Why do old people smell bad

Sometimes volunteers had to choose which of two odors most likely came from the older volunteer. Other times the volunteers had to label different jars "young," "middle-age" or "old-age. Middle-aged man musk took top prize for intensity and unpleasantness, whereas volunteers rated the odors of middle-aged women most pleasant and whiffs of old man as least intense.

When the volunteers compared two jars containing pads from different age groups, they reliably recognized that the odors were different, but they were not particularly adept at deciding which scent came from the older person. When volunteers attempted to label several different jars by age group, they also often failed to correctly identify odors from the young and middle-aged—but they were much more successful at picking out the jars containing pads soaked in elderly sweat.

Old people smell was often instantly recognizable. Together, the evidence indicates that people recognize a characteristic "old people smell" not because of the aroma's intensity or offensiveness, but because of its uniqueness compared to the body odors of younger people.

The chemical, which the researchers described as having an "unpleasant grassy and greasy odor," might be "a major cause of the deterioration in body odor that has been observed with aging"—in other words, the biological explanation for why older people have a characteristic odor.

But the compound has also been linked to the scent of cucumbers and aged beer, which are not distasteful to most people; others have compared old people smell to old book smell , which most people find benign at worst and enjoyable at best.

Compared with many other animals, humans have a lousy sense of smell. Determining exactly how people change their behavior based on one another's scents— or possibly pheromones —has frustrated and challenged scientists. Still, some evidence suggests that subtle chemical communication, much of it subconscious, helps people recognize family, changes women's reproductive cycles and makes it easier to empathize with others.

But no one really knows why animals or people have this ability. Ferris Jabr is a contributing writer for Scientific American. Already a subscriber? Sign in. They were asked to sleep in a shirt specially fitted with underarm pads that could absorb odor for five consecutive days. These included foods containing a lot of spices. At the end of the five days, the underarm pads were collected and cut into quarters.

Each piece was placed in a glass jar. The testers had a hard time detecting differences in scent between young and middle-aged people — they smelled too similar. Any scented product you enjoy will help mask the smell. Alternatively, consider wearing your new scent as a badge of honor. Body odor naturally changes as you age. For older people, this change in smell is likely due to an increase in levels of a compound called 2-nonenal.

We all sweat, and yet not everyone has body odor. This depends on your genetics, what's on your skin, and possibly even what you ate last night. Find out what exams and screenings are recommended for men at every stage of life, as well as tips on what to ask your doctor.

Subscription boxes are the gift that keeps on giving. Here are a few of our top picks. Viome specializes in gut health testing kits — but do they actually work? Find out everything you need to know and more. Denatured alcohol is ethyl alcohol with substances added to make it unfit for human consumption. Since the scent is a naturally occurring change in our body, it cannot be erased permanently.

In fact, people compare nonenal to the scent of cucumbers, aged beer, and old books — nothing inherently offensive. Your email address will not be published. You may use these HTML tags and attributes:.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. How Should You Address the Scent? Can You Minimize Nonenal? There are a few other ways to reduce nonenal odor: Air out living areas regularly. Open windows and use ventilation when possible. Wash clothing regularly. Make sure the bedding is clean. Air out bedding between use and regularly wash in hot water. Updated on February 15th, Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published.