And, by this, I mean me.
Not just me, but quite likely, a lot of old(er) people and anyone on metabolism-changing medicine.
It's not quite an accepted fact, but there is anecdotal support for the idea. Ask anyone who is taking any of those medicines. They will often complain of, or just comment on, changes in their personal scent. Metformin, statins, beta blockers, insulin or insulin substitutes, thyroid supplements, even, in some cases, the proton pump inhibitors used for GERD or even 'just' excess gas.
Any of these drugs that are involved in the basic working of your basic cellular functions can and often do affect the smell given off by your body.
It's not unprecedented.
Persons in ketoacidosis are often reported to smell sweet.
Of course many hormonal disturbances are known to cause these changes. Ask any woman who has used birth control, or gone through pregnancy, and/or menopause.
Nearly everyone knows some old person that just has that old person smell. I'm not sure, at this point, if that old person smell is from the shutting down of the normal metabolic process, or of it's from the artificially induced revamping of said process. It is most likely a combination of both, or it could be either/or. After all, old people smell has been around as long as there have been old people.
I've been especially aware of this lately because it is something I have always had an issue with.
Stress hormones are real, and I am someone who finds just speaking to people to be extremely stressful. Throw in working or driving, or doing math (my first jobs involved a lot of arithmetic!), and one could probably see the stench rolling off me like the fumes off Pepe LePew.
It seems to be a family thing, as I've noticed it in my daughters and have even become suspicious that my grandson may have this unfortunate condition. Thank goodness he's a boy, because males are generally given more room when it comes to natural fragrance. (At least for now. The way the world is going, it may be a social crime fr him to not smell of flowers and lemons when he is grown. I hope not.)
Anyway, to all those offended -- Yes, I see you flinch and inch away from me; in the schoolroom, in the grocery store, in the library, at the doctor's offices -- it's not my fault.
I'm sorry.
I am clean.
I wash several times a day.
Use deodorant.
I'm sorry.
Remember that you too may be old someday and your body will do things you'd rather it didn't.
Remember that you may reap what you sow.
I hope you choose compassion and sympathy and understanding.
I hope you can be thoughtful and supportive.
I hope no one flinches to get away from you.
I hope no one avoids you when you are already isolated by what you cannot do anymore.
Because now we don't even have talcum powder.
Not just me, but quite likely, a lot of old(er) people and anyone on metabolism-changing medicine.
It's not quite an accepted fact, but there is anecdotal support for the idea. Ask anyone who is taking any of those medicines. They will often complain of, or just comment on, changes in their personal scent. Metformin, statins, beta blockers, insulin or insulin substitutes, thyroid supplements, even, in some cases, the proton pump inhibitors used for GERD or even 'just' excess gas.
Any of these drugs that are involved in the basic working of your basic cellular functions can and often do affect the smell given off by your body.
It's not unprecedented.
Persons in ketoacidosis are often reported to smell sweet.
Of course many hormonal disturbances are known to cause these changes. Ask any woman who has used birth control, or gone through pregnancy, and/or menopause.
Nearly everyone knows some old person that just has that old person smell. I'm not sure, at this point, if that old person smell is from the shutting down of the normal metabolic process, or of it's from the artificially induced revamping of said process. It is most likely a combination of both, or it could be either/or. After all, old people smell has been around as long as there have been old people.
I've been especially aware of this lately because it is something I have always had an issue with.
Stress hormones are real, and I am someone who finds just speaking to people to be extremely stressful. Throw in working or driving, or doing math (my first jobs involved a lot of arithmetic!), and one could probably see the stench rolling off me like the fumes off Pepe LePew.
It seems to be a family thing, as I've noticed it in my daughters and have even become suspicious that my grandson may have this unfortunate condition. Thank goodness he's a boy, because males are generally given more room when it comes to natural fragrance. (At least for now. The way the world is going, it may be a social crime fr him to not smell of flowers and lemons when he is grown. I hope not.)
Anyway, to all those offended -- Yes, I see you flinch and inch away from me; in the schoolroom, in the grocery store, in the library, at the doctor's offices -- it's not my fault.
I'm sorry.
I am clean.
I wash several times a day.
Use deodorant.
I'm sorry.
Remember that you too may be old someday and your body will do things you'd rather it didn't.
Remember that you may reap what you sow.
I hope you choose compassion and sympathy and understanding.
I hope you can be thoughtful and supportive.
I hope no one flinches to get away from you.
I hope no one avoids you when you are already isolated by what you cannot do anymore.
Because now we don't even have talcum powder.
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