Embarrassing subject -for Adults only -maybe TMI

[Eileen2345]

THIS MAY BE TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR SOME PEOPLE.
If I offend anyone with this information, I apologize.

This is for ADULTS ONLY to read -- please.

This is an very embarrassing thing for me to say, but I want to mention it because at the time I did not know why this was happening to me and now I think I know and I wanted to inform others just in case.

Okay, here it goes........

First let me say that I am a very clean person, I shower twice a day and I use deodorant and powders and such everyday.

About 6 months ago I started to notice that I had a strange body odor, it was different than regular body odor or BO. I noticed that I did not smell for a while after I showered or washed, but then the odor would come back.

(Whenever my husband and I would get together, if you know what I mean, I would shower first and use feminine products )

I was so self-conscious and embarrassed to go anywhere, it was awful and I did not know why ---
BUT --

Then I got the home oxygen -- I no longer have that strange body odor.
I have been using my oxygen for about 5 days now and I don't smell and my breath is better too (I was always chewing gum, because I always had a bad taste in my mouth).

I use my oxygen concentrator for about 4 to 5 hours a day at 3 liters.

I think it is because of the heart failure. I think there was not enough oxygen getting to my vital organs and that resulted in this embarrassing thing to happen.

I wanted to mention this just in case someone you know is experiencing this.

Like I said this is very embarrassing for me to talk about. I don't expect any responses or replies.
It is amazing what oxygen can do.

Humbly,
Eileen

[mtlieb]

It's quite normal... don't be embarrassed in the slightest.

[Eileen2345]

I should say that it is fine with me if anyone responds to this, I don't mind talking about it, it's just that it is kinda gross -- but it happened to me.

Basically, I stunk and now I don't because of the oxygen.

Edited to say: Thank you Jim for your response. I had no idea that could happen.

[Largehearted]

Eileen.

Thanks for your candor. My first wife died of lung cancer. She too had an odor about her that was somehow related to what she was going through. I do not recall that odor being present after we used oxygen. I never put that together. Thanks for sharing.

Peace,

Leon

[Reenie]

Eileen, you're a very strong person to be able to talk about this. I think that your experiences can help others. I applaud your candor and thank you for talking about your situation.

Reenie

[Burton Borrok]

OK Folks,
Let me just send this out to everybody in general.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to bodily functions and normal odors. I expect this is one of the first things that prospective doctors and nurses have to learn.

As I see it, we have all been made oversensitive by commercials selling personal care products – (I still remember the commercial about, “How do you tell him/her that they have BO” – which of course stands for body odor.

What I find exceedingly more offensive is somebody (used to be mostly women but now includes men) who use gallons of the most offensive perfumes. (Perfumes were invented by the way to mask men’s body odor, since almost nobody ever bathed in those days. It was considered to be dangerous to your health.) While we are on this divergent path, I remember around World War II when bathing was done on Saturday night before going out on a date. Men would wear the same white shirts to work two, three, four and five days straight. Subways were impossible in the summers – before any air conditioning. Garlic was considered healthy and a germ preventative, so people even wore cloves of it on strings around their necks.

OK, back to perfumes and men’s scents now-a-days. I have been driven off elevators, subways, waiting rooms, and the like. In restaurants I’ve had to move my seat to avoid the terrible stench of some of these nose dead people. It even made my eyes water. Talk about being embarrassed by normal biological odors – what about the terrible stench imposed on others by people who must buy these scents at a dollar a gallon and feel they have to apply another quart of the stuff every half hour for it to be effective.

I am supersensitive to these odoriferous creatures – I suspect it is an effect of my hyperlipidemia – but those are the people I find by far the most offensive when it comes to odors. I can’t understand why people inflict themselves on others in such a fashion.
Burt

[mtlieb]

Eileen,

To address your original post, i believe it has something to do with the presence of bacteria and other microorganisms that can live in and take advantage of an anaerobic environment. More specifically, when our bodies are trying to fight a disease, especially something as central to it's proper functioning as our hearts... it tends to throw the entire body's mechanisms out of whack. Oxygenated blood doesn't always get to the tissues it needs to, fluids build up, our waste-disposing organs don't do their jobs quite as well, and body odor can be just one result of that. Sick people don't always smell so good, and in a way it's a good thing. It means that our bodies are trying their best to rid itself of harmful toxins that build up in our tissues and bloodstream as a result of the disease.

Take care,

Jim