32 pointsby bookofjoe3 hours ago8 comments
  • bookofjoe21 minutes ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Nonenal

    >2-Nonenal Newly Found in Human Body Odor Tends to Increase with Aging [2001]

    From the paper's abstract: "2-Nonenal, an unsaturated aldehyde with an unpleasant greasy and grassy odor, was detected only in older subjects (40 y or older).

    https://www.jidonline.org/article/S0022-202X(15)41198-4/full...

    The fact that it's been 25 years since the causative chemical with a "unpleasant greasy and grassy odor" was discovered and yet there's still no counteracting substance available is very surprising.

  • comrade12342 hours ago
    I think there's probably more going on than that one chemical. For example, if I don't go jogging for a week and then go for a run my shirt later after it dries smells like urine. I looked up why and it's because urea builds up in your skin and is excreted with sweat. Maybe this fact just made me paranoid but I swear that I can smell a urea smell on my skin when I don't exercise regularly.

    I imagine elderly people aren't out sweating regularly.

    • LogicFailsMean hour ago
      I get exactly the same thing. It crept up on me over the past decade of a life where people commented I had to little to no actual distinctive smell, and alas, now I do. What will really make it come out is if I have 2 or more alcoholic drinks the day/night before. The smell reminds me of a friend/coworker from the '90s who didn't bathe regularly and P U.

      Daily sweaty cardio is more than enough to control it for me as well. But if you can't, deodorants like Lume cover it up and as others have posted and there are soaps that work better on it than others. I occasionally put all my athletic clothing through a hot wash myself because as someone once said on BlueSky, all clothing is washer-safe if you don't care what happens to it.

      • somehnguy19 minutes ago
        Something that made a night and day difference to all my athletic clothing is adding laundry sanitizer to the wash load.

        We noticed our running clothes developing this very strong sickly sweet/sweaty smell and it would not go away. Spent time deep cleaning the washer and dryer to no avail.

        We now add Lysol laundry sanitizer (just 1 cap, not the recommended 2) to every wash load and the smell completely went away instantly.

        I still don't know why all the clothing suddenly developed that smell - I went my whole life without needing to do anything special to my athletic clothes until then.

  • whacked_new43 minutes ago
    I guess there's going to be a perfume that breaks down 2-noneal on the market soon.

    Tangentially, in my 20s I was in an audience seating and sat next to an old person. And I smelled a new kind of odor. It was displeasing, but not like body odor. I quickly realized it's an old person smell. It really just makes you think "old person". I assume there's some biological wiring in there.

  • chomp9 minutes ago
    > “It’s just a natural byproduct of skin ageing – not dirt, not poor hygiene,” Javid says.

    Did Javid really say this

  • sajithdilshan2 hours ago
    Interesting, I thought it's just individual perception. Never knew there is actually a chemical compound behind it that affects everyone.
  • dominotw2 hours ago
    any tips on how to get over this. i live with my mom and she has this smell now.
    • alchemist1e92 hours ago
      2-3 times per week shower and lather fully with persimmon extract soap. Plus wash clothes with a “sport”/“activewear” laundry detergent on extra heavy cycle, like Persil Activewear. And yes the soaps and detergents that are effective on nonenal are more expensive.
      • bookofjoe7 minutes ago
        Washing and rinsing in hot rather than cold water helps.
      • fhdkweig36 minutes ago
        I interpret that question as "what can I do to stop smelling it, because she is old, stubborn, and is never going to change anything she does and will smell like this 'til the day she dies?"

        I have a mother that is a Type-2 diabetic because for decades she refused to eat right or exercise like the doctors told her. She has tracked down every medication known to man to treat the symptoms just so that she doesn't have to give up junk food. And she will never change.

        • estearum22 minutes ago
          Has she tried GLPs?

          They pretty directly attack the desire to have junk food. Absolutely incredible drugs.

          • fhdkweig7 minutes ago
            She is on GLPs, still only eats junk food.
      • dominotw17 minutes ago
        article seems to suggest parsimmon doesnt seem to help. but no harm in trying i guess.
  • redsocksfan452 hours ago
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