She must have fixed it because it looks fine to me.

..and how stupid 'you are' by your spelling...

Was this one of those studies paid for by a government grant?

This has to be the dumbest study I ever heard of. They should say how much they spent who was charged for this study.

Personally as one who is getting older, I liked the article. I have been told that I always smell fresh and that is a wonderful thing. I know my mother who is nearly 79 always smells lovely. Almost mildly sweet. :)

This study is "Nuts".

Someone and others have a lot of time and money on their hands to do a research like this.

Try and find a Cure for Cancer.

"They" have found a cure for cancer, but it will never be released or used due to the billions of dollars being made by treating cancer.

As long as cancer treatment makes billions and a cure would only generate hundreds a "cure" will never hit the market.

nothing like the smell of ...the cat piss people of wall-mart...in the morning...

they are usually paid by a research group...

Now, 80 year old men will be trolling the clubs for younger women.

Stop b*tch*ng about who pays for these thing, you never know where basic research may lead. By studying the smells of people as they age we may find ways to detect illness from chemicals given off by the body, ways to determine fertility and miriad other things.

Science must start with supported data. In science you can't just say people smell different as they age even if its obvious. You have to show data that is repeatable and verifiable otherwise its just an assumption (bad word in science). Then other people verify you data and we go on to the next question, like what are the chemical changes specifically. Then you take that data and study a group of people and see if certain differences from the norm show a connection to certain diseases as they age. Soon you develope a machine that detects odors and can predict an outcome

But none of that happens if you don't ask (and test) the basic questions!

ALL SCIENCE STARTED BY ASKING AND TESTING THE MOST BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

"They" have found a cure for cancer, but it will never be released or used due to the billions of dollars being made by treating cancer.

As long as cancer treatment makes billions and a cure would only generate hundreds a "cure" will never hit the market.

Such BS, how would that remain a secret, and why wouldn't an upstart company steal it and sell it? Corporate spying is nowhere as prevelant as in pharmacuticals

Also ignorned in your tin hat thinking is the fact that cancer will never stop occurring and a "cure" is what they do NOW. If you are rendered cancer free by operation, radiation, chemo, or whatever you are cured. What is needed is a vaccine to prevent it in the first place which in many types they are close to a solution. You actually believe that there is no money in vacinating everyone on the planet forever?

IN the mean time the reality is that the "cure" in most cases is simply early detection.

Cancer rates are down up to 80% in many types like the type Brian Piccolo had in Brian's Song, when he was diagnosed in the 60s he had a 10% chance to survive, now for that same cancer the survival rate is 90%. Those damn evil drug companies, how dare they not reach 100% as fast as you demand!!!!!

People are "cured" of cancer every day, not simply treated. Expecting perfection from imperfect beings always leads to disappointment and silly ideas like yours.

Only the severly mentally-limited think that there exists, or will exist, "the cure" for cancer. That is like expecting science to find "the food" that will enable all who consume it frequently to live to be 120. Everyone's cancer is different; what they are learning that the least-toxic yet most-effective treatments are those tailored on an individual basis to each person with the disease as opposed to some sort of blanket cure-all.

Yep

Or grammar even.

AG99:

I effing love it....especially since old "oh yeah" is still trying to figure out what you're talking about!

I'm thinking the er was on purpose.

Some call her grammer - others grammy. Personal choice.

Cheers to Kelsey Grammer!

No charge for water, they just haven't figured out how to warm it yet.

It's all that hockey playing and beer drinking!

Well sorry but as a Canadian I take offence at your generalized comment. I could say some pretty nasty things about the Americans that come to Niagara Falls and also have forgotten their deodorant.Why in heavens name would you single out one nationality and make a comment like that? Such ignorance!

Come to Asia, with your wheat & tomato aroma, you will be noticed...

Their rice & fish aroma, is un-noticed by them... Ha! Ha!

Age, diet, medications/drugs, and hormones, ALL have an effect on your body smells.

Remember it was the French lack of bathing that resulted in the invention of perfumes...

BTY - The Asian's take multiple showers per day, not to combat smells, but to cool off. I have a deal with my wife, when she wants me to take multiple showers. I just take them with her, she is now 40, I'm 62, we have been married 8+years. I have to go, the wife is headed for the shower...

Being older, I don't take showers as often as I used to 'cause my skin is dry. I do wash my underarms, feet and genital area every day, though. I know when I start to smell bad and am not oblivious to it. Maybe when you get older, old people don't smell that different. My mom is in her 80s and I really can't tell any difference.

Ok, I don't want anyone to take offense here but, yes, everyone smells different. Young people smell like dirt and sweat to me, but I'm older. It may not smell that way to other young people. It does depend on what you eat, what illnesses you might have, the medicine you take, etc. I have always noticed that someone who is mentally ill (maybe their hygiene isn't as good, maybe it's genetic?) smells different, as well as, people with Down's syndrome - no matter the age. Down's syndrome people don't smell bad, but they do smell different, at least to me. It's possible that this could be a reproductive "genetic" thing as well.

I'm going to say its all the processed foods we eat. Just my thoughts.

Jules, no way I agree with your statement that third world people smell better. Ever been on a plane with Indians from india....not pleasant.....and that is a fact....give me Americans anytime.

Why do (some, not all) Indian people smell so bad? Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude and I know it's coming out that way, but... I've always been curious because that does seem to be a common issue with them.

I've been to India, walked through a crowd of poor people, they didn't smell at all. I've been around poor people in the Andes, same thing. A homeless man walked into a supermarket last year here in the US, I could smell him from across the store. The odor was so strong I'm almost got sick. I don't understand why the body odor is so much worse here.

I wonder if it also has to do with personal cleanliness. My uncle had the 'old person's smell' but he would only bathe weekly, he didn't figure he needed any more as he was no longer working or working up a sweat. Also, I know many older folks who don't launder their outer clothes like they did when they were younger -- especially the men. They used to have wives who have long since either died or left them, and they don't seem aware of BO, especially their own. None of my older friends bathe daily for a variety of reasons, from that of my uncle to the fact daily bathing dries their skin out too much.

Perhaps we're more aware of smells because we are constantly bombarded with commerials for deodorants, soaps, lotions, after shave, cologne and perfume. We are in a way conditioned to expect people to smell fresh, clean, like a flower...and when they don't..WHOA. It's like someone throwing ice water on a person. It gets your attention.

I agree rainlady2. A lot of older men lose the incentive to bathe for whatever reason. They cannot smell themselves. Their olfactory system begins to shut down. They are afraid of falling in the bath. Other organ failures such as mild renal failure of liver failure can do it. Bad dental hygiene or bad denture care can do it too. A lot of medicines actually can cause a person to have a different body odor. A little bit of urinary incontinence, which actually occurs more in women than men, can contribute a lot. It is sometimes the person's fault but a lot of these problems are unavoidable. Diet does contribute and a lot of older people narrow down the foods they will eat. If they eat only oatmeal it does not contribute much to odor but if they develop a fondness far sardine and onion sandwiches, then look out. (Most older people don't eat much onion because of the gas they develop but that can be a problem too.) As a friend of mine said when she passed 80, "Getting old is not for sissies".

To me its not just old people that have own unique scent. Every person has it, i look at it as your own signature its just more noticable as you get older. I have always known this bc i have a unique thing with sense. All my life even as a child someone very close to me pass away i always smell them before i know they have died. I would tell my mother i smell grandma or someone. Within in day or 2 days find out they died. From time to time i get a faint sense....i like to think they are saying hello

YOU ARE craaaaaaaaaazy!

Rainlady - I agree with you. Men without wives may only shower or bath or keep up appearances simply because their wives were around to remind them. I hope I outlast my husband, otherwise the world could be in for a big surprise! lol

Strength77 - There may be some truth in what you say, although I haven't been around anyone who died. There was that cat in the nursing home, that could tell when someone was going to die and walked in and stayed with that person until they passed away. Cats and dogs have a much better sense of smell than humans.

Shay - She may be crazy, but I prefer to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

i work in healthcare and i dont think older people have a "more subtle or faded" odor. in fact, i find the smell of older people unpleasant. i have known this for sometime now but, this is the first time i have read about changes in body odor that come with age. fascinating really. i wonder if anyone else finds the "older" odor unpleasant too?

At 81 years old you just plain don't care anymore!

LOL...maybe she doesn't, but I can still smell.

seems like at 81 years, it would be YOUR responsibility to see to her hygiene.

Poor mom. Just love her. You will miss when she is gone.

I do love her, Georgia, how could I not? She's my mother.

Laura, try and force a strong willed person to do something they don't want to do. Ever hear of elder abuse? It's a crime, and it's taken very seriously here. I cannot force her to do anything she does not want to do. I've even had our family doctor talk to her about this. With her it's in one ear and out the other. It's also a control thing...she's not able to drive, she has to depend on me for everything. She's not in charge of her own household anymore, so from that aspect I understand the stubbornness...somewhat.

she probably is afraid of falling and breaking something in the shower. can you get her a bench to sit on and help her in? maybe she will feel safer that way. i had a terrible accident in 08 and broke both my shoulders. i was a working woman and only 60 yo. it took me about 4 years to get back to feeling like the queen that i am. my husband has to help me in the shower. my balance is terrible and i have no use of my left arm at all and i'm terrified of falling. i take a shower every other day, when i used to bathe every day. my husband sets the shower up, puts a towel on the bench (it's a built in), leads me in, i sit down and do my thing, takes about 20 minutes and then he comes and helps me out and dries me off.

good luck with your mother. at 81 i don't know if i would want to climb in the shower either. i'm sure a bench will help and those built in safety handles that the ADA (americans with disabilities act) recommends.

I've worked w/ a lot of older pts, & their sense of smell seems diminished----much like eyesight & hearing tend to deteriorate w/ age. Also, a lot of people don't smell themselves all that well; surely you've had the experience of being close to someone who smells like they poured the whole bottle of cologne on themselves, & why haven't they passed out from their own fumes? Another thing, does she smoke? Just about every cigarette smoker I've known seems to have a diminished sense of smell. And---don't get upset at this, I'm not trying to be mean---how is her mental & emotional state? People that are experiencing some degree of mental decrease can be difficult to convince of anything, & depressed people can simply be overwhelmed by any task, & seem to have little energy or enthusiasm to do even simple things. You do say that she doesn't run her own household anymore & can't drive....that could be pretty discouraging to face that reality everyday 24/7/365.

Kai, I meant no disrespect. What I was trying to say is to love her "extra" while you still have her. But you are right, as we get older, we get grumpier and stubborn. I wish you luck with your Mom.

I think a lot of it has to do with being on high doses of strong medicines. My parents were on lots of medications as they got older. They don't just leave the body via defecation and urination, but also perspiration. A now-deceased friend of mind was a heart transplant recipient. He and his fellow patients frequently had "transplant reunions" where one of the ongoing topics was how they smelled, and how it was nice to be able to be in a group with no embarrassment about it. They attributed it to the immnosuppressive drug Cyclosporin.

Just my two cents worth here but I am an Internist. In general, there are several factors at play when it comes to an elder who is reluctant to bathe. First is Fear. As stated, tubs are slippery and the elderly are prone to dizziness due to medications and inner ear dysfunction in addition to chronic pain from arthritis. A fall could be the end. Next, as with hearing and eyesight, the other Senses are effected with age. Smell and taste are diminished. They cannot smell themselves, literally. That is why the ladies spritz a little too much perfume on and also why the elderly stop eating as much. Foods just don't have the same aromatic appeal nor flavor. Lastly, and most prevalent and underdiagnosed, is Depression. Imagine losing your independence, not being able to drive, forgetting simple words and people's names, pretending you can hear every word in a conversation but missing half of it and waking up to aches and pains that can never be fixed. Getting old is not for sissies. You have to really want to be alive to put up with what is handed to us as we age. And not everyone ages the same way. Compassion is a learned behavior and Kai is demonstrating it every day with love and tolerance.

Kai, that has to do with loss of mobility, fear of falling or maybe Alzheimers. Older people also lose their sense of smell at a faster rate but normally, being old does not make you smell worse. The worst smells come from teens and 20 year old males!

Georgia, I know you commented in good spirit. Bless you.

Al, thank you so much for the compliment. There are many days filled with frustration, but then I remember that there was a time when she had to bathe and feed me. She taught me how to eat and she taught me right from wrong. Raising her children was a work of love and devotion for her, and she did it well.

Also Al, you and whoknew are spot on. She does have Alzheimer, yes, she does have dizzy spells. Her bathroom is the usual configuration of tub/shower combo, but the other two bathrooms are quite different. One has a stall shower with 2 benches and a skid proof floor, the other has a delightfully huge whirlpool tub. She has used the big tub, but it really is hard to get out of, even for me.

Her medication doses are on the lower end, the Aricept is only 5 mg. x 1, a low dose aspirin, and 5 mg. of Lisinopril @ bedtime. She does have a lot of discomfort in her lower back and she shuffles a lot. (we got her a nice walking stick which she'll use once in a while) We see a Chiropractor once a month, and we all visit our family physician every 3 months. (I like to have Doc keep a very close eye on her for urinary tract infections. We learned about that one the hard way!) The rest of her meds are joint suppliments, calcium, and Omega 3, oh, and vit D.

Other than that, she's in good shape physically, and she's usually in good spirits. She loves to laugh, and she's a serious eater. She sure can pack in the groceries for a little old lady. We eat a healthy, balanced diet staying away from processed foods as much as possible.

@ Bubbacat, she's not a smoker, but her sense of smell is diminished. She has had a life long sinus problem....could very well be a contributor to her sense of balance, but the ENT couldn't pinpoint anything specific such as an infection. I have a saline nasal spray I've asked her to use several times a day, but...she doesn't.

Maybe I'll start offering to wash her hair in the kitchen sink. Maybe if she gets enough praise about how good she smells, it would encourage her to take a shower a couple of times a week. I could live with that.

Thanks, everyone. You gave me some inspiration, and it's good to know that so many others understand the challenges facing the aging.

(side note to Al, she was being treated for depression but Doc took her off her antidepressant. I should ask him about that later in June when we see him. She sleeps a lot, and depression could be a contributor to her aches and pains.)

Queen, you had some very excellent points, too. One of our showers has about a 3 inch lip to step over and has 2 benches. The one in the hall bath is horrible. I took one shower in it just to try it out, and guess what? It made me dizzy. It's not a normal tub, it sits too high and it's narrow.

Oh, and I cannot imagine breaking both shoulders! How painful that must have been for you. Bless your heart. Knock on wood, I have never broken a bone. My family would be in deep kimchee if I became incapacitated. My husband has left temporal lobe epilepsy, he can't drive, and he's on some serious anti-seizure drugs. Mom can't drive, so it's all up to me. Chief cook, bottle washer, driver, shopper, housecleaner, lawn mower gal...you name it, it's my job. LOL

Kai, your comments reminded me of an article I read a few months ago about Alzheimer's patients and their reluctance to shower, and how it can be helpful to remind them of things by using written notes. Apparently reading the words can reinforce the thought for them when their memory fails...one of the notes they used said "Showering makes me feel clean and fresh" - it was posted where they could easily see it, and it helped make them more willing to shower. I wish you luck with your mom.

Kai - we had a similar problem getting my grandmother to shower when she was suffering from dementia. It was always a battle and like you said you can't force them to do it without risking injury. Have you tried spongebathing her? We used to do that for my grandmother and she would tolerate it better than a full fledged shower. Also, if you can, a home health aid is a real blessing when it comes to helping with hygeine. A lot of times my Nan would let the HHA do more than she let her family do. I think it was a pride issue and since she was a "nurse" it didn't damage her pride as much to take help from her as it did to let her daughter do those things. Good luck to you though!

Kai and everyone else who commented on the struggles of older people - I agree with pretty much everything you say regarding older people. My mom is 83 and shares a fear of the shower. She has fallen in the shower twice! A shower chair, hand rails in the tub and a handheld shower attachment can help with this a lot. When my mom doesn't take a shower, which may be once or twice a week, she does take sponge baths. She's very fastidious.

Since my husband and I live with her now, I agree with the stubbornness factor, wholeheartedly!!! She keeps trying to cut the grass and will sneak out to do this. As soon as she is caught and stopped, she gets mad and cries about how she feels useless. We are trying to keep her busy with puzzlebooks and trips to different places around the city, but she still gets bored. She is still mentally sharp for the most part, but can't drive, she still does necessary housework, but nothing heavy. I'm just thankful that her thought processes are still there.

When we do clash due to stubbornness, I tell her I love her and get out of the house. Sometimes, too much togetherness and the fact that we are both stubborn, gets to be too much and we need time to ourselves. That separateness really helps us understand each other and cope better before a situation escalates.

rkaralius, Xina, Kris,

All wonderful posts! I USED to print out a sheet of paper with the current date and day of the week since both mom and my husband can't read a calendar. I would have a list of any appointments, plus I added a funny daily quote. Mom loved it, and for some reason I quit doing it. I think I'll start the daily reminders again, including shower reminders with positive notations.

Mama does sponge bathe frequently, but it doesn't get everything. I think it's the accumulation of oils, and probably some sweat, on their head that stinks so much. Plus it's just good hygiene to get the sloughed skin off daily. (we lose about 50,400,000 skin cells a day!) I'd be happy if she'd shower twice a week. Heck, I'd celebrate!

I KNOW she feels useless, she occasionally alludes to herself as being a burden. And yes, she talks about starting up the mower. That is a scary thought, but the key to the shop is on my husbands key ring, and she'd never figure out how to start the big riding mower. She helps with dishes most days, once in a while she'll polish the furniture, and she likes to do laundry. She does a LOT of laundry. She has more clothes than most clothing stores, yet she only wears a handful of outfits. She'll launder stuff that she never wears...I guess it's just in case she may want wear them. It irks me, but I keep my mouth shut. The electric and water bills tell the story. LOL

I took her down to the senior citizens center one day, trying to encourage her to get out and have a life. She enjoyed it, but she doesn't want to get involved. They have a shuttle that will come out and pick her up and bring her home. She has one excuse after another, after another, so I just shut up about it. I have puzzle books on hand as she used to love to do crossword and word finder puzzles. They're gathering dust in her room.

The person she responds to is my husband. He teases her a lot, and I think he symbolizes the things she misses the most, my dad, and my younger brother. Dad passed on, oh about 8 years ago, and my brother was killed in a motorcycle crash a year and a half after that. I can definitely mark that event as the beginning of her slide mentally.

My husband has his own set of problems and isn't always amenable to tolerating mom's chatter. He seizes just about daily even though he's on some large doses of anti-seizure medications. I know mom wants to help, but when Jeff is on the floor convulsing he needs all of my attention. For the most part they get along really well, but Jeff just wants to be left alone and sleep post-seizure.

All in all I can't complain. I have two people in my life that I love dearly, and they love me back. What more can one expect? We have our rough days, we have our good days, and through it all we manage to laugh and maintain our sense of humor for the most part. So I consider ourselves blessed.

My elderly mom lives with me and doesn't like to shower either. We remodeled the bathroom and she has a large shower with safety rails and a stool. She says she gets cold when she showers but now that the weather is warmer she doesn't mind as much.
I just can't afford to keep the house at 78 in the winter. I understand a lot more about why older folks move to places like Florida, they are warm!

I kinda like the smell of skunk.

Never been sprayed directly, but still kinda like the pungent scent of a recently squashed one.

Then go to D.C. Lots of skunks spraying all over each other and the entire country.

Nice!

never trust a fart after you turn 50.

Then there're those who believe their farts don't stink. Fart usually smell no matter the age even babies. Depending on what you've eaten can have a effect on intensity of smell.

sardines-pickled eggs-deer meat-pork an beans...hard to hang around deer camp...we got pulled over by a game warden...thought we was road hunting...cause we had the window's down...he walked up said dam...do i smell fish bait...i laughed till i farted...he got to laughing and left...

Yeah, time IS flying by. I look in the mirror and wonder where I went, that person staring back can't be me. I'm 7 years from retirement age, so much for being a spring chicken, the spring done sprung a while back. But dangit, I still take a shower every day, and many evenings I add a hot soak to that morning shower just to relax.

Years ago I had a friend of mine tell me that a dog can always stand the smell of his own schitt!

sing it...the answer my friend is blowing in the wind ...the answer is blowing in the wind...

blah.

There's only one way you're going to get your mother to smell better - by using mustard and relish!

deana, are you implying ur mom's pits smell like cooked hot dogs. or did you mean penis smell, and if so, circed or uncut limburger-cheesedick smell?

frank that was pricieless.

Frank, no, it was just disgusting. I guess your jokes stink just as much as some people.

Absolutely! When you see these hot sexy blondes hanging around Hugh Hefner you know it's not for his staying power!

Yeah I think it's wishful thinking for those old scientists. Those of us who were once a 20 something year old female know that males in the same age group smell best to us.

You are soooooo right!

My old DNA really, really wants to survive. That's why I'm so attracted to younger women with children who seem to be raising them well and really caring for them. It's not a conscious choice that I made nor something I have acted on, just something that I have observed about myself, since these young women are usually with their husbands/babies' fathers, and I want to live to be even older.

This one's on me, Duchess...

The flatulent gas of the elderly has been fermenting in their bowels like kimchee(don't know if spelled right).

This is why elderfarts are beyond aromatic:they are overpowering an rancid. I know, my dad is 92.

Hey son...pull my finger. Lol

I'll say, I hang with a 67 year old who lets loose with silent but violents and acts like he doesn't notice. If I could see fart clouds, I'm sure it would appear to be seeking the nearest person like a predator if it didn't attack who ever happens to be behind him first.

I got news for you Augure, 67 isn't old anymore. He should change his diet.

With people living into their 100s, you're right! Of course, as a 61-year old woman, while I am not averse to senior discounts, I do not act old and feel as young as ever...usually.

However, I will do everything in my power not to fart. Not ladylike, and that's just my personal feeling about it. My husband, though...in the kitchen, in bed (when I'm in it), just on a whim at any given moment...ARRGGHH!

Take my husband...please!!!!!!

Our two dogs are just as bad, they're mostly silent, but deadly. I remember one time, our older dog (yes, she smells different than our younger dog) passed gas noisily. Our little dog went running up to her barking wildly, then looked around himself - to make sure it didn't surround him, then ran off in the opposite direction. Actually, we all ran off while she sat there looking puzzled.

Did you read what the volunteers were smelling? Tee shirts used by people who were washing their hair with unscented shampoo, using unscented soap, etc. How many elderly people actually do like that when not taking part in a study? They usually either don't care very much at all and seldom wash up, or they try to cover everything up, the women with cologne, hair spray, etc. and the men with after shave, hair tonic, and the like, which mixes with their sweat full of prescription drugs in many cases as previously mentioned. That and most really elderly people have real problems with urinary incontinence, the men often due to enlarged prostates and the women often due to prolapsed utreruses. My parents were so fastidious when they were middle-aged but lost this as they got older, also my mother-in-law to an extent, my father-in-law didn't live to be really old but got old enough that I don't think he cared as much, and he always smelled like smoke in any event, which was one of the major reasons he never really lived to be all that old. Now that I am in late middle age, I find myself having to force myself to remain true to hygienic standards that when I was younger seemed almost as natural as breathing. I hope this doesn't become more problematic as I get even older.

The same group thought bear spray was pleasant...

Mr. Rlquall -

It is rude to blame your parents and in-laws for your stench. Soon your odors will be, ". . . highest for pleasantness and lowest for intensity." Then you will be grown up.

..."how the hell did this happen so fast?"

Oh wow, you can sure say that again!!!!!

My mom farts a lot, and yet, invites us to FOLLOW her into the TV room while she is farting. We're saying " MoooooM! Cut it out!" She says "Oh shut up, I'm just old and gassy. Leave me alone." They say when we watch what is becoming of our parents, that is what we will be when we are their age. Just can't wait for the aromatic "bombs" of aging!