# Gynecologists' Smell Test **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707 "2012-07-09T16:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/21 "2012-07-10T20:44:02Z")
Next question, the taste test… ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/22 "2012-07-10T20:45:23Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > It doesn’t bear repeating. We heard you the first time. Oh, I beg to differ: > [@Loach](#): > > Next question, the taste test… ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/23 "2012-07-10T20:52:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Other forms of Microdeckia are responsible for many cases too. Ha, I’d forgotten about that. “Microdeckia.” Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/24 "2012-07-10T21:25:21Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Otherwise, odors are not particular diagnostic despite the claims of some clinicians that they could differentiate between yeast, trichomonas, chlamydia, gonorrhea, BV, or other based on smell alone… Not to mention _terroir_, varietal and even vintage. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/25 "2012-07-10T22:34:04Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > … maple syrup urine disease. I sometimes can’t tell the difference between factual information in medical threads and [Bob Ducca](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHIegpSmIyw) ailments. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/26 "2012-07-11T00:25:24Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The odor is truly incapacitating. I’ve gagged from the smell of it that lingered on a coworker’s scrubs. I’ve never smelled anything worse. I’ve heard stories about some kind of perianal cyst, but I never, never want to confirm them. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/27 "2012-07-11T00:30:13Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > I’ve gagged from the smell of it that lingered on a coworker’s scrubs. > > I’ve never smelled anything worse. I’ve heard stories about some kind of perianal cyst, but I never, never want to confirm them. Pilonidal and other rectal cyst/abscesses got nuthin on gas gangrene, man. Been there with all of 'em. Gangrene’s the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Seabee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d26b3c/32.png) [@Old\_Seabee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Seabee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/28 "2012-07-11T03:30:33Z")
Held a little girl 4year old ) at the Hoa Kahne clinic for about 3 hours, She had been burned by a flare on her chest and by the time she was brought to the clinic she had gangrene and it was to late to save her. She died a couple days later . As bad as the smell was my nose got used to it in a while. It was the only time during the Vietnam war that I cried ! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/29 "2012-07-11T03:47:23Z")
Why am I thinking of my ex-wife here? She called it a peach, I said rotten apple, and here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/30 "2012-07-11T04:04:28Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Pilonidal and other rectal cyst/abscesses got nuthin on gas gangrene, man. Been there with all of 'em. Gangrene’s the worst. I wonder if you could make synthetic gangrene and use it in as a kind of non lethal germ warfare spray. Probably even the threat of using it would have the enemy surrendering. ---
**Author:** ![aux203](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/77aa72/32.png) [@aux203](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aux203)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/31 "2012-07-11T15:23:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Pilonidal and other rectal cyst/abscesses got nuthin on gas gangrene, man. Been there with all of 'em. Gangrene’s the worst. Really? Gangrene is bad but I always found perirectal abscesses much worse. I recall a horseshoe abscess that sprayed a friend of mine straight in the chest (splashed under his mask a bit too) that still ranks as the all time number 1 worst smell I’ve encountered. It pretty much cleared the room and my buddy nearly hit the floor. Dead gut diarrhea also deserves an honorable mention. Heh, any other nominations? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/32 "2012-07-11T15:35:57Z")
“So he hurriedly finished his time machine to stop himself from clicking on the OB/GYN ‘smell test’ thread, only to be thwarted by time-travel sickness compounded by the infinite nausea his stomach had been tossed into.” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/33 "2012-07-11T16:08:13Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > And many inborn errors of metabolism can be detected by smell, such as maple syrup urine disease. Interesting! What’s that one smell like? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/34 "2012-07-11T16:24:12Z")
Y’all are all wrong- She is subtly paying homage to one of the [great rock albums of our time](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1i2g0yqi71qzs1n8o1_400.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/35 "2012-07-11T16:26:48Z")
> [@aux203](#): > > Dead gut diarrhea also deserves an honorable mention. > > Heh, any other nominations? Had a loop of gangrenous bowel explode in my face during surgical resection, as a resident. Now _that_ was combining the worst of most possible worlds. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/36 "2012-07-11T18:03:40Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Had a loop of gangrenous bowel explode in my face during surgical resection, as a resident. Now _that_ was combining the worst of most possible worlds. Jesus Christ! Tell us more. I’m eating chili. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/37 "2012-07-26T18:39:03Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I sometimes can’t tell the difference between factual information in medical threads and [Bob Ducca](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHIegpSmIyw) ailments. I just try to take things one day at a time. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/38 "2012-07-27T13:33:52Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Next question, the taste test… Reminds me of an old joke… Gynecologist: “Don’t be nervous. I’ll numb your vagina before I begin the examination.” Woman: “Thank you Doctor!” Gynecologist: _num, num, num, num, num, num…_ ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707/39 "2012-07-27T13:43:58Z")
I recently detected lung cancer in my girlfriend because of a change of the smell in her breath. Dr said we caught it at the earliest possible stages and after surgery no further treatment was needed besides scheduled follow ups. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gynecologists-smell-test/627707.md?page=1)