Old person Smell

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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

Nonenol - I'm glad that you didn't say that over 40 we smell of wee!
With the number of things that are supposed to make your home and clothes as well as yourself smell nice, in theory, none of us should smell, but if it's a hormone, what can we do beyond lots of laundry,plenty of showers/baths, open windows etc (forget the mothballs!) Anybody have any idea what we should be looking for in soaps or shower stuff that will help? Or maybe we should just go back to carbolic?

Oh dear, hopefully it's a thing of the past. Nowadays we shower daily and wash our clothes frequently. I wonder if the smell came from incontinence, before the invention of Tena? My gran lived with us when I was a child. She didn't smell but broke wind a lot and blamed the cat!

will our loved ones tell us.. oh gosh, now I am worrying

Thanks Jane10. I'll Google it and see what I can find out.

My in-laws were most particular and concerned about that very problem, they were in their nineties when they died. I only noticed that their flat started to have an unpleasant odour when one of them became incontinent, and there were bags of pads left in the bathroom for disposal. Also, there was the smell of talcum powder which used to be more of a thing I think then, and I do associate that with old people.
As someone else said, as people get older they perhaps don't see the dust and cleaning, or don't have the energy to do it as they used to do, and windows don't get opened either if they are more immobile. Older people of my generation didn't always have central heating either, and there was often a musty smell from closed up damp rooms.
We are working hard at keeping our house fresh and modern!

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about. Clothes, bedding and body well washed, but I’m off to beat my rugs over the washing line and send my curtains to the dry cleaners!

Urnstongran my mum was 89 when she died and always said that to me and she never ever did smell and I do say it to my daughter , fingers crossed.

Don't just buy any old air fresheners and perfumes Henetha- apparently the Japanese have identified specific smells to combat our aged BO

At least three posts on here today on the same subject. I wonder why?

One of my son's is visiting tomorrow, - I'm going to ask him to tell me, - truthfully, - if I smell...

Haha henetha!

My mum who died last year at the age of 86y used to say to me ‘you will let me know won’t you if I ever start to smell old ladyish?’ Bless. She never did. She was always gorgeous. x

Well, that's made a miserable day even worse. I'm 82, so
definitely old and therefore smelly!
I'm going out to buy air freshener, scented candles, new clothes, lots of toiletries, and expensive perfume.

It was very interesting to read about Nonenol vena11 thanks for highlighting it. Looks like we'll all have to track down the right soap as current common soaps are not constituted to beat Nonenol.
We're not smelly - just old(er)!!

Yes MawB I remember old people smelling of mothballs, but not now, do they still sell them?

Is it the person or the home, I wonder?

A lot of elderly people in the past lived with the same furniture, carpets, furnishings and even clothes that they had owned for donkeys years, even when thread-bare, on the "these will see me out" basis.

I think there is little doubt that these things absorb smells, and over the years develop quite a distinctive odour as a result of it, and the person (and their clothing) is almost bound to carry at least a whiff of it.

That said, I don't think there are many of the 'this will see me out' generation left, so if my theory is correct, perhaps the 'old people smell' will soon become a thing of the past.

I have just looked on the internet about this, It starts at the age of about 40 its a hormone its called Nonenol . Oh dear I hope I never smell.

I’m with EllanVanin on this one. Some young people are hardly fragrant either.

I have a dear friend who clearly keeps many of her outer clothes in a cupboard with mothballs - can’t say anything, but memo to self, get cedar balls or lavender sachets instead.