Do sick people smell funny?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Twice in my life I’ve had conversations about The Odor of Sick People. And I don’t mean “Jean’s been in bed for a week and hasn’t seen a bar of soap since Tuesday” odor, I mean an odor specific to the illness.

I mean, some maladies (leprosy, for example), seem like they’d come with a certain smell, but I’m talking about colds, or flu, or (as was the topic of today’s discussion) cancer.

One of my dear friends from high school swore back then (and still does) that she can smell colds and flu. Even if the person wasn’t exhibiting symptoms yet, if this girl said, “I smell a cold,” while in an enclosed area (say, a car) with the person, chances are that person would be slurping NyQuil before the week was out. Furthermore, she could tell the difference between the smell of a cold (which she said was sort of bitter) and the smell of the flu (which she said was sort of sweet). Once, she said, she got a whiff of something totally unidentifiable, but she knew it was some sort of illness–and she ended up with measles.

Then today, I was talking to Coworker #1 about Coworker #2, who has had some health problems that she refuses to disclose to us (not that she has to or anything, but it’s a small office, and we’re all pretty good friends, so it’s weird not to know what’s going on with her), and who is out of state right now for medical testing.

Coworker #1 said that lately he’s noticed The Odor of Cancer when he’s around her. When he was young, he had a teacher who had cancer, and the smell got so bad that kids started refusing to come to her class (eventually she was no longer able to teach because of her illness). Coworker #2’s odor is not that bad, he said, but is noticeable to him and he definitely identifies it as Cancer Smell.

Me? I haven’t smelled a thing . . . I don’t think.

I have noticed that lately I can’t stand Coworker #2’s perfume; frequently she comes into my office in the morning to chat while I’m scarfing down my breakfast, and the smell was so bad I couldn’t eat (it made my throat catch). Sometimes she’d start to leave, get out the door (Thank You, Sweet Jesus, I’d think), and then come back to say something else, and it would make me want to cry. But how do you ask someone politely to leave your office because their stench is killing your appetite?

Anyway, that’s all I’ve noticed about her smell, lately, but I think it hardly counts, because:

  1. I HATE the smell of perfume

  2. In fact, there are a few bottled scents that make my throat catch (so the fact that this is a recent phenomenon could just mean that she’s switched from Giorgio to Chanel No. 5) and

  3. Once the coworker’s perfume wears off later in the day, I’m fine.

Anyway, I was just curious as to whether anyone else out there is able to identify (a) that a person is ill, and (b) the nature of the illness, by scent.

And is it freaky that I DO NOT have this ability, or freaky that you DO?

2

My dad swears he can smell when my mother is getting a cold. I’ve never questioned this, he’s never been wrong.

I’ve read that odor in general used to be much more widely used by MDs in diagnosing certain illnesses. (Don’t have a cite for that, sorry. Read it something like 10-15 years ago.) It’s just more scientific and proof-positive now to use bacteria cultures and blood tests, I guess, than trusting the human nose.

It’s not an unreasonable guess that specific types of bacterial infection would have their own distinctive odors, is it?

3

I can smell mine and others cold. A sharp, penertrating odor, mildly unpleasant.
BTW, I also hate perfumes and aftershave.
Maybe we’re special!
:slight_smile:

4

No, it’s not, really, but why don’t I have it, dammit? :wink:

I guess for the same reason that my SO can’t smell much of anything (which we both appreciate when I’ve been eating bean burritos–I’m telling you, nothing cements a relationship for me than being able to fart with impunity).

*carnivourousplant, can you smell a person’s (or your own) cold before any obvious symptoms occur, or do you walk into a room, think, “Someone in here has a cold” and look for the guy who’s sneezing?

5

Oooh. Failure to preview stinks.

6

At least that what he tells you. :wink:

7

That is my secret abject fear. :eek:

8

I will notice when kissing Mrs. Plant before she has symptoms.
I have smelled it at conversational distances, but can’t recall particular examples that I can verify. When I was a child it was distressing that food smelled like that just before I would become ill.

9

I sometimes notice an odd scent around someone who is coming down with something. Colds (on the rare occasion when I’m not the first to catch them, rendering questions of odor irrelevant) do carry an acrid, salty scent–not exactly bitter, but not exactly sour either. The first warning I get of an incipient cold is when everything starts smelling sour to me. I also recall a sort of sweetish-sour scent the last time a friend had a case of the flu that I didn’t catch. In a tightly enclosed area, I sometimes smell the odor of an illness on someone before any other overt symptoms manifest themselves. On a side note, extreme fatigue has a scent similar to a cold, but more sour.

Twice, I’ve noticed a very distinct odor in the presence of someone with cancer–breast cancer in both cases, and already under treatment; the smell reminded me of dirt and dead flowers. It’s possible that it was related to the chemo.

It’s not unreasonable to think that certain illnesses can change a person’s scent. The condition need only change the composition of their sweat, either directly or by influencing the person’s diet. If an infection is met with a fever, then the effect would be more pronounced due to the increase in perspiration.

10

I was just sitting outsice wishing for a smoke, and the cold smell is a combination of the way a smoker’s breath smells and blood.

11

I can smell when I have a sinus infection.

My son also smells very different to me when he is sick. It’s a sourer smell than usual.

12

The stomach flu would appear to have an associated odor.

13

Yes. I’ve heard it’s a lot like roast beef and mashed potatoes. :wink:

14

I can smell when people have gas…

Margo

15

I once went to the doctor with a sore throat and coughing, as soon as he entered the room he said I smelled like strep. And yep, I had strep.
I can smell when someone has bronchitis.

16

hmm… interesting question, Auntie Em! My sense of smell seems (at least to me!) to be quite sensitive; I frequently sniff out something that’s gone bad in the fridge long before anyone else in the family notices it, but I’ll qualify that by admitting that my kids noses are definitely not as sensitive. I associate certain illnesses with particular smells/aromas, but that could be the treatment rather than the illness itself. I think Balance might be onto something with cancer patients–that “cancer smell” could be the result of chemo/radiation treatment. When I get a sinus infection or have a really bad cold, then I can’t taste or smell anything, and it drives me crazy! LOL

Most perfumes/fragrances do not bother me, but patchouli makes me gag! I went to college in the early 70s and that scent was very popular with college kids then–some days, I gagged all the way through classes. :frowning: It still affects me in that way.

17

Apparently scientists are working on an “electronic nose” to help diagnose some diseases. From this article from Wired News, http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,31556,00.html

18

Well, It’s funny when smelly people get sick. Is that the same thing?

19

Mr Vena has a horrible sense of smell. But he can tell when I’m about to get my period by the smell of my breath. That always freaks me out.

20

There are numerous documented incidences of dogs “sniffing out” cancer.