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Do older people have a different smell?

nytimes.com

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Re: Do older people have a different smell?

#11

Post by lonelappde »

dredmorbius wrote: post #4

Babies 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,…

Swimming seems a special case because that's a clearly foreign substance attached to the body.

More interesting are cases where the lifestyle causes smellable long-term changes to body chemistry that can't be cleaned off.

Re: Do older people have a different smell?

#12

Post by r0ze-at-hn »

reneherse wrote: post #6
_wbux wrote: post #3

As 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?

Smells for me are sphere like with usually one color, but occasionally a gradient between two or three. But the big difference is the texture or peaks and valleys on the shape.

Re: Do older people have a different smell?

#13

Post by jraph »

I wonder if part of the answer is different habits with respect to perfumes, soaps, and also in how homes are furnished, decorated, maintained and what products are used (cleaning, detergent). And smoking, too.

I could tell a friend had just left their home from the odor when they lived at a particular place¹, and sometimes, I can tell if some item of clothing has been left at some place (not that I'm special at that).

The odor the author of the article could smell at her place after renting it for a month could have been a (mix of) perfume(s) their guests used.

Obviously, people have their own odor on top of (or under, more accurately?) that.

¹ in a forest ­-- no, I'm joking.

Re: Do older people have a different smell?

#16

Post by salawat »

r0ze-at-hn wrote: post #12
reneherse wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating. Could you describe what some different smells look like to you?

Smells for me are sphere like with usually one color, but occasionally a gradient between two or three. But the big difference is the texture or peaks and valleys on the shape.

Is it overlaid on your visual field, or more of a parallel mental construct?

Also, are there any particularly noteworthy smells in terms of representation?

I have to admit, the idea of a visual artifact for smells is amazing!

Re: Do older people have a different smell?

#17

Post by dredmorbius »

lonelappde wrote: post #11
dredmorbius wrote: post #4

Babies 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,…

Swimming seems a special case because that's a clearly foreign substance attached to the body. More interesting are cases where the lifestyle causes smellable long-term changes to body chemistry that can't be cleaned off.

True, though the odor persists for days.

Technically, althlete odors generally are foreign substances / interactions, at least in part.

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