Sensitivity to Smells?

[HFWR]

Now that you mention it, some people have truly ghastly halitosis; it's amazing that they, themselves, do not know. I worked with a woman whose breath was so bad, I literally had to turn my head away when she spoke to me, and my sense of smell is only 30-40% normal. The odd thing was that no employees, even the worst gossipers, ever mentioned Nancy's dragon breath. I guess it is too strong of a taboo.



BO, on the other hand, no longer bothers me, or maybe I simply haven't been around people who don't bathe.

A couple of cow-orkers were so bad that I could tell if they’d been on the elevator recently.

Breath that’d knock a buzzard off the sh!t wagon...

 

[TromboneAl]

Bad breath, man. I remember changing to a new seat in a theater because someone in the row behind me had terrible breath. I remember that CNN's Jack Tapper said, about interviewing people, "America, you need a breath mint." So I know he's a fellow super-smeller.

Of course, often a breath mint won't solve it—it comes from the lungs and the mint just adds without subtracting.

>The odd thing was that no employees, even the worst gossipers, ever mentioned Nancy's dragon breath. I guess it is too strong of a taboo.

It's possible that they just don't smell it. That may seem impossible but note this: Scientists were researching why for some people, their pee smells bad after they eat asparagus. They determined it was just that some people couldn't smell it. TMI?

 

[Amethyst]

I thought it was mostly from gum disease and dental issues. Which can be fixed, in most cases.

Of course, often a breath mint won't solve it—it comes from the lungs and the mint just adds without subtracting.

 

[TromboneAl]

I thought it was mostly from gum disease and dental issues. Which can be fixed, in most cases.

Right. It depends. Garlic, for example, gets in the blood and comes out via the lungs. If you have a tolerant spouse, you can test whether the breath is bad if you breathe out through your nose. If so: not mouth issue.

If brushing your teeth helps, it's mouth-related.

 

[catii]

My sense of smell, at 73, is 20 times better than my 66 yo wife's. By the time she can smell something, it's overpowering for me!


But it's "olfactory fatigue" that gets our sense of smell to ignore your own odors, be they too much cologne or plain old B.O.

 

[Winemaker]

Right. It depends. Garlic, for example, gets in the blood and comes out via the lungs. If you have a tolerant spouse, you can test whether the breath is bad if you breathe out through your nose. If so: not mouth issue.

If brushing your teeth helps, it's mouth-related.

Anybody ever spend time around someone who ate ramps? It gets into more than just your blood!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum

 

[TromboneAl]

Two interesting smell stories.

1. Richard Feynman, hearing about how great dogs' sense of smell is, told his wife to handle one of three books. He was able to tell which one she handled by smelling the books.

I tried the same thing and was able to do it (smell the hands first, then the three books).

2. Oliver Sacks tells about how he, after taking a lot of amphetamines, developed a very strong sense of smell. He could tell who was in the room by smell alone, for example.

https://www.webofstories.com/play/oliver.sacks/240;jsessionid=50F68DFED1A1FF48244E63A383DA6911

 

[Rianne]

I was standing in my bathroom, never used Pond's cold cream. But my mom did, everyday. She had beautiful skin all the way to 93. After she passed, it'd been about a year, a strong scent of Pond's cold cream overwhelmed me. Could she be saying "hi" "I miss you?" I took that as a sign (I am not religious but believe there is a beyond out there somewhere). Made me tear up.

 

[Winemaker]

I was standing in my bathroom, never used Pond's cold cream. But my mom did, everyday. She had beautiful skin all the way to 93. After she passed, it'd been about a year, a strong scent of Pond's cold cream overwhelmed me. Could she be saying "hi" "I miss you?" I took that as a sign (I am not religious but believe there is a beyond out there somewhere). Made me tear up.

Pond's cold cream is highly recommended as a cleaner for old, antique book covers, so there also might be some residual odor in a room sometimes if has purchased old books at one time.

 

[Badger]

On a related note, I'm always amazed how a smell can bring back such a vivid memory. My wife occasionally uses a skin cream that immediately reminds me of my grandmother.

OMG!!! I hope I'm not too late. DON'T tell that to your wife.



Cheers!

 

[NW-Bound]

Now that you mention it, some people have truly ghastly halitosis; it's amazing that they, themselves, do not know. I worked with a woman whose breath was so bad, I literally had to turn my head away when she spoke to me, and my sense of smell is only 30-40% normal. The odd thing was that no employees, even the worst gossipers, ever mentioned Nancy's dragon breath. I guess it is too strong of a taboo.

BO, on the other hand, no longer bothers me, or maybe I simply haven't been around people who don't bathe.

I know what you talk about regarding halitosis. There was a guy at work who was so bad, I had to hurry up when walking past his cubicle. Thank goodness I did not work with him and have to talk to him.

Regarding extreme BO, for people who do not bathe, they smell a lot worse in Western countries than in Asia or 3rd world countries. I have read that it is because when you eat a lot of meat, the digested protein turns into something that gets excreted in your sweat, and makes you stinkier.

Guilty. DW cooks up stuff that makes me want to turn around and walk out of the house. Ditto with things she eats, like kimchi. The smell is just revolting...

Eh, we eat kimchi occasionally too. It's just pickle, with a lot of red chili to make it hot.

But then, I read that there are many different types of kimchi which are not as tame as the one we eat. They incorporate some ingredients that would raise your eyebrows. A quick search on the Web brings up oyster kimchi, squid kimchi, mackerel kimchi, etc... Thanks, but I prefer having no protein in my kimchi.

 

[TrophyWife]

I have an overactive nose too. We were sightseeing and walking around Portland. I told my husband-thats a library...and sure enough as we walked further along-it was a library- I smelled the books. But mostly its a pain-strong smells from Bath and Body Store Products make me feel like I can't concentrate on anything-makes me kind of feel crazy.

 

[Bir48die]

I'm very curious on the sales trend for fragrances are the last 20 years. They must have tanked. I have three cologne bottles that have sat for 5-10 years without using. Now if I'm out and about or at the gym I about gag when someone next to me is wearing a fragrance. They are basically banned when you go wine tasting.

In regards to smells my DW is constantly smelling smoke. Not sure what that means but she does have a sensitive schnozzola

 

[whatnot]

I am very sensitive to smells too! Perfume, scented plug ins etc..
At my last job I had an employee who loved perfumes and put scented plug ins in her office. I had to ask her to stop. Basically my eyes would water and my throat would the head ache would begin.
I have moved seats in movie theater because of the perfume of someone near us.
It is frustrating in an airplane when moving is not an option.
So unscented laundry soap, etc for us.

 

[dtbach]

My DW sense of smell is so acute that once when visiting Yellowstone NP, I tried to sneak out a fart near a fumarole and she was all over me! She could track as good as a bloodhound.

 

[Amethyst]

Wow, even monitors your wind production when you're outdoors in nature! Now those are some seriously high behavior standards.

My DW sense of smell is so acute that once when visiting Yellowstone NP, I tried to sneak out a fart near a fumarole and she was all over me! .

 

[Sue J]

I'm in the opposite situation, I have no sense of smell. Not food, diapers, cat litter, dog who got skunked, musty basements, flowers, herbs, etc, etc. The only thing that I ever encountered that "smelled" like something was a strong reaction to bleach or another chemical in a highway rest stop.

Luckily, DH has a good enough sniffer that he's in charge of all things with a smell. This includes the dog, good cooking smells, grandson's diaper, leaking natural gas, something burning on the stove, instances where I'm not sure if a leftover is still usable, etc.

The dog really did get skunked last May. DH had the typical reaction and aversion. If he hadn't told me about it I would never have known.

 

[aaronc879]

I have a very minimal sense of smell. I rarely smell anything. My heightened sense is hearing. Noises that most people barely notice can be unbearable to me. Smells that others can't stand are barely noticeable to me or not noticeable at all.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow, even monitors your wind production when you're outdoors in nature! Now those are some seriously high behavior standards.

The outcome still depends on the potency of said "wind", and whether the potential victims are downwind or upwind.

 

[Amethyst]

Dietary management seems called for.

The outcome still depends on the potency of said "wind", and whether the potential victims are downwind or upwind.

 

[Badger]

My DW sense of smell is so acute that once when visiting Yellowstone NP, I tried to sneak out a fart near a fumarole and she was all over me!...

You didn't mention if that was a good thing?



Cheers!

 

[imnontrad]

I have a lot of sensitivity to some smells, especially if I am stressed. For years, I could not even walk down the grocery aisle where coffee was sold and perfume would set off major allergy attacks. Too much hairspray can set me off too. And sitting in a plane next to someone who put on perfume is really unpleasant.
So, reduce ALL of the smells where you can. Then look at getting a high efficiency bathroom fan to vent all of the smells out of the house quickly.

 

[dtbach]

You didn't mention if that was a good thing?



Cheers!

I thought I was in the clear next to the fumarole with all that sulfur smell, but she still ferreted me out. I was (and still am) amazed by that

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, there's sulfur, and there's that more potent wind.

 

[marko]

I was born with no sense of smell. Nothing. As a kid one day I was wrassling with a dog that had been sprayed by a skunk; didn't know it until I got home and mom started screaming the minute I came up the driveway.

To compensate, the universe had me marry DW who's sense of smell is absolutely incredible; as good as a dog! Her brother is the same way. I mean it. We've been on the boat maybe 3-4 miles offshore and she'll go "somebody's grilling burgers on land".

The other day I stopped at the Dunks drive-up for just a coffee. Four hours later I get home and she says "I smell donuts". I never even went into the store!