, I’ve smelled that odor before in public places and it was always present when there were sickly looking old people around. I think the doctor that posited the theory that “ongoing inflammation leads to odorous cell decay’ is onto something.
14
What interested me the most in the times this week was “Do Older People Have a Different Smell?” By Ann Bauer.
This article interested me because it is such a weird topic but is very true as I notice a very weird smell whenever I am with my grandparents. The smell isn’t bad but it is a smell that after a while will start to make you question where the smell is coming and how to get rid of it
When I was 10, I realized my grandmother smelled different. Not awful, but I wasn't a fan. So I've always thought old people just simply smell weird.
1
Black currant oil capsules have really diminished the nonenal smell I have. I was really skeptical but it does work quite well.
As water becomes scarcer in the world, I wonder if this obsession with hygiene and how we smell will diminish.
Wow. This piece, and many of the comments, give new meaning to the phrase " First World Problems".
Please pardon me if this ground has already been covered, but it is my perception that, on average, the older demographic ingests a lot of pills that the rest of us do not. Vitamins, prescribed, OTC. My main point is that I think their "diet" affects their smell. (Have you smelled inside of a Vitament B12 bottle recently?) I'd be interested in knowing if more research has been done on this topic.
2
So the question is "Do older people have a different smell" and the answer is... who knows, yes, no, maybe, some do some don't. The opening paragraphs were weird. One couple smells like- musty strawberries in a box or some such weird description, (what do musty strawberries in a cardboard box smell like? Who has that hanging around the house to sniff?) so All OLD Folks have a weird smell?
I read the article because I think it is OK to ask such questions, but when the answer is "no one knows" I really don't see the point. Since she pursued the question based on elder bigotry (why did she assume it was their age that was the cause of their odor?) the resulting lack of an answer justifies the criticism of her article.
4
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/well/live/do-older-people-have-a-different-smell.html?module=inline#commentsContainer
This article interested me because it sounds weird, but I have always believed that older people smelled differently. I was very interested in this article because my next door neighbor is 92 years old and I personally believe she has a distinct smell. Not a bad one, but one. It is said that older people have unpleasant distinct smells and I do believe that is true. Just imagine walking into a nursing home. It probably smells musty and old. That is most likely due to the fact that older people are living there.
It is interesting that we have been able to target certain chemicals that we perceive as the "old people smell." It's also interesting that we've been able to create specific remedies for this odor such as the persimmon soap that was mentioned. I think another part of the reason this smell might have come to be is the very gradual decay of the body of our seniors. That decay could lead to certain cells or muscles decomposing, which could create the odor. Overall, however, it's just important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to stay clean.
Old dogs certainly do
2
As an American living in Japan, I can tell you that it's widely accepted here that middle-aged men and the elderly have quite a strong salty or musty smell, and this is something I myself have noticed on many occassions.
I have never heard of persimmon soap being widely used here and suspect it is simply high priced snake oil. Japan has almost no consumer protection laws, consumer advocacy or truth-in-advertising laws, so the media here is full of health supplement and beauty industry/skin care products making wildly unsubstantiated and dangerous claims. Anyone who has watched CNNj here knows what I am talking about, since 90 percent of such products advertised would never be allowed to make their claims or air on TV in the U.S., but they get away with it in Japan without any problem.
I think reasons for the strong body odor in Japan range from poor dental hygiene (flossing is not common here), the fact that most Japanese wash themselves only at night but do not shower in the morning (the body excretes fluids during the night which stay on the body and clothes unless washed off in the morning), a diet which is extremely high in salt since that is the predominant flavor in Japanese food, the frequency with which fermented foods like natto are consumed, the humid summers which leave a musty smell on clothes and the habit Japanese men have of wearing suits even in the hot summers which causes a lot of perspiration (dry cleaning suits is rare which makes the problem worse!).
2
What interested me the most in this article is that most people say old people do smell. An unsaturated aldehyde called 2-nonenal is more concentrated on the skin of older people, often producing a distinctive grassy, waxy or fatty odor. His study — admittedly small — used samples from the underarms of people from the ages of 20 to 95 and presented them to 41 participants who ranked them on intensity and unpleasantness. Dr. Preti’s team used upper back and forearm samples and submitted them to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, concluding that “no method of analysis” revealed the presence of 2-nonenal in older subjects. “Old people actually smell less than younger ones,” Dr. Preti said. “Unless you go to a nursing home, where there are hygiene issues in the mix, you’re not going to find this musty, unpleasant odor everyone is talking about.” “In the Japanese study, when researchers did not tell participants what the odor was, they rated it as ‘inoffensive,’” Dr. Lundstrom says. “But when they said it was from an old person, it was rated as ‘nasty.’” Dr. Preti — despite his conviction that older people smell less and better than younger ones — made many of the same recommendations. “I am confident there is less odor in a healthy 80-year-old than a healthy 30-year-old,” Dr. Preti went on. “But when you introduce disease or disability it gets more complicated. Believe me, I take care of someone who has had a series of strokes. That is a very different thing.”
I don't understand the angry posts. The goal isn’t to eliminate all the differences. The goal is to recognize them and respect them.
1
There is nothing like teenage boy smell!
6
No odor. No odor. Old people of my country are honored, not shunned, for odors.
4
Adding to my comment about old person odor: Note please that most "air fresheners" do not encapsulate odor molecules as certain companies claim. All "air fresheners" block/overwhelm the olfactory nerves preventing them from detecting the still present odorous molecules ... like urinal blocks that overwhelm the olfactory sensory nerves.
Ever wonder why the ads show the odor molecules being snapped up by the air freshener product (chemicals) and falling to the floor and wonder how a little spray of the chemicals can freshen the entire room-full of odor?
Read about the chemicals used in the air freshener sprays and you will probably stop using them. They are not good to breath. Be aware, too, of the dangers to your lungs posed by burning fragrance candles.
Children are especially affected.
You really should consider whether this couple use some some sort of strawberry smelling cleaning product, both when house sitting and in their own house. This would explain why the smell was so hard to eradicate. There is no accounting for the strange, chemical based "fragrances " used in household cleaners, but as someone who has allergies and sensitivities I can assure you that they can be quite unpleasant.
5
Come on, Johnson & Johnson or someone--let's get the persimmon ELDER SPRAY going here. I have enough disgusting/peculiar side efx of age without being a giant stinkbomb.
2
What is the point of the illustration chosen for this article: the straightest road to premature death?
3
How old is old today? If one showers every day and uses a deodorant then why would one "smell"? And "after shower" splashes are very popular for women. Any age would "smell" if they had poor hygiene.
1
I wish everyone was as concerned about the families and children locked in cages and how they smell after days, sometimes weeks without being permitted to bathe.
7
@JScicNYC Indeed!
I think every human being has a different scent.
I have chosen vetiver to override anything God had in mind when He made me.
My number two favorite scent is puppy feet.
But I'll stick to vetiver for now.
4
@American2019 I could not agree with you more! But first puppy feet and then vétiver. They smell like Fritoes. My twin sister agrees with me as well.
4
NYT I AM SHOCKED! This is rampant ageism.
Replace "Old People" with the name of any other marginalized group....I won't write it here, but wow: this is mind-blowing.
I belong to an arts group that is multi-generational. I regularly meet with "old" people and some are 90+. They're people. Who used to be young. That's it.
Do you know who smells? The young people who use too many chemicals on their laundry, hair, etc! If I meet them hiking in the woods, I have to hold my nose!
10
Well, I know that babies smell, and it's not pleasant.. as do teens, as do middle aged males.. so I have no doubt older people smell.
After all, everyone else does too.
5
I think there's no doubt that ageism is rampant in our society. To spend this much precious NYT space on this subject is abhorrent to me.
Why not tackle how older people are sidelined and berated in our culture? Why not deal with how older women become invisible and the underlying misogyny that makes this possible?
As to an older person having odors that are different from younger people, as we age, our bodies change. With illness, surgery and disability, come limitations on time and ability for self-care.
Shower daily, if able, wash clothing frequently and don't use excessive amounts of perfume. Go natural, in diet and products for body care and exercise.
Lastly, please, for the love of God, stop judging people and their body odors. Start paying attention to things that actually matter.
12
Of course they smell different. I am 77 and have lost most of the body odors that went with fertility and youth.
My husband is the same (tho' he probably doesn't know it and I haven't told him....let him keep the illusion of youth).
Now, do I have a new smell, an old smell? We live in a Senior Residential Community. I really haven't noticed an odor from the people I meet, some of whom are over 90.
If the scientist, Johan Lundstrom, found a higher concentration of an odor producing biochemical on the skin of the old people he tested, then probably there is a distinct odor associate with the aging body.
Of course as we age, our sense of smell and sense of taste diminishes, so we probably don't know we smell old!
3
This reminds me of why I can't go to thrift stores. The smell just turns me off. I can't get out fast enough
5
I do think there is something to older folks having a particular scent. My maternal great-grandmother always smelled differently and I always thought she smelled old. Now my maternal grandmother, smells just like her mom, but my grandfather has yet to have that scent.
Without meaning to insult older folks, I do think some develop a scent.
I think that some older people do have an odor. About 2 years ago I started to smell an unpleasant odor in my husband's home office where he spends most of the day.
I didn't know what was causing it and tried all kinds of things to air out the room, but the smell would return after opening up all the windows. The odor was only in that room.....not in the rest of the apartment.
I did some research on the computer and came across "old people's smell". In the article, it mentioned a persimmon soap that the Japanese made which was supposed to help. I ordered some, and voila...after a short time, the smell was gone. Please know that I have absolutely no ties or connections to this soap and had never heard of it before.
Recently, the smell returned to the room and I mentioned it to my husband. He said that he had finished the soap a little while ago. I quickly ordered more, and soon after he began using it again, the smell went away. I am so grateful that I found it and wanted to pass it along. It is hard for me to believe that this fixes it, but it does...at least in our situation.
5
I have approximately the same story, except in my case it was my husband who first started complaining about his own scent. He finds it unpleasant and no amount of scrubbing in the shower prevents the odor from developing later in the day. It permeats his clothing despite repeated laundering in hot water. Soaking the clothing in vinegar or baking soda doesn't work, either.
I too found the persimmon soap on Amazon and my husband is willing to pay the price -- but not the freight to Sweden, where we currently live. We are still looking for a sulotion available locally
I'm dismayed by all the negative comments here, claiming ageism etc. If people notice the smell of 2-nonenal on themselves or their loved ones, and find it unpleasant, then what is wrong with trying to do something about it? People use deodorant and antiperspirant in order to prevent body odor -- we teach our adolescent kids about this out of love. Those products don't touch 2-nonenal, which our skin produces more of as we age. That's not ageism, it's just a fact. Sheesh.
2
There could be something to this. I was amazed to find out about a cat, and, at a different institution, a dog, snuggle up to a bed-ridden patient in a nursing home only to find out the patient was about to die. The nurses used this signal from them to pay special attention to the patient. I always thought it was amazing.
@Carol I read that these stories, through more careful research, although sensational if they were true, have been repeated widely so much they are believed to be true.
Yes. The accumulation of 50+ years of coffee, sugar, cream, everything they "eat" (eating what they prefer) in their day to day diet, and, as you get older, you simply don't care or give up about hygiene. It's like eating asparagus, but it doesn't show up on the smell meter immediately.
Yes I think it is a combination of some types of medication and diseases, but for those who are in good health generally it is lack of daily hygiene and staying at home.
Will be interesting as the next generation ages if there will be less hygiene issues as people are more active, dating, going on adventure trips etc well into their 70's and 80's.
Also I think that the younger guys are more particular with how they smell using AXE etc even before adding cologne.
There is also much more in house burning of candles, incense, room sprays etc then in past generations.
I think in general that people are less accepting of bad odors then they used to be,
The author of couldn't answer her question: 'Do Older People Have a Different Smell?' The question might be applied to middle-age people as well and the answer would be the same - some do and some don't; it all depends on a number of factors. The question is understandable and so are the answers.
1
Anecdotally, as someone who is extremely sensitive to odors: older people definitely have a particular smell, BUT not all of them. In my observation, the older people who are least likely to have the distinctive musty smell are older women who are fit, active, spend a lot of time outdoors, with glowing skin - I hope to be one of those women when I am older.
3
When I saw the headline my response was, YES.
I first noticed it with my own parents, our family home, the only one I ever knew, started smelling different. As the article noted, not particularly offensive, but distinctive.
Now that I'm getting old I'm a little obsessed with the thought that I too might start smelling old.
To the advice of "exercise, stay healthy and hydrated, eat clean food, open windows, launder clothing and sheets," I would add, Go Unscented!
It is my (unscientific) view that the combination of all the scents in products that we use leeds to odd and, yes perfume companies, offensive smells.
3
I have noticed this phenomenon (an "old person" scent) on some, but not all, of the older folks I know, and I've certainly wondered about it. I've assumed it was some combination of things the article mentions: not airing the house out, perhaps also doing laundry less frequently (wearing clothes multiple times before washing; going longer between washings of bedsheets) as mobility decreases and laundering requires more effort.
Not long ago I read that the percentage of water in the human body is known to decrease with age - we start drying out! So perhaps that concentrates certain chemicals in the skin (not necessarily in just the underams).
I don't really mind the musty/"old" scent in other people, especially since if I'm close enough to smell it I probably know the folks well and have affection for them. Yet I don't relish the idea of smelling this way myself. The article says "Middle aged women smell the best" so I guess I'm okay for now...
5
@Flaneuse
I just had a thought based upon you saying you are middle age. This topic would be a good one for an in depth article. I wonder what people consider middle age these days. I consider people at age 60 to be a young "old" person at the beginning of the last third or so of their lives. I remember thinking that middle age would be around age 40-45. What do you consider middle age?
1
@Flaneuse I always thought old people smelled like violets, lavender, pipe tobacco, or Old Spice.. Go know.
@StarLawrence Was thinking...Old Spice...maybe they already have a spray!
I wonder if my friends are talking about me like this behind my back.
23
Lately, I've been trying to figure out what makes Trump's supporters tick and the issues they find with the liberal voters who cannot tolerate Trump. One of the main issues they take with the liberals is their need to be constantly politically correct and touchy fear to insult anyone. Trumpers at times find, that political correctness can become quite extreme, to the point of inability to see the truth.
Reading some of the responses to this article, I find a lot of overly "politically correct' attitudes. Some blame the writer as writing an article full of ageism, insults and prejudice.
I have to disagree with such responses. At some point, looking the truth right in the eyes is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. Deep down, we must admit that with age comes certain changes with our bodies. One of them is smell. Not the smell the signifies being unclean. Just a natural byproduct of getting older.
I am incredibly content that NYT published this article. I am almost 60. I absolutely grateful for the advice this article provides. I completely accept the possibility of an odor that might or might not comes as I am aging. But if it does, I'm saving this article to know that there is something I can do in case I begin to smell. Thank you
10
I am so gratified to see this article. I am 78, and in recent times my body odor has changed drastically from what it used to be like. I can’t relate the odor to anything I know, and it is almost impervious to different soaps and deodorants. It sure doesn’t fill a room, and my kids would let me know if it was apparent to them. And one other thing. My underarms also often itch like crazy, and I know that’s not from the deodorants or the soaps either.
6
My haircutter said she can smell garlic on the scalps and hair of folks who supplement with garlic. I smell a distinctive odor which I call "old bachelor," musty, slightly rancid. I notice it even in the supermarket. I think it has more to do with personal hygiene, such as not bathing or washing clothes as often. When volunteering at a homeless shelter, the men's area--but not the women's--had a strong unpleasant odor. I thought it was from alcohol, but a nurse told me it was from foot fungus.
4
I have had a couple of different friends with diabetes stay with me and they leave a sweet smell behind. And it seems to stay in the room even after all the bedding is washed. At this point a large number of adults have type 2 diabetes...could that be the smell?
7
I never noticed this odor in nursing homes, but I definitely have noticed it with some very old people including one of my parents. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with hygiene so I've always assumed that it was a matter of a change in physical chemistry.
7
I’ve known for years that Russians (provincials) leave behind a lingering odor of apples; it comes from the industrial scent added to plastic tote bags etc. The research discussed is interesting, but the introductory anecdote is a bit of a miscue. The odor the houseguests left behind was perhaps from their possessions, or their personal care products.
5
I am sorry, but I think you need to see a psychiatrist to find out why you have such an aversion to older people. No natural human smell lingers in the air, on counters in a house after a brief visit with the exception of very ill or filthy people. This store, the flimsy evidence, the neurotic obessions reminds me of a John Waters movie.
22
@John Tortorice. Are you old? Older? Wonders if your smell lingers...and is unappealing..Probably. But nobody dares tell you. Trust me, it is why I don't date men my age, that..smell is like day old milk.
In the illustration. why are all the elderly people portrayed as Botero huge and the most prominent figure, a woman, unlike all the others, have no mouth, is silenced?
16
Now that I have grandchildren, I’m reminded of when my children were younger and their school hosted a “grandparents day” event each year. My then children always said the school smelled like moth balls on that occasion.
6
The comments are so bizarre, stereotyped and ageist.
I am a 71 year old woman who showers, changes (and washes) my fashionable clothing daily.
My housekeeper cleans my apartment every 2 weeks. It is spotless. The windows are open whenever possible.
After 40 years in the same place, I renovated the entire interior last year. My furniture is new, my closets cleared out.
When I am much older and ill, I am sure that things will slip, but to read the assumptions in the about people my age is just astonishing.
27
You need a study to measure people when they are younger, and the same people again when older. Not good or bad necessarily, but I'm aware I smell different than I did before menopause. Pheromones I assume.
8
Dogs can be trained to smell illnesses in people, so there are definitely differences. Also I notice that women sometimes refuse to use toilets labelled as male even though for all intents and purposes they are unisex.
4
My dogs (standard poodles) could absolutely smell illness. They would pause over a certain area of my body (face or abdomen, usually) then delicately and deliberately take some long sniffs, followed by an inquiring look into my eyes. It’s as if they were alerting me that I had a cold or a stomach virus. One of my dogs could smell my friend’s end stage breast cancer. He would sniff gently at the side with the tumors, then walk around to her other side and lean oh so softly against her. In her last weeks she often asked me to bring him over because she found some comfort in his nonverbal understanding of her condition.
19
Astonishing that the writer extrapolates an experience with a single couple to an entire demographic. This is ageism at its finest.
33
My grandparents always smelled like Ivory soap.
13
@Pondweed This could have been due to the presence of Ivory Soap.
8
You know, this belongs in the land of So What? Mrs. Havisham jellied in amber with her shut up and cloistered "old lady smell" is a cliche of literature and sometimes real life. But does such an occasional olfactory event actually offend? Does it offend as much, as say, a stinky guy on the train? I think it does. It's mysterious. . .disturbing. Inflamed cells or not, it reminds us that we will perish and die. Cancer smells bad. Sickness smells bad. Old people smell sweet like a first whiff of strawberries in a cardboard box. So what?
11
@B Doll I totally agree with you: even if true, so what? On the other hand, I wonder how smart and educated people spend time, efforts and resources into this banal, bias oriented subject, when there are really important topics to face, analyze and resolve. Not to mention the NYT that published it. Perhaps the author wants to teach old people to be clean? If it weren't so offensive, can be even funny!
6
I'm a 'senior' - and found this article interesting, and not insulting.
I am sensitive to smell.
The chemicals, diethyl phthalate and others, that are used in the US and that 'extend' or bind the perfume of some laundry detergents to the clothes -- some of these chemicals I have an allergy to. Most immediately, when I come in contact with them, they makes my sinus's swell and a headache often follows. 'I also feel repulsed'.
I read of a study, many years ago, that took place in a small town in Saskatchewan. The townspeople were descended from only three families -- and the study was to find how it was that there were no genetically caused 'issues' in the population. (This was, before the years when there was Fabreeze & Plug-Ins and all of the other products that distort our sense of smell.) Every possible question was asked of the inhabitants as to how and why they chose their mates. The one that stood out? How the potential mate smelled.
I can say, I once dated a person who had a 'familiar' smell. They were someone I really liked a lot, and, I could say, 'clicked with'. Yet their smell, though not at ALL unpleasant to me, pushed me away when a warm embrace suggested something intimate. It was quite remarkable.
My partner, who is 70, smokes periodically. When they smoke, their breath at night has a very rank smell. When they are not smoking, the smell dissipates after a few days and disappears.
7
I am convinced that a person's body chemistry, and hence odor, can be altered by medication. And let's face it, many older Americans are on prescription drugs.
Due to a strong family history of early onset heart disease, my husband, now in his early 60s, has been on medication to control his blood pressure and his body-manufactured high cholesterol for nearly 2 decades, with much success.
However, when he has injured himself at the gym or has overdone physical exertion in the yard and takes an NSAID like Aleve, he smells very different, and it's not pleasant. The longer he takes the NSAID, the stronger the smell gets. Once he stops the NSAID, it goes away. Could be a coincidence, but I think not.
He does not notice the smell at all, believes I'm mistaken....I definitely am not.
16
And maybe in your older couple it is nothing more than some cleaning product they use.
10
Sure it wasn't Noxzema or some other skin moisturizer?
10
Suggestion:
Multiple factors are at play:
1. Clothes, bed linens, and towels washed less often.
3. Homes less aired and fewer trips out of the house.
4. Illnesses and medications.
5. Infrequent bathing.
6. Repetitive diets.
7. Dentures, caps, and spacing between teeth that traps food and saliva.
My hunch is that older people themselves do not emit a unique odor, but the confluence of these factors makes it seem as if they do.
25
@W. H. Post
I agree...there are many factors but in my experience with older folks (I'm 76) is that many simply don't bathe as often and wash their hair less often. Some friends just don't wash the clothes they wear over and over frequently enough. One older friend uses a waterless hair cleaning product that has an unpleasant (to me) odor. For many older people it takes extra effort to bathe and wash clothes.
6
The writer noticed a distinctive aroma in their house after the houseguests had moved, and noticed the same smell in the houseguests' own home.
Instead of all this reflection about age and smell, perhaps it's just (a) what they cooked and ate and (b) the soaps and toiletries they preferred.
39
My Mother always had an odor to her hair.
I agree that older people are more likely to have a chronic illness or inflammatory process and not as agile to be able to clean themselves as thoroughly as younger people. I also remember my mother in law almost never getting out of bed. Surely that has to be smellier than someone who washes their hair, clothes, body daily.
Nevertheless, people who sweat a lot at night leave a home with that same odor. I've had to wash many pillows because of that. And these are younger active people.
8
Younger, active people should wash their own darn pillows!
15
I imagine soon a special group targeted line of perfumes and deodorants will soon appear based on the premise of this article just for senior citizens and those that love them..
What should we call this product ,any suggestions?
My favorite is "The Over the Hill But Still Climbing Co.".
16
So old people smell like strawberries... or is it fresh horse manure? Or rather waxy fat? No sweeping and inconsistent generalizations here! Can't believe the Times published this nasty nonsense, which pretty much parrots Wikipedia's brief article on the subject, which may well have been written by the parties cited.
Something like half of all research studies have been shown to be incorrect and non reproducible, and I would think these results, which contradict one another already, would likely fall among them.
The piece also seems agist, mean-spirited and shallow. I think the author was far more likely smelling some air freshener or cosmetic her guests use rather than the personal odor of her 'friends.' Unbelievable she would then Google the topic and write a piece for the NY Times. Can we look forward to similarly trenchant observations about different age groups, raices, and nationalities?
50
@Jean
Oh please! Turn down your anxiety level a bit! The article was very interesting, and yes, thanks, New York Times for printing it. It gives one something to think about. Being a senior myself, it in no way made me feel discriminated against because of my age. I hope there will be more article such as this.....thinkable......a nice respite from politics.
3
I'm old and have a golden retriever who loves swimming, rolling in swamps and other mud. I blame him for making the house smelly; it's definitely not me.
48
@annberkeley2008 haha. thanks for that. (I have 2 golden retriever pups)
I'm fascinated that, when gender, race, and ethnicity are left behind, the reptile brain of commenters and Op Ed writers reduces their vital thoughts to the bias of their noses. We have people frankly demeaning elders for their personal care, or creating rationales (insufficient showers, poor self-care, incompetence, incontinence, and the smell of death), with little concrete evidence.
While there may be some truth in specific cases, I'll leave you to search for those others who have experimented with minimal washing of hair and body and clothing. Those results, too, are astounding (no odor, supple skin and hair, durable garments).
There is some notion that odor is a devil to be banished, but not much support for that idea. Check your biases at the door, and give your stinky neighbor a break.
10
You must be joking about people who make a practice of minimalist hygiene smelling good. I worked in a clothing store and can tell you that the young folk who were doing the no soap and hardly any bathing thing smelled bad. They left their stink on clothes after trying them on. It was really awful and caused the store owner a lot of difficulty.
3
@Julie Zuckman’s Yes, and combined with the odors produced when one is menstruating, compared with one past menopause, who do you suppose smells stronger?
1
Sorry, but if these scientists who study odors think the scent of forearms and the aroma of the underarm area are equal, they should go back to the drawing board and take up a new field of endeavor.
34
Many years ago I was at a university event in California for returning 'education abroad' students and overseas students. I saw a woman walking, whom I had never seen before, towards me with her index finger raised - as she got closer I heard her say "you are from ... " with a quizzical look. When she got close enough, I said "you were going to say zzz". " O No. I am sure you are from xxx [she named the country which I am from]. I am trying to place the city." This was odd, as there were very few xxx'rs around at that time, and many more zzz'rs. To my question: "How can you tell?" she leaned forward and whispered: "They have that certain odor about them." This community has very spice diet.
So true. She could be 'this precise' because she had spent over 4 years traveling the zzz xxx part of the world. She DID come up with the city I had grown up in.
[[I am not naming the countries to avoid hurting feelings; or being 'accused' of being racist]
21
@Tamza
Diet definitely has a huge effect on individual odors. eating a lot of meat or fish, or - for an extreme and easy to distinguish smell - garlic - make a difference.
But I think there are probably some changes in older folks due mainly to the changes in our hormone levels. At 73, I don't think my pheromones would attract a hungry bee.
Compare any adult to a young child ( a clean young child!) - they are sweet, we more foul.
4
@cheryl
So true. Nothing quite as sweet as a loaded diaper. The unforgettable odor of a growing 13 year old boy should be bottled and become the new product pushed by the Kardashians. And who can forget their laundry baskets: it brings to mind lilacs and lavender.
Let the NYT write the stupid stuff. They at least are paid to make older people question their value and be more easily dismissed. Don't light the air freshener for them.
2
I have always been very aware of the distinctive smell of older people, especially men. I personally find it extremely unpleasant. It's very distinct from a dirty clothes smell, a not having just showered smell, etc. It's definitely old people smell. Now in my 60s, I take even more care with hygiene. It's also true that different people are sensitive to odors in different ways and find different types of smells pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.
13
I think the smell is not the old people themselves, but their homes.
Everyone's home has a distinct odor - a mix of the inhabitant's scents, cooking, household products, etc. A home that's been occupied by the same people/person for 30+ years, with a lot of old furniture, carpets, curtains, and decades of accumulated cooking and other odors, will have more of a smell than one occupied only a few years with newer furniture.
My own grandmothers, who each lived to nearly age 90, never had any "old age smell." They both bathed daily and kept their homes and clothes clean. They smelled of soap, lotion, baby powder - and one grandmother's favorite perfume, Chantilly - which she used very lightly.
Their homes also smelled of their excellent cooking - that was a plus.
I have noticed that smokers - especially heavy smokers - tend to have a funky smell. It's not just the tobacco smell - it's a fatty-smoky smell, similar to bacon - as if their very flesh has been smoked. Which in a way, it has.
17
The comments regarding whether anyone should be asking these types of questions are not surprising, but all the other comments with personal opinions prove exactly why pure research can't be bridled by sensitivities. Ethical considerations definitely have a place in more applied fields.
Regarding the utility of the question, the list of Ig Nobel Prize winners is full of much more questionable research. Serious studies of body odours that control for hygiene and environmental factors could potentially lead to new ways of detecting diseases, tumors, issues with one's diet and more. Of course the question wouldn't be specific to "old people", which makes little scientific sense anyway, given the vast differences between individuals in health and lifestyle. This is where I believe the author got it wrong and may have missed useful, relevant literature as a result.
Indeed, this wasn't a shining example of science reporting, but it does indicate a potential lack in research in an area that could benefit the medical field.
12
I would encourage the author to rethink her use of the phrase "clean food." While I fully endorse washing fruits and vegetables, the author was not discussing basic food safety when she pulled out the phrase.
"Clean food" is a marketing phrase that has many potential meanings; at best, it implies a certain idea of healthful eating based on unprocessed, whole foods. At worst, it's a classist ideal that encourages restrictive eating and fear of safe, nutritious food that are accessible, affordable, and reasonable choices. One need not be perfect in the vast majority of cases. Pretty darn good works. Canned and frozen are dandy. Instant oatmeal is more manageable? Let's make it work for you. Can't afford olive oil? Canola it is.
Particularly for older adults, many of whom have limited incomes, limited mobility, or even something as simple as arthritis making chopping or shopping uncomfortable to impossible-- suggesting that "clean food" is a solution neglects context and what nutrition research actually shows.
29
This is all so subjective; them vs us. All cultures leave imprints on the tastes of subject people, the youth culture is very different from the aged culture. The heavier groups of people have distinctive odor from thinner people. A deceased comedian made joking reference to the 'Oh Dear' of Africans in his visit and he was wise enough to state that they probably was thinking the same about him.
Then there is the thing of locality; the Ozarks is not known to harbor the best of anything but moonshine. It might be worth checking to do some scent checking outside the Ozarks for reference. Have some fun with that.
4
I'm a 71-year old white guy. I have always thought that deterioration of the special senses--taste, hearing, vision and smell, with age played a big role in this phenomenon. I hit the gym every morning at four a.m. and use the heavily-chlorinated pool and hot tub after working out, just to be on the safe side. One never knows.
7
The Japanese actually have attributed a different compound (diacetyl) to the unpleasant smell of middle-aged people. The smell is referred to as "midoru shishuu" (middle-aged smell).
7
@TM Diacetyl smells like buttered popcorn at high concentrations. It actually is a flavor/aroma compound in butter. For part of my career I worked as a flavor chemist for a major food company that produced oils and products made from them for consumption.
4
@TM
Middle-aged smell. I love this! And then we can all agree there's a baby smell, when you smell their heads. Maybe this is about specificity more than agism. There used to be a saying that some cultures had dozens of names for snow. So in a sensitive--and crowded?--culture like that of Japan, I wonder how many words for human smells are there?
And of course, your own smell and that of your family, is always the "correct" one and the best!
7
As many mentioned, individual odor depends on hygiene, diet, genetics. I am fortunate I never had underarm hair so no smells ever. I just stopped going to a really good 40ish training coach because the smell of his hair and breath were so offensive (to me) that I held my breath when he came within 2 feet. In my mature years I still have an overly developed sense of smell which is quite annoying most of the time as I pick up everybody's little scents - unpleasant smells are encountered at any age, and anywhere hygiene is lacking, disease is present, or strongly spiced diet (though to me garlic is a very pleasant smell)
8
I think that maybe you are missing the point. It isn't about liking the smell, it's about whether there is a distinctive smell of Americans of a particular age. The defensiveness just muddles the conversation--which is kinda the larger problem we are having in this country these days.
14
I have lived in the same two unit building with another resident over 20 years. She is a few decades older than I. Her smell has changed in the past 5-7 years. There are some hygiene issues but that is not what I am talking about.
There is a familiar smell of some elderly persons. I wonder if it might be related to bathing less because of physical limitations. Or the smell might simply be naturally occurring.
It is not unpleasant but it is distinct and familiar to me. I never smell this scent on anyone but older (over 80 yo) people. And I do not smell it on every elder person.
I find some of the comments about ageism off base. I read the article because of what I am describing and I know it is real.
Other living things change scents as they are declining or dying. Why wouldn’t human bodies do the same? Why deny what seems natural and obvious? (Well, okay, I can answer that last question. Because Americans refuse to admit they are getting “old”. Because Americans will do or buy whatever it takes to defy age. Better to deny and lie than age naturally and graciously, whatever the smell. Sorry, denial does not change the facts.)
13
There is a well guarded secret to long life nobody will tell you, but you're now in for a treat. Thanks to the miracle of space age technology I can finally reveal the secret.
Get old or die. That's it.
Now I'm aware there are those who will happily inform you that THEY themselves are not getting old, but do NOT believe them because unless they're already dead...guess what? They too are getting old.
We're ALL getting old and unless you plan to die first you too will get old. You've already gotten older in the time it's taken you to read this far. Congratulations.
27
@Martino And I might add--as you do get old, a panoply of peculiar treats awaits...will keep you busy.
I've noticed this phenomenon in some older people. I was in a car with the windows shut and they exuded a sweet, somewhat unpleasant odor.
7
People used to use antimacassars, cloth protectors, on chairs and couches, to protect the backs and arms, from hair oils and whatever hands carry.
3
@Analyst and people used to only bathe on Saturday night. There was a reason for those furniture protectors.
2
Men as they grow older begin to lose their sense of smell, and think they smell just fine. Many older men lack in personal hygiene.
A regular shower, fresh clothes, and a visit to the dentist can work wonders. In their homes airing out their rooms, washing clothes on a regular basis, changing sheets weekly can do wonders.
15
@Oh My
I think that's true about males in general. Ever been in a teenage boy's room? Or men's dorm? I held my nose and walked out of a house rental that had to have had guys in it. Gross. Then there's older men who think they are "fit" but don't look at themselves below their waist. And can't see well enough to notice the nose and ear hair, and the huge bald spot. Maybe I should stop now. And no I never remarried, LOL,
7
I had to ask my husband to stop using the cheap dandruff shampoo and switch to Neutrogena. He smelled like an old chem lab. Much better now, thanks.
12
I wonder what Mrs Bauer’s old friends will think or say about this article when they read it. I would like to hear about what they say about her lack of decor for sharing this with the world. The funny thing is that Mrs Bauer herself is not thinking at this point that she will ever smell like that :)
What is interesting to me is that many people don’t seem to make the connection that we are all heading rapidly in this direction. Make no mistake we will all smell like a pile of fresh manure, eventually Lol. This is most certainly true as your body decomposes soon after death by the way.
Hey...thinking about this fact of life is good for you. It will hopefully makes you re-evaluate your daily actions and beliefs.
Those young Japanese people judging old folks in such demeaning way, it is very unfortunate. They don’t know they are heading for a rude awakening. Lol
21
Decreased olfactory function is normal with age. Older adults cannot smell themselves as well, so won’t be as rigorous with hygiene on their persons or their clothes. These smells are cues that younger and middle aged adults use all the timeto decide if we need another shower or to throw something back in the wash.
5
How often did they bathe?
6
I do hope for the author that his elderly guests are not among the 5 million digital subscribers of the NYT.
37
@SF I felt the exact same way. I would be mortified if I recognized myself in this article! I even thought "maybe she's telling this because they are now deceased" to get her off the hook for rudeness.
9
When scientists throw down:
“I know what George told you,” Dr. Lundstrom said. “He’s wrong. His study was too narrow. He’s just sensitive about this topic because he’s old.”
Ha!
9
How many readers were smelling themselves when reading this article?
7
I find it interesting that no researcher mentioned the relationship of body odor to medications taken. Elders I know that take certain cardiovascular drugs, for example, have a, to me, distinctive and identical body odor. Not unpleasant, but noticeable.
15
A better question would be is our sense of smell impaired as we age. If, yes ( there has been recent research in this area) then I think we can safely say that the "old people" smell may be a result of a lessened sense of smell and awareness of the compounding impact of food odors, perfumes, etc. Many people of all ages are unable to maintain their ADL or Adult Daily Living routines from personal care i.e. bathing, hair washing, oral hygiene to mundane household chores we may take for granted like regularly doing laundry to airing out our homes and closets. Lives lived over time in any home may hold a unique set of signifier scents unique to that person and or family. I think you might know at once even if taken blindfolded and somehow unaware if you were in your grandparents home.
5
Willing to bet we all smell. Just ask any woodland creature. When I lived in the Mid-East, noticed that people from different countries smelled differently. Believe it is in the differences in food as well as available hygiene products. I bet people from the Southwest smell different than people from East Coast- perhaps because of chili peppers vs garlic consumption?
Perhaps people's prejudices are based more on dinner choices rather than any actual fact.
25
I cared for older adults for most of my 42 year nursing career. Assuming they had good hygiene, I never noticed that my patients had any odd odors about them. The problem is that many older adults are unable to maintaining the same level of hygiene that they once did when they were younger.
People in the south rarely open their windows and that can make a house smell musty, and many older adults suffer from urinary incontinence, which of course is going to add additional odor.
My grandmother used to use moth balls quite often, so I often equated that smell with older adults, when I was a child.
And, now that I'm also an older adult, with excellent hygiene, I think I smell okay. Sometimes my house smells a little stale, but I do have two dogs, two pet birds and a husband, so it's not me. Nope. It couldn't be me.
57
My dog and two cats don't seem to mind how I smell. Even after a run.
15
From personal experience I can recall my maternal grandparents, who lived until their 90s, and my paternal grandmother, who lived into her 100s.
My maternal grandparents lived their old age quietly, without too much of a social life. Their home, as well as their holiday retreat in the mountains (where I spent a lot of happy vacation time), to me always had a distinct "old people" smell, which grew stronger as they aged. It was not unpleasant, but it was distinctive: it was a mix of old-fashioned perfumes and aftershaves, grandma's cooking, and stale air (they always felt cold and rarely opened their windows). Personal hygiene was not an issue as they were both always very particular about it: I am 100% sure that had nothing to do with the smell of their homes.
My paternal grandmother was totally different - up until her early 90s she was traveling internationally, going to fashionable parties and spending her summers in a villa on the Mediterranean. Her social life was very dynamic and she spent a lot of time with younger people. I clearly recall that both her apartment in the city and her summer house on the coast, both of which I visited regularly and often, never had any "old people" smell to them.
Perhaps the whole concept of "old people's smell" is related to the reclusiveness and lack of social life that many old people end up into. After all, spending a lot of time in the same closed spaces does create a distinctive smell, regardless of whether you are 20 or 90.
41
@Andy
Yes -- I want to be like your grandmother!
6
I'm 65 and recall that my grandparent's homes (non smokers) had the air of old books which was distinct, but not unpleasant and far preferable to my parent's tobacco infused house. I remember my wife helping my then 88 year old grandmother in the bath many years ago. Gram was covered in layers of baby powder and she cooed as my wife gently, lovingly washed her back. A daily shower and a good scrubbing can be a challenge for any elderly senior living alone. Same with cleaning the house and vacuuming the rugs. That old people smell is often the result of solitary living and mobility challenges. It's the scent of loneliness.
68
Thank you for an interesting article.
The odor that permeates many an older person's NYC apartment - in my estimation - is lack of rigorous hygiene (perhaps fear of falling in shower?) and/or - most regrettably - years of cigarette smoking, even if the occupants stopped smoking years/decades ago - the scent never seems to fully leave. Excessive humidity can also make an otherwise clean apartment smell "off."
That said, in people of all ages, the variations of "rigorousness" of showering/bathing astonish me. Having worked in a professional clinical dermatology department for years, exfoliation was the name of the game. You enter the shower, and mechanically clean your skin with a combination of a rough cloth and/or an exfoliating cleanser. Your scalp, once full of lather, is scrubbed with a specific shower brush with plastic bristles, not only to thoroughly cleanse scalp but to stimulate blood flow. One emerges with rosy, with scrubbed skin from head to toe. I worked along side an octogenarian and never observed any odor. It's hard for me to imagine any "odors" escaping this regime, but my mind is open.
17
I am old enough to remember the good old pre-deodorant days. I do miss the sultry summer days in the close company of other humans. The further one goes back in time, the more pronounced one must have smelled. Everybody just stunk tremendously, mostly from the mouth.I am old enough to know that I have to watch my diet and shower at least once a day, use deodorant and a very expensive cologne.
10
Yes I do come across ‘old people smell’ on occasion but I certainly don’t consider it a natural by-product of ageing. I think it’s an hygiene issue. As the author suggested keeping healthy, airing out your rooms, washing clothes and bedding, throwing out old clothes, coats, shoes and most of all regular showers. There’s a great paper-mill museum in our city and in the Middle Ages the best paper was made from natural fibres, often derived from old clothes. The clothes were collected from the streets and as you can imagine hygiene for most was not a high priority in those days. The collected clothes had to be broken down and the workers tasked with this job developed all manner of diseases in their lungs and all over their bodies. And if you want to find ‘old people smell’ in abundance step into a second hand clothing shop.
18
@Luc Fascinating fact about the paper! We recently toured an old castle in Ireland where the guide explained the "garderobe" system where wealthy castle inhabitants hung their clothing as well as doing their business. It was a small alcove with a hole in the stone which people used for a latrine. Their waste would fall down to the lowest level where a poor servant would stir it up, releasing ammonia fumes that drifted up to the garderobe level. The fumes would kill the abundant lice and fleas in the clothing (even that of the wealthy). He called it an early form of dry cleaning.
9
I’m a retired nurse and most of my patients were geriatric. I definitely noticed that the more elderly patients had a sweet, nonoffensive waxy scent.
10
Older folks may start missing showers and the scents they used to frequent because of a more careless approach to their lives. Being smart and sassy in appearance becomes not so important anymore. I think mostly because of feeling out of the rhythms people liked when younger and feeling more vital. A wild guess. Smelling rank as an oldster therefore becomes a choice due to lack of interest and or vanity.
7
@NOTATE REDMOND
I don't think it's because they're getting careless, it's probably because they're having difficulty taking baths and showers. As you get older, you'll also find you're having problems cleaning house -- your family can help out more, or volunteer to engage a cleaner. The 'clean' smell of a house is often the smell of commercial scents--there is no clean smell.
You won't believe how hard it is to clean house after 60.
5
@Glenda I'm 74 and clean my own 2K sq.ft. home. It can't be done in one day, though, I'll agree. Twice a year I have it professionally cleaned. I haven't used my clothes dryer since I had a clothes line installed outside. Love the smell of clothes dried on the line. Everything, even the towels, goes on the line.
Older people are a lot easier to tolerate if they are clean. After my grandfather Henry died, it took a week to clean out a single-wide mobile home, because he and his female companion had lived there for eight months without anyone in to do cleaning. It smelled just like a giant cat litter box. Only worse.
17
@Marilyn Sue Michel
"Older people are a lot easier to tolerate if they are clean. "
Humans in general are a lot easier to tolerate when they are clean. So this is not saying much at all.
59
@Marilyn Sue Michel
"Older people are a lot easier to tolerate ..."? Seriously? You think of older adults as people to tolerate? MOST people, regardless of age, smell pleasant of they have good hygiene, but talking about any age group as people to "tolerate" is just an awful attitude toward others regardless of age.
30
@Marilyn Sue Michel
It sounds to me like a failure of your family to notice Henry and his companion needed help.
12
Given all the problems we face as humans, and perhaps the stories that might bring hope, why is this article in the New York Times? First, it's not very solid, second it's ageist, and third, why even print it?
46
@snowy owl -- because ageism has become acceptable. Look at all the articles in the Times questioning the suitability of various presidential candidates, based on their older age.
12
H.G. Wells was apparently quite a ladies' man; he had lots of girl friends. He wasn't particularly attractive, by the look of him, so why? When asked, one of his paramours quipped, in all seriousness, "Because he smelt of peaches."
23
Can the next article be about great smells ? I hereby nominate the smell of puppies.
42
@Phyliss Dalmatian
To build on your suggestion, how about one on pleasant sounds too?
I nominate the sound of dogs eating apples.
9
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Good idea!
Sweet alyssum on a sunny day.
8
@nom de guerre For me the best sound was the sound of my dog's breathing at night when she was sleeping. It was so relaxing and soothing - the best cure for insomnia.
8
Americans propagated the myth that blacks have a "most peculiar odor" all over the world. The myth was started by Jefferson, the most racist among the founders. Now that saying blacks have a peculiar odor is no longer acceptable, it has become fashionable speculating about the odors of old people - old people, you see, are as invisible to the mainstream today as blacks used to be to the middle classes in the past, so wondering aloud aloud about their smell is just fine. Curiously, in Trump's nation nobody has brought up the issue of how Mexicans smell, perhaps the assumption they smell utterly foul is so widely accepted that there is no need to even mention it.
29
People's smell is thought to be related to their diet and to their habits of cleanliness. And some people will secrete more sulfur to their skin than others.
I joke, (although it is true) that people are colonized by their mother's bacteria, which has adapted to their mitochondrial DNA over millennia. Although, in my family, I notice that we all have a smell, in the perspiration, that my father also had. My dogs easily tell family from non family.
7
Shame. Shame. Listen to you all speak about your elders as if they just don’t matter.
Would the Times ever publish an article asking whether Black people smell different, or Hispanics or fat people or Gay people? Of course not. Grouping people in any category is just plain bigotry. Easy to ask if Mr Smith smells and easy to answer. Stupid to ask if Arabs smell, or Asians or any other group. Really disappointed with the paper of record!
72
Adolescence, now that’s a stinky age
53
@Kat
Can't speak for teen girls ,but teen boys feet and subsequently their shoes smell as if ,the defense department should use that odor to keep enemies away an odor sort of like strong ammonia,can make one faint.:-)
10
@Kat
A slight distinction please: males in adolescence are much more sticky than females in adolescence.
1
@Kat Instead of "sticky," my post should have used "stinky," as I am sure everyone understood
As an old person I say yes there is.
The writer nailed it with “hygiene issues”. Even if older people shower often some of the body systems don’t work like they used to work. Men suffer from prostate enlargement which can lead to urine on fresh clothing. Women may lose muscle control and experience urine leaks. Tolieting becomes more difficult as mobility falters. The NYT just ran a huge feature on potty training. We should learn that as we age our bodies change again. Urine can be different as diet changes or kidney function declines.
Everybody poops and everybody urinates. Let’s get comfortable with the aging process because as they say, it beats the alternative.
21
Incomplete story.
There are of course two different kinds of sweat glands.
We sweat one way when working out, another way when going to an IRS audit.
Older people may feel more stress, and therefore smell differently.
The secret is daily showering (forget those NYT stories that say we shower too much) and, especially, doing laundry.
Don't let an older man wear the same thing more than one day in a row. You don't need dry cleaning after every evening in a sweater, but you do have to let it air out. Other items: shirts, underwear, etc. -- wear once and launder.
Remind people of every age to brush their teeth, and make sure they brush their tongue, as far back as they can without gagging.
You want bad smells?
Teach junior high students in a class after lunch (i.e., running around outside).
29
I smell pretty much the same as I have since high school - a cross between Acapulco Gold and Girl Scout Cookies #4.
24
is it possible that the odor in the homes of older people is really an absence? There are no youngsters, who run into the house with dirt and candy and skuffed knees, or that teens, who come home with the residue of french fries, gyms, and furtive sexual encounters. Perhaps those wild and unpredictable odors are those that make us beleve that we smell the waxing, rather than the waning of life.
15
Maybe there is something about using 20 to 40 year old perfume and aftershave? Because its "still good" and it would be a waste to pitch it out? That's one of the most distinctive odors and younger people just don't have a lot of antique perfumes.
11
Living in hot,humid,muggy Tx, I take every
opportunity during the cool,breezy days in
Fall to open my windows
In our upscale,gated community,there is
rarely an open window. The “smell” factor is
not to be an ageist problem.
6
@Maylan Love fresh dry air, but it's a real problem in the humid months. I found a device in an allergy product catalog that works wonders. It's a 16 x 3 inch "disk" that gently blows out warmed air. This is enough to keep the humidity of a large double closet at about 35%, at which it smells fresh and clean, like the clothing going into it. There are also closet sized de-humidifiers that collect a surprising about of water. When/if I leave the city, I plan to install a professional dehumidification system.
3
I'm surprised that this article did not investigate or mention the possibility that older people may take medications that may cause some odor problems.
35
It used to be called “old man smell”. A distinctive and unpleasant combination of something “old” and unwashed body and unlaundered underclothes. I suspect many straight old men, used to being a top dog in a patriarchal society, become depressed when faced by the loss of status in “being old” and give up being clean. Working as a nurses aide in nursing home, I also noticed old men not wanting their underwear laundered and refusing showers. Old women might also smell but they more typically continue to bathe and do laundry for as long as they are able. Oh, and to those commenters assigning positive moral value to body odor, you are wrong. Reeking when you have the resources and ability to be clean is a hostile act, a way to strike out, and is antisocial.
23
My uneducated guess is that old people smell different because they produce less pheromones connected to reproduction. Not bad; just different.
10
I think the old age smell comes from lack of hygiene. Not because a person doesn’t care but because a person has lost their ability to smell. There are 2 people in my life that cannot smell unless the order is very strong. One quit using deodorant because he thought he no longer needed it! Thus they do not detect body oder or house order (cat box oder) or even a dirty bathroom. When I tell them something stinks they are surprised. And when I Tell them what or why it smells they correct it. No more Oder! It is a little uncomfortable but I just hope someone tells me if I am in the same circumstances. We get older, we need friends and we need to listen to them.
20
If older be grateful for your sense of smell; IF younger, be grateful that the elderberries have retained their sense of smell. Think of the many things that COULD happen without it!
4
My Dad always slapped on a bit of English Leather. He smelled wonderful as did my Mom with her Estee Lauder. Dad would have his Glenlivet and Mom her apricot brandy. They also left their windows and doors open to the sea breeze. When I hug them in my dreams those are the fragrances my nose recalls.
66
@bearsrus
That is so dear -keep hugging.
14
Mom wore Jean Nate, and Dad his 4711. They kept their front and back doors open until nightfall, even in Brooklyn (except in winter).
Heat was on low, a window or two were ajar except in frigid weather. But then, our old windows rattled in a stiff breeze anyway. The house always smelled clean. And after all, both my parents passed away relatively young.
After Mom died, her sweaters still held her scent, and on Dad's Pendleton shirts there was a faint hint of 4711. I was sorry when those faded.
Our sense of smell is primitive and wonderful. I will be sorry to lose mine. I fear the stench of marijuana wafting everywhere will hasten its demise.
11
Old person here. We totally smell differently, and I would say on the whole worse, than when we were young. Prolly smelled *more* back then, because my hygiene was haphazard, but wasn’t that weird, musty funk. Not that I can smell “old people smell” anymore, or indeed much of anything. I just assume I smell like an old drawer liner, a slightly mildewed washcloth or a seldom used hair brush, and do my best to shower often and wear fresh clothing.
19
I keep reminding friends and family that at 75 I'm not dead, I merely smell that way.
18
We sure do... the fragrance is called money!
6
Ph of women’s vjs change with age. Hormones change as we age. This has to affect odor.
3
Yes, anyone with grandparents knows that elderly people smell. You can’t get rid of it, and you will smell that way some day. It’s life.
8
@Jennifer Whitcomb
Really? Maybe it's just you. Neither my grandparents nor my parents ever had what you call "that elderly person smell" (vile adjective, elderly - it's basically a pejorative term in this country). They all bathed or showered regularly and wore clean clothes, and they smelled just fine. Most of the older adults with whom I have associated, both personally and professionally, have smelled no better, no worse and no different from anyone else, so long as they maintained personal hygiene.
7
@Jennifer Whitcomb
no. it is life that we smell like. we do not smell any different than younger people with the same hygiene. i am 70. sit in the hot tub most days. shower most mornings but i might be a little stinky after yoga class.
3
To me the Gray Lady stinks sometimes. Maybe my sense of smell is changing with age...
8
I am a real estate agent and I have noticed a particular smell in homes that older people have lived in . Its always the same smell - hard to describe. I have called it "old home" smell. Yes its sweetish, funky and does not smell like food or other body odors. I think its made worse because a lot of older people keep doors and windows shut closed of the time and home do not have ventilation systems. The smell absorbs onto everything in the home. Changing out carpeting, repainting both help but don't get rid of it. Opening doors and windows to get fresh air in over a period of weeks helps a lot. But if you close everything up it reappears.
12
@Rhee
My apartment is the same way when I get back from trips, but I think it's because some jerk smoked in it. In Ohio, there's no law against smoking in your own apartment. UGH. It's gross. I never close my windows except in the dead of winter.
I have noticed this smell. I found it to be very pleasant on my grandparents, grand uncles and great aunts, and elderly neighbors possibly because of the wonderful, loving experiences that I associate with them. However, when I am around elders that I don't know the smell ranges from mildly off putting to offensive--especially in hospitals and nursing homes. Maybe not everyone smells it, which might account for the different findings in the study. Babies also have a particular smell which is distinctive. And grade school children definitely have a funky smell about them. This is just the truth of things. When I walk into a room of college students, they also smell kind of bad. I dated a man in his late forties who also sometimes gave off that older person smell. But I think it was because sometimes he didn't shower or wash his hair everyday. I found this article to be very interesting. No offensive to anyone. I am sure women in their forties have a smell too!
15
I feel the same. I don't mind the old people smell coming from my grandparents but on strangers I don't like it. I asked my mom who's in her forties (I'm in my twenties) about the smell and she said she had never heard of the phenomenon not had she noticed a different smell. My brother agrees with me though.
4
@Taylor
Some people's hair smells that way. Mostly dark oily hair.
If you don't like the way someone smells, that is strictly your problem. In any other setting, such as work, social events, time with friends- you would never think to speculate about it for long, much less comment on it. I think a lot of this reflects our fear of getting old, and of our mortality.
21
After reading this, I looked up 2-nonenal, and there is a TON of information about it online. And for many people, it seems persimmon soap can make a big difference.
In the past year, I've actually asked several highly credentialed and experienced board-certified dermatologists about the fact that, for many people, their skin from the neck up was becoming oilier with age, and the doctors just shrugged their shoulders - so either the doctors are actually clueless OR they didn't want to say "oh, that's part of getting old."
In any case, persimmon soap seems worth a try.
9
I don’t think smell has as much to do with aging as it does with overall health and diet. I have noticed people with different diets can often smell different, and so do I when I eat different types of foods. Likely the difference people notice is the cultural diets of different generations.
Also, some people seem to lose their sense of smell (or have different sensors?). I have to assume this because of the use of cloying perfumes which I cannot stand, that they choose to load up on.
Some of these are older folks, but by no means all.
9
When I was a teen my grandparents house had a specific smell that I associated with the elderly. I think it was the fact that they used cornstarch as powder instead of talcum and baking soda for deodorant and brushing teeth. There were always boxes of them on the toilet tank in the bathroom. They were vegetarians for the most part. They also had a house so clean you could have eaten off the basement floor. And my grandfather made wine every fall. However, now that I'm am nearing their age I wonder if I have a smell. No one has ever said. I don't use cornstarch or baking soda for hygiene, don't make wine and my house cleaning while acceptable to others is far from their perfection.
11
Old people don’t sweat as much so they shower less and they don’t wash their clothes as much because they are not so dirty. Maybe this contributes.
8
@B Cluckers: That's an over-generalization. Plenty of older people do enough (deliberate) exercise to sweat, and afterward they'll shower and usually put on fresh clothes. There are lots of people 70 - 90+ years old who do workouts at the gym or at home.
19
@L
I am in excellent health - 69 - no chronic illness. And on full HRT. I stopped perspiring at 50 -- around menopause.
This article barely touches on the effects of diet. Eating animal foods makes you and your bodily products smell bad. I noticed a huge change when my husband and I changed our diets.
26
@ekim actually I have noticed that when my coworkers go on juice fasts, there is an odor. However, I am polite and do not mention it.
5
@ekim Deciding to quit eating beef, pork, chicken etc, is not new. Forty to fifty years ago, many young people gave it a go. (Not me; in spite of my hippie leanings, I've been an omnivore all of my life.) What my vegetarian friends reported was that people who ate meat definitely stank, and they weren't making social commentary. Probably those infamous "meat sweats." And probably the greasier the meat, the more the grease seeps into the skin and contributes to the smell. On the other hand, eating beans as one's primary source of protein has its own odoriferous dangers.
10
We think that topic stinks. Leave us old people have our smells. And don't use odor masking chemicals around us.
65
My mother, who had many illnesses, including cancer and kidney disease, died at the age of 91. I was the sibling who brought all the photo albums home to make scans for everyone.
All I can say is for a whole year my apartment smelled like human decay. It was terrible. Even throwing out the album covers and some of my personal items that had been in her house did not help.
It could have been an olfactory hallucination caused by grief. But I don’t think so.
Since I am in late middle age (although in good health) I keep sniffing myself. Nothing yet. But you can buy soap online to get rid of that smell and should the day ever come I plan to buy it.
14
@KatheM
I'm surprised by the hostility some have shown regarding this topic. Are we not allowed to use our free speech? I'm grateful that this article came along. I've never seen it discussed and I sense that the writer knew that it would not be a universally accepted subject. Come on, we know that some suffer from foot odor and many don't, why can't this knowledge be extended to our bodies?
My own feeling is that the 'old person smell' is apparent and with some people revolting. I associate it with decay and lack of hygiene. In my experience only a minority of the elderly develop it. My daughter and I have a pact that she will let me know if and when I get it.
As an aside my own personal body odor over the decades falls into a category not mentioned so far. I can go literally months without a bath and I'm 72. I shower after exercise, yet I don't have to. If I take a pass on cleaning and just air out there is no problem. I've never known anyone like me, so I'd be curious if others have experienced this.
1
@Peter Charlot, people do sweat less and have less body odor, especially underarm odor, after age 60 or so.
But bear in mind that our sense of smell deteriorates as we get older too, so you may not perceive you have an odor when you do.
Certainly, if you go months without a bath, you will have a stale, funky odor whether you think so or not. We can become nose-blind to our own odors.
6
Dental care. The "old" odor that my mother had disappeared when she went to a new dentist.
The other thing is that infrequently worn clothes can still pick up body oil and perspiration. When those substances are left on clothes long enough, there are chemical changes and the clothes take on that odor that greets you when you enter a Goodwill store. The elderly are less likely to buy new furniture, or clean and reupholster furniture. Eventually stale odors develop. More frequent cleaning of clothes and household fabrics keeps the odor at bay.
46
When my father in law or parents stay over it takes me a week of airing and cleaning to get rid of the funky smell. When it’s just my mother, no smell at all, and she’s the one with chronic disease.
From my sample of one family, it’s the men and hygiene (or lack there of). My mom has two brief showers a day and uses nice smelling shampoo and lotions. The men couldn’t be bothered with such humdrum.
35
I noticed this smell on my 49 year old partner and indeed found it a turn off. We purchased the Mirai Clinical soap and I can tell you it eliminates that odor. It's real because I can smell it and I know when it's not there.
13
@Amy McKee 49 is old?
It’s probably in part due to changes in our skin microbiome. As we age the populations of bacteria on our skin surfaces no doubt change for may reasons. For example, dryer skin, more creases and crevices in our skin where bacteria can grow, etc, etc. More and different populations of bacteria will thrive compared to when we were young. Their byproducts likely contribute to odor changes. Believe me, there are bigger issues associated with getting older.
16
@Barry: Nope, it's not the microbiome of the skin that is the issue here; the cause has to do with changes in omega-7 fatty acid production and the body's response to that. I found this article to be clear and helpful:
https://www.greatseniorliving.com/articles/elderly-body-odor
5
I'm 68 and don't think I have a particular smell, or at least not an offensive one. But I think (or thought) I did back in 2011 for a few months. I read accounts online of people thinking they smelled, and it seemed much of was psychological and imagined, but definitely these were people of all ages.
I was in a depression since about 2012, and it became noticeable to me that I did not shower every day. I still never thought I smelled, and now shower and was my hair every day without fail, but even in hot New York July, long walks would make me sweat till my shirt was drenched, but I just took it off immediately when I got home, and even it didn't smell, I'd wear it two or three times and then just as a matter of course put it in the laundry--but not because it smelled. It still didn't.
I think there often is an older-person smell, but I do know two people who don't shower more than once or twice a week and they both just stink--one is 78 and the othert about 36. I started making sure I was taking a shower and shampooing every day because it totally refreshed things, and I was sticky. Also, in the past it never occurred to me to not shower and shampoo every day.
Growing up, there was a pleasant 'grandmother's house' smell which was easily identifiable and not just by me. Not funky. Some older people I notice more that the skin looks a bit dirty more than that they smell--people who are not necessarily very ill, but who are not strong and are obese.
5
Really? Ever been in teenager’s room? An apartment building where everyone’s cooking different foods? A hospital? A locker room? Pass a feedlot in the summer of penned up cattle soon to be your hamburger? Have a close in conversation with beer and wine drinkers? Etc., etc. This is not helpful. Breathe through your mouth if you’re that sensitive and be kind.
126
@Blue Note In A Red State
OMG. The odor of the rooms of 20-something men who haven't mastered laundry. Oh, and their shoes!
11
@Blue Note In A Red State
Yes, and the smell in a high school cafeteria - ugh.
2
I’m older. I really don’t like showering anymore. But I force myself to especially when I’m going to see someone. Only because I have smelled others and don’t like it.
Once I’m in the shower I’m fine.
28
Babies have their own smell. Teenagers have their own smell. Adults have a wide spectrum of smells. Seniors have their own smell. What’s the big deal?
113
My children’s preschool teachers were a lovely elderly retired couple who would warmly greet their students with a hug. Privately my little ones would wrinkle their noses and say to me their teachers smelled like “old people,”
7
If older people do indeed have a different smell, may that be the worst thing that ever happens to them.
98
It’s not about what happens to older people — it’s about how their smell is upsetting to the people around them. And YES it is a legitimate complaint, just like smokers or people with sweaty BO affect others.
2
Ah! I hear the launching of thousands of new odor-masking personal hygiene and housecleaning products for us baby boomers.
30
@Joel H
No need!
Daily soap, water, exfoliation. An unscented moisturizer to lubricate the skin after all that scrubbing.
Regular laundry.
And in the humid summer months - a dehumidifier for your closet. Even clean clothes straight from the dryer being to take on a slightly "off" odor after a few days in high humidity.
4
Well, what do you want us to smell like? New mown hay? Puppy breath? Babies? Eau de Toilette?
You write: "At 52, I felt a little prickly about it myself, but also in need of information. If there was anything I could do to improve my personal scent, now and in the future, I wanted to know."
Your article smells like prickles and vinegar and more than ever...decadent...
24
@mutabilis It is not decadent. Has good information, but I think a lot of it is about ability to maintain hygiene, but as I say above, one of the people I know who bathes only once a week is 37.
I am like Lew above, though. Until recently, it has started to seem a big deal to shower every day, and I even could see red marks on my face and there may have been some psoriasis. I figured out ways to get the water running, the antiseptic liquid soap in the bathtub and a loofa sponge for scrubbing, and in my case, those symptoms have completely disappeared--even at 68, and I did not expect them to. I just could tell that showering definitely worked to wash off the day. I actually went a few years without showering but every 2 or 3 days. By now, it's unimaginable not to, just as it used to be. Some aspects of my depression must have allowed me to get slothful about that and cleaning my apartment (I use my reading glasses for that to make sure I get things really clean), and after it began to lift, all of my 'weak habits' improved, including exercising a lot more, and having a drink only once a week.
11
@Dr. Rocco Peters I meant I'm like 'zegee' who says s/he doesn't like showering but is fine once in the shower. I just figured out ways to have better associations with it, because somehow I'd gotten to hate it too. If I start the water and put the soap and loofa and shampoo out, a few minutes before getting in (my hot water is slow in an old W. Village building), I now find that the dread and sense of 'burden' of taking a shower is completely gone.
9
I feel bad for the couple who stayed in the author’s house.
122
In a word, yes!
3
Hey, I’m old and will pit my smell against the scent of a baby’s diaper any day of the week!
47
Mmmm ... baby diaper smells.
4
@Lew my son's diapers smelled just like microwave butter flavor popcorn when he was exclusively breast-fed. Nothing puts you off artificial butter flavor like an association with poopy diaper!
1
My maternal great-grandmother's home and she had a distinctive, dusty soap smell which brings happiness to me. Her daughter, my grandmother, never smelled old or bad even as she died of cancer. My mom also smelled nice as before until death, except where her cancer was necrotic, that's not caused by age and is awful. At 61, in the last few weeks I've noticed that no matter how recently I've showered, after I've sweat through my clothes I smell not exactly like sweat, and not really pleasant, but differently than any way I've previously smelled after sweating. Since it was sudden, I believe it may be because my new washing machine isn't working properly. Ha.
13
Although I sympathize with readers who feel slighted by the negative implications of a study asking “do old people smell,” I appreciate the sense of validation I have from reading this, as I’ve often felt crazy entering the home of an older person, whether a grandparent, great aunt, or family friend, and smelling the identical hard to pin down odor, often from people who do not even know one another. Indeed it is a musty smell, but not just that, and I can confirm it issues from the person, not the articles in the house. If someone said teenagers are more prone to sweat, because hormones, no one would be crying ageism. The Japanese are on to something.
13
My parents lived till 80 and 89. I met many of their friends in the same age group. There was no offensive odor among any of them. As I read this article, though, I recalled being left with several of their friends as a child when my parents travelled. I have a distinct memory of how each home smelled! It was not a "bad" small; it was just different from how our house smelled. As a child I didn't like it, just as I didn't like the food they served, but there was nothing wrong with it It was just not the smell I was used to. These people were all in their 40's and were healthy and immaculate; they just had their own odor. It might have come from cleaning products, beauty products,. food, who knows? My point is that the distinct strawberry like fragrance the writer mentioned might have just been this couple's own personal smell. They may have smelled that was for decades. Why attribute it to their age?
32
@Christa You're right. I was a self-employed housekeeper for 12 years, and every house I worked in had its own characteristic smell. I used my own identical cleaning products in all of them. I bet if I was blindfolded and taken to any one of them now, years later, I could identify the family. Coincidentally, one of my client families sold their house to another of my client families. Over a period of six weeks, I could smell the seller family's smell dissipating as the buyer family's same smell from their previous house took over.
10
Older people can smell more mainly due to not bathing as often as they should, some for health or mobility reasons and some just due to laziness or unconcern. Some smell really bad, as does anyone of any age who does not have good hygiene. As someone who is also getting on, I am often around older people and can tell the ones who bath regularly and they smell fine, compared to the ones who do not. Ugh.
Let's try not to get too complicated about a very simple thing.
13
A co-worker in her 60s found a perfume she had loved in her 20s and bought it. It didn't smell the same to her. She thought it was because the perfume had changed, but I wonder if it was because the perfume was now reacting differently to her body chemistry.
16
Very likely the perfume has been reformulated. And your friend's smell perception may have changed as well.
5
@Carolyn, many perfumes HAVE changed their formulations, substituting cheaper artificial chemical ingredients in place of the former natural fragrances. The artificial chemical ingredients are often stronger and have unpleasant musky or metallic notes.
I've noticed this with fragrances I used to love, but which are now awful and overpowering even before they touch my skin.
Happily, a few of the expensive classic fragrances have kept their original formulas, and you'll find these still smell good.
Personally, I prefer to forgo perfumes and use lightly scented body washes that leave only a faint clean smell.
2
Here’s my theory. Since some older people smell and some don’t, I believe it is due to hygiene and habits. For example, many older women (75 ) in my area still get their hair set and styled weekly into a stiff coif that has to last a week - hence hair is only washed every seven days - ooh. Also I think older people with mobility issues have trouble cleaning a lot of key spots, if you know what I mean. Along with that, many get cold easily and hesitate to bathe. Gerontologists should test smell along with mobility to see if there is a correlation. All I know is that I have made my daughters promise to be sure I shower regularly whether I want to or not. Wonderful, one more thing to look forward to in old age.
25
@M: I only washed my hair once a week for decades, starting in my youth - there's nothing weird or strange about that. I had a dry scalp and over-washing my hair just made it even drier.
14
No scientific evidence here but older generations often used vinegar for multiple cleaning, medicinal and cooking chores which leave a distinct or slight odor.
Before the modern age of strong antibacterial cleaning chemicals with synthetic smells homes usually had gallons of vinegar on hand for everyday usage.
14
Give me vinegar any day ! the smell of chemicals truly offensive and noxious
may we all return to that incredibly useful cleaning method
deters spiders and pests too
8
"Do Older People Have a Different Smell?"
I don't think I'm being oversensitive when I say that this question is deeply offensive. Why not ask whether the smell of a person's sweat *varies by age*? Why is one age group defined as the group that's "different," if other age groups are just as "different" from this one as this group is from them?
103
When people get old, so do many of their possessions. And as eyesight fails and the sense of smell weakens, housekeeping tends to falter, even among people who were fastidious over their entire lives. Basically, if you don't see it and you can't smell it, you are unlikely to find it. A lot of "old people smell" isn't the people at all, it is a combination of that 50 year old chair in the corner and haphazard house cleaning. If you are 80 and you can afford it - get somebody else to clean your house. You may think you are still just as capable at it, because you don't see any issues. But you definitely aren't.
43
Old as such does not generate a smell. Old with illness or disorder can generate a smell that reflects bodily dysfunction, as it may do for someone not "old". See "Disease and odor: An intriguing relationship" at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319615.php and "12 Diseases Doctors Can Actually Detect Through Smell" at https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/diseases-doctors-can-smell/. To say this has been long known is a classic understatement.
18
@LawyerTom
My wife has Parkinson's disease for 18 years and recently their was an article about PD patients having a unique smell ,she does, but is that from her PD medications?
I have read that dogs have been trained to smell some types of cancer,for diagnosis ,smell tests are also giving to patients with neurological diseases , my wife cannot smell stove gas anymore so I keep the gas stove controls blocked and have a gas alarm in the Kitchen which is different then a C02 alarm.
We often forget the loss of smell can result in a gas explosion or fire .
2
If my grandfather smelled I'l never know, because the smell of cigars, even in the hallway leading to his apartment, overwhelmed anything else.
20
And I loved that smell. Still do.
7
@Zejee And the smell when they smoked their pipes. I still miss that.
I think, sometimes, we have become too clean, too sterile???
I am old and i sleep with my beloved old indoor cat. If we smell, too bad, but am not to worried as my house is often filled with grown grand kids, friends, and neighbors. There are times when it feels like grand central station, but there are times when nobody is here. Sometimes, that's good, other times i feel like I'm the last person on planet earth.
25
Such sensitivity! Ageism is when you can’t get an interview for a job you’re qualified for because you are perceived as other than a millennial. There is definitely an association of different odors with older people. How much of that is physiological vs environmental, eg mothballs in every closet, is an interesting question. We age, and we change. So what? And the author does not identify her guests, so I don’t see why that’s so insensitive on her part.
9
When I am grocery shopping I come across someone with awful body odor. I'm not talking about perspiration odor, but an awful funk. Sometimes the smell is so strong I gag. I don't usually smell this funk from old people, but primarily from middle-aged women.
My mother had that smell, and not because she was old. She rarely bathed and didn't wash or dry clean her clothes enough. Opening her closet door was almost enough to bowl me over.
I don't think it has much to do with age. It has to do with having a clean body and clean clothes.
25
Put a cup of baking soda into a warm bath. Get in bathtub and soak for 10 minutes. All odors vanish.
9
@SW
Assuming here the person can still get into a tub. Many people of many ages have issues that prevent a bath. It is more prevalent than people realize. Those walk in tubs are the best thing that ever happened on planet earth and should be covered by Health Insurance. They are fairly high priced and out of reach for many. Many people can get in but not out so easy. Baths are restorative for more reasons that smell and cleanliness. Relaxation,warmth, calm and quiet are welcome relief. I used to help my grandmother get out of the tub by lifting her under her arms while still in the water which eased the lift as she was weightless and then was able to glide her to the side of the tub. There was no shower in her old building. This brought back a fine memory.
11
This will also work in a warm shower.
1
Hmmm.......If it isn't due to poor hygiene, then every individual has a smell or "pheromones". It can either attractive or repel us as individuals.
I can always detect a garlic lover, regardless of how old they are.
7
@Martha
This starts to get at my response. Smell can be influenced by diet; a notorious example is the scent of habitual curry-eaters. In the story about the "funky sweet strawberry" smell of the writer's guests, besides not wondering what they ate, she also never mentions the possibility that one or both of them uses a scent or deodorant that either leaves a lingering scent element or interacts with other personal scents of the user to generate a new one.
As an example, modern detergents use chemical perfumes to simulate what they call a "fresh" scent. I hate this stench, which is difficult to wash out, and can detect it on people's clothes and fabrics with which they've come into contact. My point is that personal odors needn't be a function of age-related physiological activity but can result from dietary habits and chronic use of manufactured substances.
17
My advice is much like the researchers. But add, never go to bed without having a shower first. After a day out in the busy world and grimy city that sweat and bacteria clings to you. Going into your PJs and bed sheets clean is a good way to reduce those bedlinen smells. And wash them once a week. No less.
36
@F Yeah, I'm gonna get right on that.
14
@Ms. Klara
Me too!
Note to self. Shower again at night and change sheets every two days like Oprah. Oh, never mind, I will just have the household staff do it. They can do the grocery shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, give the kids baths, check their homework while checking in the kids at the same time, tend to my home needs, family needs, husband needs and do my 9-7 job for me too. This way I can take a second shower.
14
@This just in I think the suggestion is to have your daily shower at night, not to shower twice a day.
5
Yes. It's called the smell of death. In Japan, there is an actual word for it: kareishū.
8
@Srini
Will remember this when they carry me off to hospice care.
I’m wondering if you told these friends that you’re going to write an article about their smell published in the New York Times.
I hope they aren’t surprised by this.
There’s an oldBuddhist story,
A monk invites a homeless person in to stay at his house, to sleep in his small space.
Another monk says ,
What are you going to do ,the stink is so terrible and disgusting.
The inviting monks said........
That’s OK he’ll get used to it.
90
As a 74 year old man, I am probably biased, but I’ll say it anyway. How delightful that researchers training and research money is spent on this fascinating subject at a time when a few other minor issues, like, say, climate change, are competing for such resources. I think I’ll take a relaxing shower now, put on some freshly washed clothes and open my windows, as I do daily.
173
@Claude Vidal, The knowledge gained in any particular field of science is relevant to all branches of science. This, I learned my senior year in high school 53 years ago. Many accidental discoveries in the laboratory have contributed to science.
13
@a good lawyer: as a Caltech graduate and a biomedical engineer I am aware of the benefits that can accrue from apparently abstruse scientific research (the joke at the California Institute of Technology was “where is the technology, since a lot of emphasis was placed on not so applied science). However, common sense suggests that this specific research is unlikely to have wide ranging benefits. Also, as an old man, I find this subject as tasteless as an op-Ed about menses related smells might feel to a sizable proportion of female readers.
23
My grandmother, who lived to be 97 and was healthy almost that entire time, had a distinctive smell about her. I remember it from my childhood and into middle age.
It was a smell of affection, of unconditional support, of moral and humane judgment of others, and of the delicious cookies and strudel she made for her many grandchildren.
268
@SA what a sweet tribute to your grandmother. she sounds awesome
25
@R
She was a strong and generous woman. As an immigrant seeking refuge from the pogroms of Russia in the very early 1900's she found refuge in a USA that seems to have recently forgotten that it is a nation of immigrants.
20
Bless you!
8
As an admitted “fresh air freak”, I am wondering if there is a different cause. Our house has many windows and a newer dual whole house fan. Except when it is very hot, I run this system daily. The large intake is in the kitchen which means cooking odors are vented quickly.
Yet in this house, where we have been 4 years, cooking onions or garlic means a powerfully heavy cooking odor stays for a full three days, no matter how much the whole house fan runs during and after cooking. This did not happen in our previous house. Our current house was built in 1963. It drives me crazy.
I am wondering if it is the drywall that captures odors and does not release them. Perhaps drywall type, age, condition is a bigger culprit than upholstery?
The solution may be to paint sealant like Kilz on all the interior walls and then apply an oil based paint? Older people tend to not sign on for expensive home improvements and they may not notice these things as their senses fade.
I am still thinking about this because it bugs me. In the meantime, cooking onions is now done on the patio in an electric skillet.
18
@Anonymously Sounds like there is definitely something wrong with the fans in your house. Maybe not vented properly? I live in a 1 bdrm and use garlic and onions everyday, no problem. Drywall isn’t the problem or wouldn’t everyone have this issue??
2
@Julia Longpre I don't think so. I too am very sensitive to smells. There are any number of dishes I will not make in may UWS apartment, and even if I sauté shallots at low heat I have to scrub walls with a water/bleach solution. I don't even consider serious challenges such as cooking fish in my preferred manner - smell would linger for days despite scrubbing. My dream kitchen is...outdoors .
4
Maybe old people smell because they take so many different pills and potions for their ailments. That includes vitamins and supplements on top of all their prescription meds. It could be the interaction of all the chemicals that gives off the unpleasant whiff.
Our bodies didn’t evolve to process this stuff.
35
Although I can see the occasional utility of a scent dispenser in a bathroom, particularly in a country like France where the toilet is usually in a small separate space from the bathroom i.e. W.C.-water closet, I hate how the insecurity about even the most non-offensive smells has been weaponized into the multi-million dollar business of “home deodorants” which add more chemicals to the air. Every time I see one of those commercials with a worried looking woman ( it’s ALWAYS a woman) solving the problem of odors in her immaculate ( always immaculate ) home, by putting so-called “air fresheners” in the rooms I want to scream.
100
@Susan Not to mention that those air freshening chemicals are toxic and many people have physical reactions (such as respiratory symptoms, headaches, etc.) to them.
10
@Susan - Agreed. It amazes me how people can deliberately spray artificial chemicals around their house--and then willingly breathe them in! They must all be mad.
2
Eat a regular meal of beans and cabbage at any age.
16
Upon seeing the poet Auden Clive James writes, “ he shuffled through in a suit encrusted with the dirt of years - it was a geological deposit, an archeological pile-up like the seven cities of Troy.”
24
Sigh. One more thing to feel self-conscious about and it's also a natural part of being human? When will it end?
Humans, animals, plants. We are all going to die and decay and stink. Maybe the least we can do is not to hate and judge each other and ourselves for it?
Sigh.
The more I live on this earth, the more I realise we make living a LOT harder than it has to be.
152
@moony — the article is not promoting hate and judging, but merely opening up (an admittedly minor) phenomenon to scientific inquiry, even as the very idea offends many commentators here. Having a Japanese girlfriend, this concept of old people smell is not exactly news to me. It is accepted truth in Japan.
12
@moony When I worry about smelling old (which only happens when I am too tired and skip a shower), my little dog reminds me that some creatures here treasure every single scent they can find.
Maybe it would be nice if we all had the non-judgemental attitude of a dog. That is - all smells are incredibly informative and delicious.
PS. I live alone and if I skip a shower my dog and I are the only ones who notice. I don't go out without one. See how defensive this has made this old lady?
3
I've noticed the same "aroma" coming from elderly women and detected the same aroma immediately upon opening a very old bottle of perfume. It seems that not replacing old perfume can be the problem. Buy your grandma new perfume for her birthday!
23
I'm glad the best advice for combating old age smell is to take care of yourself. I thought for a bit that it might be to stop aging.
23
Sometimes the elderly are reluctant to shower or clean themselves on a regular basis. Often they are afraid to fall, secondary to various illnesses and diseases. The incontinence issue of urine and feces is to blame at times.Some are lucky to be in assisted living and or a Nursing homes, where bathing & shower schedules are regulated, often they are home alone and believe it or not they fail to get bathing assistance from family members(not all of them). Do something.. if you have elder parents.. Help them!!
68
@John Ramos I can only speak for my parents but when they could not longer bathe enough (being content with 5 years or more of "sponge baths") their 5 children tried so dang hard to get them to accept help from us. We redid their bathroom to include a walk in tub (it collected neatly folded towels and cobwebs). Then we installed a walk in shower that became a broom and mop storage closet and collected, you got it, cobwebs.
Short of hog-tying and dragging our 80-something parents to the tub they were sure they were clean. They smelled, their clothes smelled, their sheets were awful. After their deaths we burned everything they wore or slept in. Their doctor said there was no proven health hazard to not bathing. So, what can you do....you can lead a horse to water....and so forth.
34
@John Ramos
Unfortunately, nursing homes are seriously understaffed. I knew of someone who got a shower weekly, if she was lucky. Sad state of affairs in this country.
3
How timely.
2
Your smell is your smell, your stink. Your personal signal flare to everyone else. There's nothing to be done to change that is there? Not really. So just be thankful if you're healthy and flexible. That's all that truly matters.
Besides, when was the last time you could smell yourself, eh? Who cares? Let everyone else deal with it! Just keep livin' and lovin', laughin' and enjoyin' for as long as you can.
John~
American Net'Zen
10
I've long suspected that sweating (via regular exercise) is essential for eliminating body toxins - and, of course, showering afterwards. Possibly younger people exercise regularly - and/or more intensively -than older people. Also, just as the gut biome is a major factor in health - and influenced by many things (diet, antibiotics, breast fed or not, etc), so might the skin biome be a major factor in how the world senses us (and equally influenced by many things).
10
@Rethinking
Gave older male probiotic. Smell gone.
2
@Rethinking NO toxins are eliminated through sweat!!! We have a specific organ for detoxification: it's called the liver.
10
@Rethinking - You suspected wrong. Sweating is mainly for temperature regulation. The liver and kidneys take care of the toxins.
4
Many things factor into these biological and chemical processes: environmental diet and hygiene based, etc. Without evaluating all in combination this doesnt solve or even move the argument at all. Many (majority) of Old peolple have a distinct "smell" of "oldness" but we need to attribute it to something beyond phenotypes. Since the only obviously shared factor (and only one evaluated) is age, and it is inconclusive, this fails on every level to be newsworthy. Curious, but not newsworthy... drunken bar debate worthy...
10
One of the strongest factors affecting the way a person of any age smells is diet. One clear example: people who eat eggs, meat and dairy have much stronger body smells than people who don't eat animal products.
29
musty ? from years of collected stuff gathering dust ?
a fear might be leakage (urinary incontinence) - if that lingers
one day small kids walking into our home - visiting with friends' family - the boy pulled a face and said 'it smells in here'. His older sister, detecting the diplomatic faux-pas, immediately said 'it smells COMFORTABLE !'
the uncertainty is that with my older age poorer sense of smell (touch wood not a sign of impending dementia!) there might be some smell offensive to children that I simply can't smell.
That said - last week at childcare kids were offered some lovely lettuce, and almost all turned up their noses at it. News to me - I'm guessing it may be like the cruciferous vegs like broccoli that seem to offend kids' taste buds ...
10
It is the sweet, sickly odor that I associate with death and decay. I have noticed it only on older people who live sedentary lifestyles with little no regenerative cell action.
14
Two points:
“Older People” is not defined, but as the article mentions someone in their 40s, the age-range could well be 50-plus years.
Teenagers need to start using deodorants when the sex hormones kick in. It stands to reason that by the time those are gone, the body smell is gone as well.
5
It used to be that when an old person passed by, you could tell their age without looking at them by the pungent scent of mothballs wafting in their wake. Alas, no one uses mothballs anymore, so I’ll just have to rely on my vision now. When my father-in-law was alive, we used to go to Princeton (his alma mater) football games and the entire stadium would be one big cloud of mothballs as the older alumni had dragged their coats out of storage without airing them out just before the fall games and plopped down on the cold benches, their 1940s camel hair coats emitting a fragrance that will forever be olfactorily tied to college football for me.
51
Wrong. I know three mothball people. One lives in a home that reeks of it, the other two keep their favorite winter outfits in mothball closets because that smell permeates their persons when you meet them in the street.
2
Oh, dear. I was hoping they had been outlawed.
3
I've noticed the smell, but always associated it with the physical difficulties of showering the elderly experience--and perhaps their own failing senses, including of smell. I knew an elderly women whose collection of plastic shower caps--with their mildewed rubber--just reeked. But she put on one of those things almost every time she took a shower.
http://www.thecriticalmom.blogspot.com
11
I have several brothers. I know it’s not dinnertime discussion, but I’ve always known that women can immediately detect the smell of male urine - even after the toilet is flushed, women can smell that a male urinated recently. Same is true of old people. I’ve always been able to detect if a senior citizen has used a bathroom before me. I’m not commenting on pleasantness or lack thereof of odor. But to deny that the smells of urine for males and older people are detectable for some of us is useless. We know what we know. Can we move on now to the Why? Why has nature designed this system?
36
@CattF
LOL. Female urine has a strong smell to at least some men as well. Very clearly female, strong and detectable after a flush. I grew up in a household of all men and one woman, but often stayed with an aunt who had two daughters. It was pretty much clear to all of us whether a male or female had taken care of business. Even certain individuals were identifiable. The scent is unmistakable in either gender.
5
Men need to pee sitting down and wipe accordingly. My guy does and we don't have that issue. Male friends visit, here comes the urine smell.
1
I stunk at age 18 years ,now at age 80....meh!
26
Thinking about this article some more, it occurred to me to wonder: maybe those elderly friends moved into the writer's house--and noticed to their dismay that it smelled. So they bought one of those room fresheners, (I hate those!), mostly likely strawberry flavored--the same one they use at home--to make it habitable.
So dear writer: what you bet they're still talking about your stinky house. (Perhaps it's middle-aged odor?)
272
@PNRN - LOL!
52
@PNRN
The smell of some older people, which is a real thing, I've smelled it, is quite different from artificially scented room deodorizer.
2
Another possible explanation for personal smell is the medications that a person takes. Perhaps old people take more or different med's than others.
86
Totally agree- medication chemically changes your body
11
“He’s just sensitive about this topic because he’s old.”
For one scientist to say that about another is disgusting and ageist. This entire article is offensive. Don’t you have real health issues to write about?
232
I agree. This was ridiculous.
25
@Cecelia
Folks, it was a joke!
16
Yes, many older people have a distinct scent. The scent of gentle decay is what I call it and it is the same smell among many older folks. My grandma had it, my mom, now 90 does not. Funny the article mentions Chanel 5 perfume. I could never stand to be near that sickly sweet smell but I love the cousin Chanel 19 the best. I do love Fracas which is a sweet smelling French perfume. Clearly it is mixed properly so its not too sweet smelling but lovely. Just like our tastes in perfume odors are different, so is our tolerance for old people smell.
15
@me
I have noticed that my own odor has changed for the worse as I have aged, exactly in line with what prompted the article and many others' observations. No one else needs to tell me this. I would be ashamed to have anyone else mention it to me, or to someone else, but I would recognize the accuracy of their observation.
Articles like this, as well as observant comments like that of @This just in, may help to prompt a fragrance expert to devise a solution to a condition that causes people like me personal embarrassment.
I would certainly be a willing purchaser of such a product.
And I value the opinion of those who are willing to acknowledge the truth over the opinion of those who just get angry about it.
9
strawberry? really?
Maybe they use strawberry scented shampoo.
14
we do-but frequent showers, deoderant, and airspray help.....
2
This article tactfully used "smell" instead of "stink." Samuel Johnson would have none of it:
[at a party in London:]
HOSTESS: Dr. Johnson! You smell.
JOHNSON: No, madame. You smell; I stink.
75
I have smelled like a toasted everything bagel since I turned 60. Party on!
159
@KLTG Lucky you!
9
@KLTG I remember smelling like peanut butter when I hit puberty. My daughter, on the other hand, smelled like onions. Her son, when he hit puberty, reeked of stinky sweat socks, which he tried to cover with Axe. That only made him stink worse.
5
I can understand scientist researching human smells. But is it is almost irrelevant to me since I cannot smell very well. That would be another area of research.
5
I was working in a geriatric nursing facility, a decade ago, when I and other staff were exposed to scabies. A frantic search for a preventive turned up Neem soap. So I used that for a month or more--and never got scabies--but in the meantime, all my elderly patients were ecstatic with my smell. They'd grab my hands and hold them up to their noses or cheeks and smile and smile. Haven't a clue what the Neem soap was reminding them of. I don't think it was used much in their childhoods in the US? (or perhaps it was?)
You can find bars at any Indian market. I think it smells a little strange, but there you go.
In the meantime, I'm appalled at this article. *I recently stopped by the home of the friends . . . and as we talked I noticed the same funky, sweet smell." These were your friends--to be exposed to national embarrassment? You really think they're still your friends? Yeesh!
278
@Penik Maybe they were firwarned and OKd this mention?
1
When I was a kid I thought old ladies smelled like lavender and old men smelled like Old Spice. Seems these were the popular 'flavors' for a certain generation in my grandparents' small home town.
68
@KJ Old Spice is still the best.
I’ve thought about this for years. I think it’s a lack of laundry facilities, or ability to physically DO laundry. Try wearing your own shirt or blouse for several days, without washing between wearings. Not pleasant, for anyone. When clothes or household textiles are infrequently washed, they stink. No matter the age.
66
@me
They smell rusty, as my fresh-smelling grandma used to say.
9
Would it be politically and culturally acceptable for the Times to question whether people of various races and ethnicities smell different?
Welcome to ageism, one of the last acceptable sets of prejudices.
341
@sylviam Yes, ageism. We must blindly assume the bodies of older people are exactly the same as younger people. To do otherwise must be prejudicial.
21
@sylviam. I agree.
4
@sylviam
People of different ethnic cultures do smell differently. It is not prejudice, just truth. Black people smell differently from White people. Their skin is different. Chinese people often smell of garlic from their pores. You can smell it on buses in Flushing and on the 7 train. On garbage day, Thursday and Monday in Flushing, Queens, you can smell the garlic, oil and fish from the garbage bags. The same smell is on the people. The Indian population nearby in Jackson Heights smell of curry from their pores and of their personal masala spice mix boxes. The smell differences are what they are. Neither good or bad just are. Black people often put Ammonia in their laundry to kill the smell or use Persil. Persil is better for some clothes to be washed in and Oxi Clean does it for all types of people's clothes. Oxi clean removes smells and stains.
20
We could take care of any such problem if everyone would stop bathing or showering and eat a lot of raw garlic.
27
I live in a high rise upper floor with four elevators. If my girlfriend visits while I'm out with my dog, she (my dog) will sniff one elevator with excitement when we return. I'll then say to my girlfriend, "You came up in elevator 1,2,3,4." and she'll exclaim, "You're right. How did you know?"
Our secret. woof.
108
@RonRich cute!
7
@RonRich My brother once commented that watching his dog smell things while out on a walk made him think that for a dog, the experience of smelling gives them the same pleasure and sensory stimulation that we feel when looking at a beautiful view or work of art. But it seems to contain far more information than that, given they've trained dogs to detect cancer in people's scent. If we could only replicate a dog's incredible sense of smell, who knows what we'd know?
8
@RonRich
If you haven't yet, you should propose. ;-)
PS-Your dog would approve.
9
I've always been very sensitive to smells, to the extent that it would drive me mad if I got an odor on me that I couldn't wash off. If I'd buy a new product thinking it was unscented, but then find it had some secondary under-note that was horrible, I'd get mad enough to contact the manufacturer. I was always very strict about my own personal hygiene, never wanting to offend others. So imagine my chagrin when, about six months ago, I began to exude the stench of sour milk from all over my body, often right after I showered. It was revolting, and puzzling-- I couldn't put it down to any change in diet, personal or laundry products that I could think of. I got myself tested for some possible internal infections, but they came out negative. All I've been able to do is use some coconut-scented body wipes as soon as I dry off, which seem to have managed the problem. DANG! Now I am a smelly old lady.
7
@Lisa M. So sorry. If you forgive the pun, that stinks! Do you drink milk and ingest other milk based products? There are some genes related to digesting milk that for some people work fine when they are children but stop working when we get older. It takes people by surprise because they never had an issue with ingesting dairy/milk in the past. You might need to go dairy free. I could be wrong - just a thought.
10
Middle school kids smell.
62
@DrMommyn Yes, the boys and the hallways smell like AXE
21
Do they ever!
12
@DrMommy - Teenage boys smell like goats.
145
Everyone has a unique smell, with many causes depending on health.
This article stinks! :-)
132
I'm amazed that this author published this first-hand account. Won't the couple to whom you lent your home figure out that you are talking about them? How insensitive.
332
@A Reader
Not to mention rude and hurtful.
41
@A Reader I had the exact same thought as I read this. If the author knows them well enough to lend them her house, the older couple probably knows that she is a writer. its not a stretch to think that they might read this and be offended. some things are best kept to ones self.
25
@A Reader Inimagine she cleared this with the.
2
Lynda Barry's wonderful "100 Demons" contains a chapter called "Common Scents." It's worth reading.
5
I do not think there is a smell that most or even a significant percentage of old people have. But there is a distinctive smell that only some old people have. I was surprised to find out that one of my best friends (male) started smelling that way a few months ago (he just turned 61). It may have been the consequence of a not so great health run. None of my elderly relatives had it (or at least I could not perceive it), but I know multiple elderly people that does. It is always the same. Not good or bad. Old.
7
When my daughter was young, a work colleague a few years younger than myself would give me clothes that her daughter had grown out of. That family was surely cleaner than we were but their smell was different from ours and we always washed everything before we used it. One time my daughter knew there were clothes for her when she picked up the bag and sniffed.
It's not being old, just different.
27
Mothballs, maybe. Older people are more likely to use them.
6
There is a huge difference between a person that smells vs. a person that smells bad.
Every person's home has a peculiar odor to just them which results from what they cook, what they eat, what they clean with, which shampoos and soaps their use, what fabric softener sheets they use in their dryer, etc.
Even each of my cats has a distinct odor about them as well (which I always detect in their feces when I clean their litter boxes).
But one aspect to this article I do agree with and that is "people with chronic diseases are more likely to give off odor, no matter what their age." I discovered that when my brother came to live with my husband and me when he was being treated for cancer.
The unique and peculiar smells which emanated from him were extremely similar to the ones which emanated from my mother when she was being treated for cancer. The age difference between both cases were 40 years.
I think the closing paragraph hits some key aspects when addressing or combating odor in general:
"exercise, stay healthy and hydrated, eat clean food, open windows, launder clothing and sheets" (using fragrant-free detergent and softener helps a great deal too!)
19
@Marge Keller
Yes, you can smell chemotherapy drugs coming from a person's pores when they are being treated. It is a distinct smell of chemicals. Since I work with the public and see hundreds of people a month, I know the smell and I know that each of us has a distinctive smell.
32
@Marge Keller
Re: distinctive cat odors. I've had lots of cats in my life, domestic tabby cats and some purebreeds. The Abyssinian cats smell very different and smell more funky than other cats. All 4 of my Abyssinians - none related - were like this. Such sweet intelligent cats but their litter boxes were a thing of evil...
7
I have a strong, almost panic-attack type reaction to the weirdly metallic smell of chemotherapy.
Perhaps because so many of my family and friends smelled that way.
12
I have heard of "old person" smell, but am puzzled by this claim. My 93-year old mother does not have any particular smell about her (except for that perfume-y laundry detergent she uses), and my 71-year old husband does not smell like anything in particular. I don't notice any unusual smell in the dozens of older people (both men and women) I interact with. I don't think there is anything wrong with my sense of smell - I'm sure I could identify all the herbs in my garden blindfolded. I do think some smells may be environmental, such as living in a moldy or un-aired house, multiple pets in the house, scented laundry products, and clothing that is not properly cleaned . However, if the Japanese believe this phenomenon is real, maybe it is. That soap sounds kind of nice, anyway.
14
@Charley horse
Your sense of smell and your sense of taste diminishes as you age and tends to nosedive after 70.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579627/
4
@Charley horse .
Sense of smell is variable from person to person. Many folks with a great sense of smell can smell things I can't.
3
Might the fact that as people age, many are taking multiple medications, affect how older people smell?
38
Interesting topic. I wonder if the author has considered the possibility that her sense of smell, at age 52, may be a bit sensitive. Did the smell bother her more than her husband, for example? Some women complain of a heightened sense of smell around the age of menopause that is similar to the heightened sense of smell reported by some pregnant women. I have no idea if there's any science behind that.
56
@Rupert
I and my siblings all have heightened sense of smell (we got it from our father), and when I was pregnant it was even more sensitive. I referred to it as "hyper-smell."
11
An old National Geographic article, possibly from the 1960s, explores smell and notes that young women are hired by deodorant companies to do sniff tests of men's underarms.
That is, men's sweat glands need the most remediation, and young women's noses do the best detecting of odors.
8
Since menopause, my sense of smell has become more acute, and lots of things smell different and/or offensive. But I smell good!
2
It seems to me that every age has a special spell: babies kindergartners, elementary age, teen-agers, young adults, middle age, older middle age, and then old age.
56
More research is needed about human chemoreception and pheromones in particular. Most animals are dramatically affected by the chemicals around them including those coming from other organisms, some of which you cannot smell but still send signals to the brain. Our reality is determined by electromagnetic waves, sound waves and the waves of chemicals that constantly flood our chemoreceptors. There is much more to understand.
11
Interesting.
Ive always detected a distinct body odor in rooms full of small sweaty children, too.
144
I call that particular kid smell, “outdoor kid smell”-it seems heightened just after they’ve returned indoors from running around outside. I’ve also noticed a lot of small children (3 and under) smell of maple syrup though none have consumed it (my son was especially mapley!). As those kids turn 4, they lose their little kid smell. Think how intoxicating babies smell! And what of that particular musk of young men ages 16-21 that just lingers in spaces where they spend time? I surmise it must be the testosterone I’m smelling.
I am very sensitive to smell, so much so that it can determine where I dine, how my flying experience will be, or how much time I spend with certain companions, etc. While I think the tone of the article was written too cavalierly, I won’t discount the basis or augment just because I don’t like how the source presented it.
13
My mom would hug me with a smile and a deep sniff after my playful adventures outside and say "you smell like the great outdoors. " What she meant was--fresh, young, and oh so joyfully alive.
10
They are likely living in a moldy home. That's why you smell it in their home and they carried it in on their clothes. They left spores in your house and on your furniture. Some molds can smell sweet and stale like that.
76
@Jill Neimark,
I'm 78. live in Florida, by the sea, and my apartment is not moldy, nor am I, nor my clothes and I don't travel about leaving spores here and there, everywhere!
2
Of course, older people smell. We all smell.
But often that smell is not entirely "natural", but a mixture of that with the many products people use, coupled with lingering odors from the environments they frequent and the foods they eat. It's decidedly true that one often smells like the predominant seasonings in one's diet.
The problem has been that we have been encouraged by an industry that makes money from our insecurities that these smells are to be gotten rid of and replaced with bland, cosmetic ones.
If one goes by the ideas of Dr. Alex Comfort, who said one should treat deodorants the way chefs should treat deflavorants, perhaps the recent findings that younger, heavily cosmetized generations are having less and less sex--so much of our physical attraction is olfactory--may not be all that surprising.
62
@Glenn Ribotsky
I love the way my husband smells and despite scientists avowing humans don't emit pheromones, I sure think he does.
27
@Glenn Ribotsky
I decided that all the "asexual" identifying students I have had show up in my university classrooms in the past few years were all on anti-depressants that robbed them of their libido. Whether it altered their smell I can't say.
13
I know many elderly people, the oldest being 95. Not a single one smells. Maybe the trick is that they are all physically active and healthy. The 95 year old plays tennis twice a week. The 92 year old still hits the treadmill and works out with a trainer.
66
@CW
I am willing to bet all these old exercisers also take frequent showers.
36
@CW
My grandmother had a particular, pleasant scent to her breath. One of nephews, I believe it was, said that grandma smells like sweet corn. I never detected a body scent at all, just her breath. It makes me miss her to think about it.
7
I often feel older people have different smells. Especially when I sit with old people on the subway or bus. But I think it's not a body odor. I don't think these smells are unique, depending on their living environment. If they live in the same environment as young people, I don't think they will.
2
@Dr.Woo: I feel that some older women smell of hairspray, plus either rosewater or lavender, and (in the winter) faintly of mothballs (because that's how they store their good woolens).
And there is that tendency, as the sense of smell gets less acute, to put on more of whatever perfume one may be accustomed to using.
4
My experience: it's real. Even if you're healthy, eat a clean diet. And, the Mirai persimmon soap does work. Sample of one, I know, but there it is.
11
It's absurd to base belief on a single study, particularly of a foreign population. It was also evident that there clear bias when the age was known to the subjects. Even then, there are many lifestyle habits that might affect smell, diet, personal products, laundry detergents, etc.
As for masking, why? Provided there is not something unusual about one's smell, why be concerned about it? Personally, I shower daily, usually with some fragrant soap, but don't use any special products. Except for the occasional stress sweat smell noticed by my spouse - in other contexts it reminds me of grilled hamburger - I am not offensive smelling and have eschewed deodorant products for decades, although I have at times used fragrances. I'm 59.
9
@James Igoe Agreed, and pretty much the same experience! My spouse is clean but does not use deodorant - he simply doesn't believe in wearing chemicals. His natural smell is just his natural smell - no issues and not offensive to me, except when he eats raw garlic, after which I can smell him across a room.
7
@James Igoe
I don't mean to make you feel bad, but none of us knows how we smell to others. People are usually not going to tell us when we are offensive, especially when it is linked to "cleanliness." Unless, of course, we appear homeless. Then folks are empowered to say the worst.
41
@s parson - Other than the aforementioned occasional stress sweat, I don't know that I care. I'm clean and generally inoffensive - I also don't wear colognes, a potential source of grief for the sensitive - so if some rare person thought I smelled odd or bad, that's their concern. In fact, no one has alluded to any smell about me other than positive ones, and my biased spouse, who thinks my hair smells like eggplant.
3