Why do old people smell?

A couple of months ago I started a thread entitled "why do white people smell funny" (there was nothing racist about that as I am a white person, and an asian person asked me this question). There were some very interesting answers.

So this leads to me to my new "smell" question.

Is it the smell of decaying flesh -- or is it something else?

as i can tell you from experience and you will learn first hand, sooner or later, you get old you get tired you can only do so much and no one cares much about you ( you could have been the first man on the moon but then your just some smelly old guy ) so you tend to let things slide because you can bath every day or you can fix something to eat. imagine wearing a lead suit all day what would you do whit the limited energy you had, there is a way to avoid getting old but most people aren't that desperate.

I'm falling off my chair in laughter right now. DECAYING FLESH?

I don't think old people smell bad. In fact, I think they smell rather good.

You're probably thinking of the vegetative old people who sweat and poop in bedpans.

I think the decaying flesh might be part of it and i never thought of that til I read the previous comment. My parents bath every day but they are in the dying process because their bodies are betraying them. They are pretty much down to skni and bones and can barely walk. Decay makes sense. So how does an old person compensate for this order without being too perfumy?

Another quality post at BTS.

Anyone who stinks is due to lack of bathing, soap and water, thats all- there's no age to it.:shk:

One website says it's a Myth

However it is potentially credible that difference in skin flora (the natural bacterial milieu of the skin) might change with age.

Certainly if you have athlete's foot and sweaty tennis shoes that smells worse.

I can't smell (to any degree worth mentioning) so I can't confirm or deny, but plants wilt in my vicinity if I've just come off a trail ride. :w:



It could also be based on smells in old person's homes - talcum powder, disinfectant, skin flora, diet, etc.

The link above appears to debunk it, but others say they smell sweet.

Others say there's even a trail, like a giant tree slug...(you know who you are!)



[edit on 30-7-2008 by Badge01]

Personaly i think its just about the time and age they where born in and what they where exposed to,

I tend to smell lavender from old ladies lol, They where brought up in a time where Smellies where all the rage, With the war ect they tended to store many things and it was luxury to have such things as soap let alone ones that smelt nice,

Also all the trends in Smelly bleaches hair dye and Creams ect where all coming about, I wonder if its almost a toxin,

I just wonder what the heck we will smell like when we are old?

Beer and Ciggs! lol
Decaying teeth due to our lack of proper food,

reply to post by deessell


this thread reminds me of this old woman that use to come into the store
when she came you could smell her off a mile away the stench was that bad,
she use to stink out the entire front checkouts.

even perfume/air freshner didnt work it was that bad :shk:

reply to post by asala


I tend to think that old ladies smell of too much perfume. They just spray, spay, spray there life away. Oooops! Sorry I just came from the limerick thread, and my mind is fried to the point it seems dead!

Now the old guys seem to always have God awful bad breath from whatever. I knew an old fart that brushed all the time and still could make you what to puke when he spoke to you. Needless to say that he had very short conversations with people!

I beleive this:

If you smell when you are old, you also smelled when you were young.

Hygene, unless you're demented, is always a ritual and something that stays with you for your entire life.

Smell a prune and smell a grape. There might be a little chemical and natural changes, but not enough to make you gag.

I cant tell the age of a dog or cat or a horse by its smell, can you?

I don't know about old people smelling....but I sure know old folks houses have an odor to them that smells...old... I think it's because they keep their houses closed up and never let any fresh air in. I know both sets of my grandparents houses had an old, stuffy smell to them.