Old person Smell

My mother was 93 but didn’t smell bad. She had a cleaner who dealt with a load of washing every week. The house though had a ‘je ne sais quoi’ smell though, not unpleasant, a bit dusty, but it seemed to emanate from the two spare bedrooms, only slept in a couple of times a year. Old carpets and curtains have a smell I guess.

Excuse me while I go take a shower and don clean clothes.

I fear that lack of self care and houses not properly aired, beds not changed at least weekly (a difficult task for the elderly) all contribute to the elderly smell.

My father and mother in law both suffered dementia and unfortunately we had to deal with urine smells and reluctance to change underware etc.
Always feeling cold so heating cranked up and not wanting windows open.

However I do believe there is hope for me.
My grandmother always smelled lovely.
Sadly she suffered from osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
She would try to alleviate her pain with numerous baths.
She used the same lovely talc and perfume right up until she died.

A daily ritual of airing her bed, with windows and back door opened, no matter the weather (west coast Scotland) also helped.

She was also fastidious with clothes and not a moth ball in sight.
Lavender bags and drawer liners were used instead.
Fresh flowers whenever possible.
Furniture that she had since the day she married, was polished with a wax polish once a week.

My daughter is primed to mention any smells or behaviour concerns to both me and/or her father.

I agree with those saying it is the home rather than the person who smells (unless they haven't washed of course). Particularly old carpets, old wallpaper and old beds / unwashed bedding and old clothes.

I’m very conscious of smells ... I’ve got a very sensitive nose! I bath every night... wash every morning and change all my clothes every day. I do have IBS so am aware of lingering ‘wafts!’ Be aware of disposal of Tena’s ... double bag them and place in an outside bin where possible. I do use also air conditioners too.

Aggie, I’m with you, teenage boys oh yuk

When I was a District Nurse visiting SOME houses and I do stress some was eye watering. I developed a knack of closing my nose at the top and mouth breathing. It was usually due as others have said to a combination of factors but I do remember overcooked cabbage being one of the culprits.

it is uncleared clothes and coats etc that cause the ‘old people smell’. As a retired social worker I remember it well. Apart from obvious not bathing too in some cases. The left on bacteria on the clothes from wearing them and not being cleaned regularly multiply and the smell that comes from that can really make you gag - did me. Moral of the story - wash and clean everything regularly. Sadly, as can be the case the elderly just haven’t got the help they need.

Or........dare I suggest that when we’re old it’s okay to smell old?
(After all, its okay to look old when we’re old isn’t it?)

I remember my mother spraying so much perfume on herself and around her flat that I always wondered what she was trying to cover up.

The old people I know (really old that is, much older than me!)
How old would that be? I'm "really old" and I still smell, with my nose that is, or have I gone "off" topic?

Great idea and reason to treat yourself Henetha!

I refer to this smell as old lady smell because I find it’s women more than men. I am very sensitive to this particular smell and I think I have figured it out. It’s talc or perfume combined with not washing themselves or their clothes enough. A certain company that has been around for a very long time and sells on the doorstep gave me a free sample of one of their older perfumes. After a while I noticed it smelled very slightly of old lady smell. In the past people covered up their body smells with perfume because they didn’t have free access to hot water like we do now and it’s just the way they are used to. It would then build up until they had a few layers of it n their skin. I reckon if you wash regularly keep your clothes clean and avoid cheap perfume and talc you’ll be fine. My elderly father smells a bit stale but if he wore scent of any kind I am pretty sure this would be the way he smelled.

Yes I think older people smell of cake lol My 92 year old mum has that older persons smell, I hope I don't have it yet lol Although I'm sure my ds will tell me when I get it!

I'm glad isn't just me who finds it worrying. Its this small the Japanese have called 'Nonenol' that's weird, and the fact that they've developed soaps and deodorants to cope with it - but don't give us any names of the products that I find interesting.
I well remember the teenage boy smell from when my son was that age!
As for keeping the house aired, its a nasty cold, very wet rainy day here and I don't feel like opening all the windows, and certainly can't 'air' anything over the clothesline. The notion that the smell starts at around the age of 40 is a bit of a downer too.
Carry on bathing!

???this thread has made my day, I’ve Laughed my head off, I can just imagine you all quietly sniffing yourselves up and down the country, but seriously I’ve always said it’s a urine smell, any hope you all have a good day, I’m off to light the candles ???

Maz52 I hadn't thought of that, my mum has several real wool skirts that have never been washed or dry cleaned in the 20 years she's been wearing them Refuses to have them cleaned because it will ruin them lol

I remember a much older woman than me always smelled gorgeous. It was an expensive Chanel perfume she wore...but certainly worth it. I took note for birthdays Chrismas when asked what I would like. I also have a diffuser with Bergamot essential oil. It really lifts the spirits.

Cherrytree your Gran sounds lovely. My old Mum has 2carers a day but my DH says she smells and he can even smell it in the hallway. Left to her own devices she’d really smell as she doesn’t believe in daily showers and hardly ever washed her clothes. Our generation are much cleaner.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I Googled it. Apparently we oldies, who apparently smell because of a hormone, nonenol, should use Persimmon soap and drink green tea.

My Mum was over 80 when she died and she definitely did not have an 'old people' smell

Look what I found on Amazon - perhaps he should change his soap for the occasions when he does wash

BoxCave Purifying & Deodorizing Soap Bar | Handmade Soap with Japanese Persimmon and Green Tea Extract to Help with Nonenal Body Odor Associated with Aging - Made in Japan

I'm happy we made you laugh Anne, I'm smiling too now - at all of us obsessing about our body odour!

totally agree. smell comes from old mattresses, furniture, carpeting, clothes, etc.

If you wear clothes made from natural fibres,have a shower or bath each day, change kickers daily and bras every other day I doubt you will smell.
My mother used to say though that a dirty dog can’t smell itself.
Hmm.
I don’t think however expensive the perfume a bad smell can be covered up.

What sort of smell is it? And how is an old person defined? I'm in my 60s does that mean I smell? No one has told me but I guess they wouldn't!
I wonder if it's a type of perfume soap that younger people don't use? Or maybe it's very old people who can no longer look after themselves? I'm very curious now and a little worried!