I saw an article in Real Simple magazine that got my attention. First, you may be asking, “Why do you read a magazine called Real Simple?” Well, I can relate to that. I would not be interested in a magazine called, “Very Complicated” or “Over Your Head.”
Anyway, the headline of the article was “Old Person Smell is Real! What You Can Do About It.”
My first reaction was to move on to something more relevant. Although the number of candles on my most recent birthday cake was quite alarming, no actual alarms were activated. Plus, my friends and family members haven’t wilted in my presence, so my aroma must not be too repelling. How could I be accused of having an old person smell?
It did make me stop and think, though. I remember a distinctive aura from my grandparents’ house. Many times, it was the inviting fragrance of fried chicken or a freshly baked apple pie. Those were the holiday gathering scents. But on a routine visit, it was a bit stuffy, dominated by old furniture in an old house.
Later, as my parents got older, I would detect a similar vibe from their house. The shag carpet had long outlived its “new” smell, and I would open a few windows to air the house out.
The best test, I’m told, is to give your house a fresh sniff after being away for a few days. After a recent vacation, I entered my home as a visitor would. Yikes. I had officially entered my Old Person Smell era.
You can stave off the stale odor by burning some candles, but that’s not a fix. And perhaps some of my clothes, especially T-shirts and jackets dating back to my early days in radio, need to go. I’ve saved them in drawers and closets for decades hoping they would be on exhibit in my Presidential museum. I’m starting to think that ship may have sailed.
Yet, the magazine article informed me that my vintage clothing, musty book collection, and well-worn sheets may not be the major culprit. It might actually be me.
A dermatologist says it is not a hygiene issue (thank goodness). It’s a natural biological change that can occur around age 40. Uh-oh, that was a long time ago. Dr. Shereene Idriss says is called “2-nonenal,” which was first identified in human body odor in 2001, among people 40 and older.
The odor isn’t caused by sweat, which fits my lazy lifestyle. The doctor compares the scent to “slept-in bedsheets, where dead skin cells, sweat, and skin oils collect and react with oxygen over time.” In other words, I can’t help it. Or can I?
Dr. Idriss says the first place to combat the old person smell is behind your ears, an area that is not considered a top priority by many. We’ve seen many a commercial with handsome young men and beautiful young women enjoying a glorious shower with the latest bar soap or body wash. The guys are lathering up their chests, and the ladies are smiling in the glow of their freshly washed faces. Nobody’s giving the rear of their ears a good scrub-down. She calls that area, “the perfect odor trap.”
She even recommends a post-washing and rinsing routine. She says, “Gently swipe a cotton swab along the folds and skin behind your ears to remove lingering buildup.” At last, my house will smell better!
Not so fast. She also advises washing your sheets, well, more often than you do now. She says, “Skin oils and odor compounds can transfer to fabric and linger. That may explain why the scent sometimes seems to permeate a room or home.”
And, according to the doctor, don’t even dream of thinking you can mask these odors by slathering on more deodorant. She says that may temporarily mask the scent, but it doesn’t address the oxidized skin oils contributing to it.
Just think. All those times my mother told me to “wash behind your ears,” I should have paid more attention. But like so many other great pieces of advice, it went in one ear, and out the other.
