Contents
Why does a person smell change with age and become unpleasant?
And, most importantly, what to do with it?
We are all not getting younger. We grow old on the outside, we grow old on the inside. These physiological processes change the quality of our life, and our abilities, and even our smells. Have you noticed that grandparents’ houses smell differently? And that the old people themselves, even beloved ones, do not smell very pleasant. Where does this smell come from and can you do something about it?
Is it personal hygiene?
Many people associate senile smell with a lack of proper and regular hygiene. This is not always the case, but it also happens. Indeed, older people have poor vision and often do not notice dirty hands and clothes. They are less likely to go out to people, often and sit at home for a long time at the TV, which reduces the need to tidy themselves up every day. In addition, it becomes more difficult to get into the bath, and many are simply afraid of slipping, falling, breaking something, because the bones are no longer so strong. It is easier to wipe off with a damp towel or to partially bathe in a basin. Hence the unpleasant smell. It turns out that regular bath procedures are the key to a pleasant smell.
Aging of the body is the reason for the appearance of odor
In older people, the body does not work as well as in youth. In particular, the work of both the sebaceous and sweat glands changes. Over the years, they produce more aldehyde, a substance called 2-nonenal, which gives a person a specific smell. At the moment, there are no magical cosmetic or other procedures that would help to stop the appearance of this smell of old age.
Poor organ performance is another reason for bad odor
This applies to the organs of the excretory system: the kidneys and urinary tract, which over the years do their job of removing toxic substances worse, so toxins enter the bloodstream and are excreted through the skin. Hence the characteristic smells. Plus, older people know firsthand about constipation and diarrhea, they drink a lot of drugs that plant the digestive tract and create more and more new problems.
By the way, about medicines. They can also affect the smell of a person, not just an elderly person. And old people, as you know, get sick more often and for a longer time, therefore, medications are taken more often. The excretory system simply cannot cope with such loads and gives up part of its properties to the skin, through which the decomposition products of drugs are excreted. All together gives the effect of changing the normal smell to a specific one.
Household habits as the cause of the appearance of a specific smell
Have you noticed that old people are often engaged in hoarding? They drag unnecessary things into the house, collect trash for years, do not get rid of it … All this old stuff goes out in cupboards and on shelves, giving the house an unpleasant smell. The same story is with carpets and rugs, which for centuries have been passed from one to another and have never been dry-cleaned (but for many years they have absorbed a variety of aromas). Everything would be fine, but, being afraid of drafts, the old people rarely ventilate their homes, hence the musty smell, which is soaked through and through with grandmothers and grandfathers.
And in old age, old people do not care about fashion at all: they put on what they have, not considering it necessary to buy new clothes. And the things that they have are often very many years old. They, too, managed to absorb unpleasant home odors that cannot be washed. And washing is sometimes too difficult for older people.
Therefore, it is in our power to take care of the older members of the family: get rid of unnecessary things, buy new things, clean the houses, do the laundry and, if necessary, help to take a bath.