Incontinence and Use of Medication Can Cause OdorĪs people age, the structure of the aging bladder and urethra undergo physiological change, which causes the bladder to weaken. When hygiene practices are poor, body odor increases. When it’s hard to get up and move, following a regular hygiene regimen can be challenging, painful, and even risky. Unfortunately, as people begin to age, sometimes it’s more challenging to get around. To shower every few days, wash and dry your hair at least once a week, wash your hands adequately, and scrub all those 2,000 parts, you have to be able to move well. Good hygiene takes work and requires mobility. If you take the time to wash your body regularly, you smell better. When you don’t practice healthy hygiene habits, sweat mixes with bacteria and causes an unpleasant smell. If you’ve ever gone camping for a week with no way to wash your body, you’ll know what I mean. Yes, hormonal changes and bacteria contribute to natural body odor, but hygiene does too. Since bacteria and hormones change as you age, so does the way you smell. All you need is a nose and an understanding that the bacteria on the skin break down the naturally-secreted molecules that live in sweat. Interestingly enough, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and IBM created a machine-learning tool that can guess your age within four years, based on the microbe populations that live on your skin.īut, you don’t need machine learning to understand that people of different ages smell differently. These bacterial changes also affect, you guessed it, body odor. Just as the compounds in your body change with time, so do the bacteria that live on your skin. The Bacteria on Your Skin Change with Age Anyone undergoing significant physiological changes like this will also need a deodorant that addresses the actual causeof odor. It’s normal for people of all ages to smell differently. This is one of the reasons older people have a distinct type of body odor. So far, research shows that 2-nonenal only exists in people over the age of 40, and the levels seem to increase with age. The result is 2-nonenal, a chemical compound with a distinct smell. Older people will start to break down omega-7 unsaturated fatty acids.
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These hormonal changes cause various chemical reactions that lead to an increase in sweat, which results in body odor changes and an increased need for deodorant.Īs people age, our bodies continue to change, experience different hormonal fluctuations, and break down different chemical compounds. Humans experience other significant hormonal changes during menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, for example. All this said, showering regularly will help! Kids going through a normal pubescent phase will start to smell and need deodorant. Instead, it has everything to do with hormones. These chemical reactions are bound to raise a stink no matter how often a kid bathes.
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Hormonal changes activate the apocrine sweat glands, and kids start to experience increased sweat and underarm body odor. When kids hit puberty, their body goes through a series of hormonal changes. Everyone is familiar with the tween/teenager smell (we’ve all been there). While it’s true that some types of body odor are the result of poor hygiene, this isn’t always the case.Ĭhanges in body odor are also often the direct result of hormonal changes and the body breaking down chemical compounds.įor context, let’s start with puberty. This post will address the top reasons why people smell differently as they get older, and what to do about it.Ĭhemicals Break Down with Hormonal Changes as Humans Age There is a plethora of scientific research that shows people have different odors as they undergo regular physiological, hormonal, and chemical changes throughout the various phases of life. My husband can’t smell any of these smells (well, maybe the basketball team), but it turns out I’m not crazy.
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I can also smell the various distinct human smells–the delightful newborn smell, the strong smell of a high school basketball team (who can’t?), and the sweet smell of my grandparents. Still, I’m not too fond of the smell of garlic and forbid my husband from eating it (I know, rude). When I was pregnant, I could smell a clove of garlic in the crisper with the refrigerator door closed from the other room.