Yup. Actually, we all have an odor. Most of the times it is from food we eat and products we use on our bodies. However, some folks have an odor related to poor hygiene or infection.
The "funk" is from bacteria "eating" waste products on the skin or from by-products of infection. That's why I advocate for daily full bath and hair-washing several times each week. Dry skin and hair can be treated with moisturizers.
Used to. Now that my Mom is in Memory Care, I don't think about it too much any more.
First isolate the odor. My Mom with dementia, thought she had already taken a bath, therefore she didn't need to have another one. This went on for days until I argued with her.
As my mother's dementia progressed, she would go through the hamper and wear the same clothes. She claimed it did not smell bad to her. In addition, if she wiped urine off the floor, sometimes she used the clothes in the hamper and then would put it back in the hamper, wet.
I brush her teeth and make her rinse with water every night. Food gets stuck between her teeth in her receding gums. In addition, food collects on the upper gums between the teeth and her mouth. I use a toothbrush to remove the food particles. When I asked the oral surgeon about it, he said that the elderly lose the ability to allow water into that area of the mouth/teeth, therefore, food gets trapped in there.
Then of course there is the smell of BO (body odor) and urine. Sweat on the skin, gets absorbed by the clothes they wear. I use a detergent that is free of perfumes and dyes. If one does not clean clothes thoroughly, the BO and urine accumulate. Coming out of the washer and dryer are fine. However, in the drawer/closet and then it touches the body, the clothes once again smell. It is also possible that the smell is coming from the dirty washing machine. Every once in awhile, I use laundry sanitizer to disinfect the the clothes and the washing machine. I've heard that white vinegar works for the odor as well.
My mid-20s niece washed her exercise clothes using the delicate cycle and within a 1.5 months, her clothes started smelling (she could not smell it but everyone else could). One run of laundry sanitizer cleared up the smell.
My Mom would touch the Depends and see if it felt wet and only change if it felt wet. With today's materials, the top layer is supposed to be dry, therefore she wouldn't change out her Depends. I don't know how she did it, however, she did manage to get a chair and clothing wet with urine while sitting on it, while her Depends mostly stayed dry.
Isolate the odor, then figure out what to do about it.
Breeze59happy: My mother had lost her olfactory sense. She was waiting far too long to maneuver her walker to the bathroom; she then tried to reuse her slacks until I snuck into her bedroom to grab the malodorous clothing to launder them.
Oh my goodness, my mom does the same thing. Most days when I visit her I have to tell her to change her pants because the ones she has on are dirty. She just doesn't seem to have any awareness of it.
That’s very true Mythmara. When I took care of my MIL, I used a persimmon & green tea body wash called MIRAI purifying & deodorizing body wash. It really works! I would also add some in the washer along with regular detergent while washing her clothes.
My mother does as does her house. It’s because she never lets air in the house. She is Always cold so heat is on even in summer. Doors never open. When we go over, we keep the garage door open because it seeps in there too. Anything stored there also smells. My kids call it ‘old people smell’. Don’t trust her w candles so it remains.
It depends on what the odor is from. Body odor, bathing often is the solution. Urine odor, properly cleaning peri areas and changing soiled clothing and bedding. Making sure that there are pads down on furniture. There is an "old persons" odor and I have read that Peony soap will mitigate the odor. This is called Nonenal "Google" Old people smell or Nonenal.
I bathe my husband four days a week and between I used a cloth with soap and always change of clean clothes and his favorite lotion and after shave, sometimes the nails on his toes smell and I used Vick vapor and really works
maybe that LUME deodorant and body washes would help....yeah, there are alot of odors going on...none of them good! I have also been keeping vases of fresh flowers, schedule regular carpet and upholstery cleanings too..
Same here, if I can get my father to take a running water shower (he refuses CNA assistance and that is a struggle as he cannot shower on his own) 2 times a week there is no strong, offending odors emanating from his body. He wears 12hr pull ups (Depends) and clean clothing. You might want to check his diet that is an important factor in body odor as well as some medications impact body odor and secretions as well.
"How do you get rid of nonenal smell? Living a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the smell of nonenal. Drinking plenty of water dilutes fatty acids. Similarly, drink green tea, which breaks down the compounds responsible for causing the nonenal smells. Exercise and eat nutritiously.Aug 19, 2022"
I read a while back that the use of deoderant soaps help.
Any elder with incontinence issues, as described in your profile, tends to have an odor about them. Combine that with the scent an older person takes on naturally, and yes, loved ones can indeed have body odors explained here:
one of my friends gave me this idea and works in an spray bottle put Listerin and any drip of urine in the bathroom just spray and clean and the odor is gone I used the Clorox wipes too, anything that help me got rid of the urine odor before it’s dry
Any part of the body can have an odor if you don't keep it clean. Not all 'old' people have an oder although my great aunt smelled a bit like mothballs. 😁
15 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
The "funk" is from bacteria "eating" waste products on the skin or from by-products of infection. That's why I advocate for daily full bath and hair-washing several times each week. Dry skin and hair can be treated with moisturizers.
First isolate the odor. My Mom with dementia, thought she had already taken a bath, therefore she didn't need to have another one. This went on for days until I argued with her.
As my mother's dementia progressed, she would go through the hamper and wear the same clothes. She claimed it did not smell bad to her. In addition, if she wiped urine off the floor, sometimes she used the clothes in the hamper and then would put it back in the hamper, wet.
I brush her teeth and make her rinse with water every night. Food gets stuck between her teeth in her receding gums. In addition, food collects on the upper gums between the teeth and her mouth. I use a toothbrush to remove the food particles. When I asked the oral surgeon about it, he said that the elderly lose the ability to allow water into that area of the mouth/teeth, therefore, food gets trapped in there.
Then of course there is the smell of BO (body odor) and urine. Sweat on the skin, gets absorbed by the clothes they wear. I use a detergent that is free of perfumes and dyes. If one does not clean clothes thoroughly, the BO and urine accumulate. Coming out of the washer and dryer are fine. However, in the drawer/closet and then it touches the body, the clothes once again smell. It is also possible that the smell is coming from the dirty washing machine. Every once in awhile, I use laundry sanitizer to disinfect the the clothes and the washing machine. I've heard that white vinegar works for the odor as well.
My mid-20s niece washed her exercise clothes using the delicate cycle and within a 1.5 months, her clothes started smelling (she could not smell it but everyone else could). One run of laundry sanitizer cleared up the smell.
My Mom would touch the Depends and see if it felt wet and only change if it felt wet. With today's materials, the top layer is supposed to be dry, therefore she wouldn't change out her Depends. I don't know how she did it, however, she did manage to get a chair and clothing wet with urine while sitting on it, while her Depends mostly stayed dry.
Isolate the odor, then figure out what to do about it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Body odor, bathing often is the solution.
Urine odor, properly cleaning peri areas and changing soiled clothing and bedding. Making sure that there are pads down on furniture.
There is an "old persons" odor and I have read that Peony soap will mitigate the odor. This is called Nonenal "Google" Old people smell or Nonenal.
"How do you get rid of nonenal smell?
Living a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the smell of nonenal. Drinking plenty of water dilutes fatty acids. Similarly, drink green tea, which breaks down the compounds responsible for causing the nonenal smells. Exercise and eat nutritiously.Aug 19, 2022"
I read a while back that the use of deoderant soaps help.
https://www.healthline.com/health/older-people-smell-different