# Poll: Can you smell when a woman is menstruating? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570 "2008-10-12T07:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/1 "2008-10-12T07:46:22Z")
I recall another Doper mentioning this in a thread, and now my boyfriend says he can smell it too. I’m not contesting the fact that a very small percentage of people may have a really great nose, but he insists that this is a common ability. So, can you? ETA: He says he can smell it at distances up to 20 feet. If you can smell it, please also give an estimate of the distance from which you can. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/2 "2008-10-12T08:40:40Z")
**Boy from Mars** says no - and I don’t think I can either, other than myself. I would say though, that if it is possible, it’s more than likely that she’s wearing a pad - I noticed my ‘period’ smell disappeared completely once I started using tampons only. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/3 "2008-10-12T09:17:57Z")
Yes. Six inches. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/4 "2008-10-12T09:26:44Z")
Obviously there’s probably a majority of women whose menstruation I don’t ever notice, but with some I can _definitely_ notice within casual conversation radius. ---
**Author:** ![ginman999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@ginman999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ginman999)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/5 "2008-10-12T09:47:40Z")
When hair smells like copper (metallic) to me, I have to be close to notice ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/6 "2008-10-12T12:23:48Z")
No. Female, so I know what menstrual blood smells like, but as a couple of people have mentioned, if you’re wearing a tampon, the source of that smell isn’t in contact with the air. Or is he claiming that there are other changes in how the person smells? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/7 "2008-10-12T12:46:46Z")
How do you know? I mean, it’s not like you get a whiff of something and can casually ask “So, you on the rag?” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/8 "2008-10-12T12:56:54Z")
I trhink it is nonsense really. In my long life I have never once thought that a certain woman was at that time of the month. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/9 "2008-10-12T13:28:24Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > How do you know? I mean, it’s not like you get a whiff of something and can casually ask “So, you on the rag?” Unfortunately there are women that announce it’s rag day. I’m glad you haven’t met them. Sometimes I can smell the blood. In the majority of cases I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/10 "2008-10-12T14:08:41Z")
This is the first I’ve heard of this. I have a keen nose and I’ve lived in Army barracks with groups of women, and I’ve never noticed the smell of anybody menstruating–I mean, not unless they’re in the stall changing their tampon or pad. What a really, really strange thing. I suppose, maybe, if you made a point of isolating that smell…wow, that’s really hard to imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/11 "2008-10-12T14:13:10Z")
How are these guys actually able to verify this? Do they ask every woman they think they smell whether they’re on their period? I think they’re mostly imagining things. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/12 "2008-10-12T14:13:43Z")
Not in general, but I have one female acquaintance whose menstruation I can smell. (We were close friends for several years, and I was well aware of her period during this time (the whole TMI thing mentioned by Harmonious Discord), which correlated 100% with her change in scent, so I feel safe in inferring the correlation between her scent and menstruation now. It’s an overall change in body odor, and not unpleasant… it’s not a smell of blood or anything.) I couldn’t determine my ex-wife’s period by smell, nor any of my girlfriends over the years. The acquaintance is the only one. I’ve had a few female friends/acquaintances who have claimed over the years that they could smell when another woman’s menstruating, but it’s always been based on the fact that they could distinguish scented pantyliners and tampons from someone’s normal scent; someone using unscented goods escaped their notice. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/13 "2008-10-12T14:15:41Z")
I used to work with a woman from whom I detected a ‘spicy’ smell for a few days every month. I’ve smelled the same thing on other women. Of course I’ve never asked if they were menstruating, so maybe they just used a different soap. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/14 "2008-10-12T14:36:11Z")
Yes. From about a few feet away. There is a distinct metallic, and “meaty” smell about them. It is not unpleasant of offensive, just extremely specific in nature. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/15 "2008-10-12T15:21:20Z")
> [@RedRosesForMe](#): > > He says he can smell it at distances up to 20 feet. Wow. Is that like the world’s crappiest superpower or what? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/16 "2008-10-12T15:30:59Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Wow. Is that like the world’s crappiest superpower or what? More like the world’s _bloodiest_ superpower. I kid, I kid. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/17 "2008-10-12T16:12:16Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Wow. Is that like the world’s crappiest superpower or what? Best laugh today, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/18 "2008-10-12T16:53:05Z")
> [@RedRosesForMe](#): > > I recall another Doper mentioning this in a thread, and now my boyfriend says he can smell it too. I’m not contesting the fact that a very small percentage of people may have a really great nose, but he insists that this is a common ability. > > So, can you? > > ETA: He says he can smell it at distances up to 20 feet. If you can smell it, please also give an estimate of the distance from which you can. I recall the [previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=452374) because I contributed. It’s not the menstruation I/we can smell. There’s some chemical change to the woman’s breath that I can pick up on. The range for myself is usually conversational distance. One specific incidence I recall was on the schoolbus. I had turned around to talk to the girl sitting behind me and picked up on it immediately. No, I didn’t ask her if she was about to start. I hadn’t fully grokked to what I was detecting at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/19 "2008-10-12T20:43:15Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > How do you know? I mean, it’s not like you get a whiff of something and can casually ask “So, you on the rag?” Sure you can ask. Just the one time, though. Joe ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570/20 "2008-10-12T21:22:54Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Yes. From about a few feet away. There is a distinct metallic, and “meaty” smell about them. It is not unpleasant of offensive, just extremely specific in nature. That’s been my experience as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-smell-when-a-woman-is-menstruating/467570.md?page=2)