# Why does it smell like swiss cheese behind my ears? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895 "2011-07-21T19:18:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895/63 "2015-06-09T03:54:03Z")
from 1 of his 5 posts on this board: > [@Why are people so gung ho about not posting on old threads?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-gung-ho-about-not-posting-on-old-threads/652139/34): > > …Perhaps a good set of rules to follow for all forums should be: > > 1.) Don’t post on old threads unless you really have something useful to contribute, and a mod deletes those comments that aren’t useful… And back on topic, the skin behind my ears has no detectable scent to me. So I got that going for me. ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895/64 "2015-06-09T12:58:45Z")
I wonder if dogs would be popular if they had feet. I never saw the attraction. ---
**Author:** ![TheManLikeJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@TheManLikeJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheManLikeJohn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895/65 "2016-02-04T20:23:12Z")
My suggestion is stop eating so much cheese as you obviously do. Your sweat is odorless but can carry the smell of what you eat and drink every day. Dairy products are well known for unleashing their odors straight out of your sweat glands, and the strong blue cheeses are by far the worst. If I have eaten strong cheese and I rub my fingers behind the back of my ears or stick my fingers up my nose a few hours later (or even days later for that matter), I can then sniff my fingers and smell the odors from the actual cheese I have consumed. The feet are pretty bad for it too after taking your socks off as you may have noticed. If you smell someone’s feet are unpleasantly cheesy, then that’s proof that they must eat lots of dairy products and most probably lots of cheese. Feet don’t always smell of cheese however and neither do your armpits or the backs of your ears etc. This is just were most of the sweat glands are on your body. If you only ate vegetables for a week and took your socks off on a hot sunny day after running a mile you would then smell rotting vegetables. Babies can smell a lot of milk when they perspire, many Indian people smell a lot like curry, alcoholics always smell of booze and so on. You are what you eat/drink and the odors come out in your sweat and grease. Vile I know, but 100% true. ---
**Author:** ![pattyjw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@pattyjw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pattyjw)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895/66 "2016-09-01T00:24:49Z")
I have had a horrible day and was very depressed. I too have the cheese behind the ear thing, and that’s how I found this forum. To all of you smarta\*\*es who posted the comical answers (“Try a grater.” “Velveta cheese is often mistaken for soap.” Priceless!!) I would just like to say, THANK YOU! Reading your comments made me laugh out loud, and lifted my spirits. I really needed that. God bless you.😃 ---
**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:** [September 1, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895/67 "2016-09-01T03:42:50Z")
“Swiss Cheese” is my favorite kind of Stewart Sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Nelson\_Pike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Nelson\_Pike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nelson_Pike)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895/68 "2016-09-02T01:39:01Z")
Cleansing with rubbing alcohol works for me- keeps the odor away for about 2 days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-smell-like-swiss-cheese-behind-my-ears/589895.md?page=3)