Do older people have a different smell?
nytimes.com
Do older people have a different smell?
1–10 of 71 posts
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#2Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#3As someone that sees smells (synesthesia), the answer is yes. The reason I presume is simple, hormone levels change as you age and thus you smell different.
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#4Babies smell.
My friend, undergoing radiation therapy for cancer, had a distinct smell. As have those treated with specific chemotherapies.
Athletes smell. Indoor and outdoor athletes differently. Pool swimmers of chlorine, open-water swimmers of the sea.
Parkinsons and Alzheimers appear to have distinctive smells.
Diabetes is characterised for its distinct smell (and taste).
We are chemically-regulated, processing, producing, and (to an extent) signalling systems. The notion that there are associated perceptible scents is exceedingly probable.
Another aspect of older people (and again: Parkinsons and Alzheimers in particular) is a loss of the sense of smell. Which may mean that odors otherwise noticeable and addressed aren't.
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#5Well, they certainly smell awful to me. Especially old women. That's a very distinctive smell. I could recognize an old woman without the use of any of my other senses.
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#6As someone that sees smells (synesthesia), the answer is yes. The reason I presume is simple, hormone levels change as you age and thus you smell different.
Fascinating. Could you describe what some different smells look like to you?
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#7As someone that sees smells (synesthesia), the answer is yes. The reason I presume is simple, hormone levels change as you age and thus you smell different.
[deleted]
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#8What do old people smell like?
Depends.
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#9As someone that sees smells (synesthesia), the answer is yes. The reason I presume is simple, hormone levels change as you age and thus you smell different.
It really isn't simple. Humans are host to multiple microbial biomes. Why is not understood, but younger people are more biologically active. Hormones are certainly involved, but with smells the bacteria and yeasts living on the skin and in the lungs contribute the most to odor.
Re: Do older people have a different smell?
#10[dead]