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Hi. A week ago my father's foster parent came to our house. She is 87 and really sick. She doesn't want to leave her house to go to retirement home. She is in very bad condition, as she is old she doesn't have the energy to walk, shower or wash her hair (people around her (at home )won't help her to shower). I don't like to say this but she stinks. Me and my mother washed her hair and her multiple times but she still has that odor. Any advice how to get rid of the odor?

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My first thought was that the odor has a physiologic cause, not just hygiene. Interesting article in the Daily Mail on a study that does that to be true. It also found that antioxidants reduced the smell. Here's a shortcut url to it: bit.ly/3dN2ejw

Try borax or an enzyme cleaner for the laundry. There's also a Huffington Post article on products developed in Japan to address this challenge. bit.ly/3es3d7W
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It may be her meds. And the elderly do have a certain smell. There is a reason for it. Look up "old people smell". It will explain the cause. I think deodorant soap is suggested. Maybe rinse her hair with vinegar. Wash everything she brought with her with vinegar in the rinse cycle. Then hang them out to dry on a nice day. Dryers tend to bring the smell back up. I may evev just soak them in the washer and pour vinegar in. Then put them thru the wash cycle with a good detergent. I used to use Arm and Hammer but found Tide original got the smell out better.
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lara2003 Apr 2021
Thank you! :)
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It could be due to her medications, and/or most likely she is at least somewhat incontinent. Tell your parents to get her a needs assessment from the local agency on aging to find out what kind of assistance she might qualify for, a weekly bath aide might make a difference.
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lara2003 Apr 2021
Thank you for helping me. She is not on any medication and she refuses to go to the doctors so she isnt treated. We are tying to get her to go to the doctor but she is scared because of covid.
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