Soild gold baby!
I can smell myself, especially if I use a pad.
The odor is vaguely reminiscent of dead fish. barfy face
I can smell it on some women. It seems to be more noticeable with overweight women (or perhaps I’m around overweight women more often?). I’ve never taken note of the distance.
I’ve always had a very sensitive sense of smell. That is both good and bad. :mad:
The superpower comment cracked me up too.
One of my friends when I was a teen used pads, and I could definitely smell it. I didn’t like it, but what can you do? That’s the reason I never use pads.
I know that my sweat smells distinctly different right before and during my period. In fact, because I have very irregular periods, it is one of my best indicators that it is about to happen. It is a sharper, more bitter smell, if that makes sense. Actually, kind of close to how my sweat smells if I am very nervous.
I doubt you can smell anything unless a woman is wearing a pad. That is the only way the blood/fluids are exposed to the air and have the chance to become “funky.”
If you’re like me and you wear a menstrual cup, you’ll never be able to smell anything.
It’s been years and years since I wore pads and the worst thing about them is that they will develop an odor pretty quickly, which means you have to change them constantly, which not only is annoying but bad for the environment. With a menstrual cup, you change it once a day and use it over and over for years. Effective, cheap and good for the environment!!
I’m certain that one of my coworkers used tampons and it was obvious to me when she was on her period. I don’t know if it’s the blood I smell or just a different body odor.
I’m with you on the menstrual cup - it’s a great option.
I’m a dude, and no, I’ve never been able to smell that with any woman. Certainly my lovely wife of 18+ years has no such telltale monthly aroma.
Yes, especially on ginger/irish people. Maybe two yards away.
It depends. Usually not. Sometimes yes.
My husband can tell mine’s going to start a few days beforehand because of the changes in my body chemistry altering my personal smell. I am generally oblivious.
Of course I can. What has a woman’s menstruating got to do with my ability to smell?
Yes I can! I’ve always wondered about this. It’s not a topic I’ve found much cooperation with. When I’ve tried to engage someone in an academic discussion, I’ve usually been “Shot Down”!
One of the other posters said he can smell a metallic scent in a woman’s hair. That’s a good way to discribe the smell. I smell the metallic quality, combined with another scent that’s a bit hard to discribe, but maybe “stale” gets close. It’s not pleasant.
I’ve always been able to smell this, all my life. I’m now 59 and it’s no different. I would be interested to know if the scent is “inspiring” to some. Does is act like a pheromone? I’m a gay male and not at all sexually connected to the smell. If I were straight, would it be different for me? I would really like to hear from those with similar experiences.
Do you mind me asking, if you’re a gay male how do you confirm your suspicions about whether the woman has her period or not?
I am not gay but I can confirm that it is a real phenomenon. My ex-wife radiated a metallic smell whenever she had her period. I am the classic clueless male when it comes to such things so I never kept track of the calendar but I learned to associate the odor to the situation without any other cues. To be blatantly stereotypical, I would sometimes come home to find her to be irrationally angry and emotional about nothing in particular. I would kiss her on the head, catch a whiff of that very distinctive smell and then ask her about it.
Pro tip: Never do that especially if it is true. I was always accurate but one of the worst things you can do if you think a woman is menstruating is to suggest she is. I was always right about the strict facts but that is not an argument you can win.
I have no idea if that particular smell applies to all or most women but I have noticed it on others as well. It isn’t an offensive smell but it isn’t pleasant either. It smells like they just rolled around in a pile of old coins and stashed a few in their mouth.
My EX smelled like a copper smelter by the time I left.
Though she was way past that time of the month stuff, so I am going with the theory that is the smell of irrational anger.
I dunno about that, but this thread smells a little musty.
mmm
Sure, blood has a metallic sort of smell, but I think I said in this thread originally that I think that relates to the type of menstrual protection the woman is using - to get TMI I would think it unlikely that someone using a tampon would smell different. It’s not the woman’s skin or sweat that is giving off the fragrance, its the blood. No oxidising blood, no smell. So I don’t believe there is some blanket tell that means someone has their period simply by smell. YMMV of course, you may intimately know what a partner smells like and be very sensitive to changes - but not convinced some random guy would be able to know. Hence my question.
I cannot confirm the reason it is the case for certain women but I promise you it is true. The smell doesn’t come from the vagina and menstrual fluid itself. It is most distinct on the breath but also somewhat noticeable from the upper body. I have a 100% success rate when I notice it but there are probably also a whole lot that I never noticed.
This is probably a pretty good line of inquiry for a PhD dissertation. There is a distinct smell that is there at least for some women. Understanding the mechanism that controls that biochemical process would probably lead to great things for anyone that figured out exactly why that is. The people reporting it are not making things up and I know exactly what they are referring to do but not why. I am not sure anyone fully understands today.
I can totally buy that it’s possible for someone to smell. I know that I smell quite different when it’s that time of the month. For one thing, I sweat more. And the sweat has a mustier smell. I like to imagine that it is my masculine side breaking through, since my estrogen levels are usually really low at that time.