When I was a kid, I noticed that grandma and grandpa smelled like old people. Now I notice that I smell kind of like that myself. Is it my imagination?

Or did the new person smell wear off, kind of like New Car smell?

I hadn't thought of it as "new person smell" wearing off, but you may be onto something. I think hormone levels drop, and they generally tend to have a strong odor. As the hormone odors recede, more subtle odors that were always there but overpowered by the hormones, start to assert themselves. Kind of like leaf colors on the fall. The colors were always there but the green overpowered them.

That plus your immune system is not as good at keeping mouth and skin bacteria in check, and older people tend to shower or do laundry less because they didn't do anything to work up any kind of sweat, so why bother. And their sense of smell has gone downhill, along with sight and hearing. They don't notice the changes.

So yeah, they no longer have that new person smell. Or hair. Or hearing. Or......

ETA: drugs can also alter body chemistry and produce a distinctive odor, as can one's diet. I once worked with a Chinese man who said that when he first came to the US, it was hard for him because everybody smelled like milk to him (milk is not a normal part of the Chinese diet)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2022 04:27PM by Brother Of Jerry.

You make a good case for not getting old. :/

Oh, I don't know. That new car smell is actually outgassing of the vinyl in the car, which is carcinogenic. [that haze on the inside of the windows] Some things (wine for instance) often improve with age. :)

Nightingale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You make a good case for not getting old. :/

But consider the alternatives!

Please, please do not complete that last phrase!

I know, I know. One of the unwritten rules of Relief Society is that we are to avoid moisture in all its forms.

Argh. Just as bad!

Oxidation is a thing. Happens to everything. Little bits drifting off into the air. Sometimes giving off gases. What can you do?

I'm not dying, I'm dissolving.

I will never smell old because I wear scent every day. It's part of getting dressed :P

As an additional question, why is it that so many older guys tend to wear a lot of cologne? Is it because they think they smell funny? Or their sense of smell is off? I can’t tell you the number of older guys I have run into that smell like all those well-dressed older salesmen that you see in men’s stores…. reeking of old spice etc. A lot of times I get headaches being near these guys.

You should try a relief society meeting.

It's not the aftershave as such but the quality of the product. Nothing smells as strongly as cheap aftershave.

Cheap perfume gives it a run for it's money! My grandmother loved CHARLIE. Shudder. Her sister and aunts were horrified.

I'm just glad that my farts no longer smell...

COVID came along and now I can't smell many things as well. Maybe that's a good thing after reading this thread. ;->

Jergens Soap

My mother in law had that smell before she got dentures.

My wife and I are 73. People routinely mistake us for being in our 50's. I'm not sure what the trick is, except we consciously try NOT to look old. I'm not sure about what I'm saying. But just trying not to smell like an old person is easy; all we do is shower daily, wash out hair, keep it styled in a current way, and never dress in clothing that has an elastic waistband (the waistband thing is a prime directive). The house also needs to smell like normal people. We got good lessons in that by living in Germany and Italy, where a clean floor is paramount. Smelling the part is easy.

Looking the part takes much more work. So far, we're succeeding. There will come the day, though, where we will not be able to do it any more. But we will never buy anything with an elastic waistband -- except, of course, pajamas. And yes, I rather proudly wear jim-jams. They have been a partial answer to getting better sleep. My body sez, "Oh. Puttin' on pajamas, are we? Time to feel sleepy, then."

Oh probably!

It was either your imagination then or now... or it has been in your knows all along.

I don't know.

Why don't you ask them?

There is no "old people smell". It's lack of bathing and clothes washing.

Old people who eat poor and sit around get that smell. Active old people who eat good diets and have good hygiene don’t seem to have that smell.

They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

There's Willy for ya.

No one quite outdoes him in cases link these.

Me?

I take a shower Once A Month whether I need it or Not!!

last weekend we spent with family in the pacific northwest. My five year-old granddaughter told me I smell like old pancakes. I suppose it could have been worse.

Cute.
Maybe you needed to wear more syrup.

You just stole my line! Wait till I tell sd about your purple ruffled panties :P

The question is do they smell?

Elder Berry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The question is do they smell?

Old People smell With Their Nose, just like everyone else, even (most) animals !!

Susan! Don't encourage him. You know how he gets.

I only would have said it to SD {LMAO} :P

who would have thought that old pancakes could turn sexual. Only with you two. I suppose if you rolled an old pancake into a cylinder, let it dry, it might become passable as tool you could...you know, with.

FYI: "Pilgrim Springs" by GDA now available on Amazon.

got some naughty bits you two might like, given your apparent predilection for that sort of thing. :)

I don't read Harlequin romances but I'll check it out! :-) I hope it doesn't involve old pancakes.

gold, science and hubba bubba. Brain fodder for the horny critical thinker.

SD there is a difference between liking naughty things and liking YOUR naughty things!

You three need to get a room.

I would, but I'm too old. I'll have to live vicariously through you kids.

Well, it's up to sd and Susan then.

Don't let us down, you two.

The gold and science part looks like a fun read and right up my alley. Microbiologists at the DOE here in Idaho are always working on projects to get microbes to do beneficial things with waste, etc.

The hubba bubba bits might have me fanning myself with memories of my wilder days. I hope I don't find the word "bodice" anywhere though. :-)

that's hilarious....trying to conjure up what old pancakes smell like...lolol

Stale bread soaked in fermenting sugar.

This post is NOT off topic, it's about the Q-15 at LDS Church Headquarters, unless they happen to be visiting Denmark, then something does smell rotten.

They smell like a uncleaned chapel and rotting Wonder Bread mixed with stale avheerios.

The title made me laugh. Ten years ago, I worked at a chicken plant where I worked on a de-boning line. I had never done physical work like that before (or since) and my hands and arms hurt every day, even on weekends when off. I often joked that I must have smelled like an old lady because I had to use Ben Gay, Aspercreme and anything else I could find to help my pain. Every day, I took an epsom salt bath.

I only worked there for 5 months. That was all I could take. But I musta smelled like somebody's grandma or grandpa.

I think a lot of us who went to the temple a lot are experienced in smelling old folks.
Can you name the smell? I can through the veil.

Luckily I never had their points of fellowship.

Maybe the Sixth point of fellowship is smelling the breath mint odor.

The breath of God.

I'll probably never experience it, but I'm thinking that Old Money probably smells terrific.

Does anyone here know?

Well, I had a couple of old sweaty one dollar bills in my fanny pack once when hiking. I can't say they emitted a terrific scent.

I heard those are nothing compared to the ones you keep crammed down your bra :)

I never could find them again when I hid them there.

Debated a day whether to write but -
It's gut transit time - typically slows with age - stuff accumulates - so just keep it moving.

Think tube of toothpaste -
Mitochondria loss with age, as these are cellular powerhouses, no energy/no squeeze - toothpaste stays.
This is why regular daily exercise - preserves mitochondria. Is why low glycaemic diet helps, don't want to develop insulin resistance because then can't get glucose fuel into mitochondria to power squeeze. Some evidence ketogenic diet/intermittent fasting regimen useful for mitochondria optimization, cutting-edge evidence for red light/near infrared therapy boosting mitochondria. And there's other things, CoQ-10, PQQ, NADH, acetyl-L-carnitine etc. theoretically useful for mitochondrial boost but not essential. Improve mitochondrial function and entire body improves. Can wind back the clock.

Alcohol damages mitochondria over time, is why folks who imbibe regularly identifiable on causal observation.

For smooth muscle strength ensure enough potassium, we need ~ 4.5 grams/day, typically get plenty sodium but little potassium. Can supplement so long as kidney function intact but caution, too much can impact cardiac rhythm. (Plus get potassium optimized & under-eye bags diminish.) Choline supplementation can be useful, precursor to acetylcholine that signals smooth muscles to contract - little absorbed beyond gut. So altogether better squeeze, toothpaste moves along.

Then there's paying attention to the toothpaste, why staying well-hydrated & lots fiber in diet useful, things like psyllium/Metamucil (also drops cholesterol) - so think anything opposite of a straight cheese+peanutbutter diet. Mom was right after all.
So not prescription do own research but yeah, keep it regular & 'odeur d' old person' goes away, - but also improves function beyond.

As someone who is old by any measure except my state of mind, I find this thread full of targeting and elderly abuse. Would you make similar comments about the deaf, the blind, the lame, or the mentally unstable? One thing is sure, if you are not old now you will be if you live long enough.

Wait until you hear what babies smell like!

I'm certain that I'm as adorable old man as I was a baby . . .

And if and when that time comes, there's a good chance (keeping my fingers crossed!) that I'll be able to change my own diapers.