What causes the distinct "old man smell" that most elderly men aquire?

Question

This smell is very similar in many elderly men. Is there a condition causing this odor? Do certain foods make you smell this way in older men? Can it be prevented?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I think its possibly a chemical change that may occur in our bodies composition and thus emits an odor of decay (not in the bad way) but we are getting old. It probably also has something to do with the type of supplements and medications we have to take at an older age and the way that finally comes out of our pores. Finally, I think as we get older we get less concerned with the perfumated products that will utilize when we are younger and old people may in fact just smell like a normal person would smell like without all the stuff. So in conclusion, it's probably a mixture of what I just said.

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Asker's Comment:

thanks

Answer 2

Urine, booze and "old spice" (possibly brillcream)

Answer 3

age........and cleanliness

Answer 4

I thought it was from not showering or bathing and urine filled diapers.

Answer 5

I've worked in a nursing home for three years. The smell comes from lack of hygiene and decomposition, best I can tell.

Answer 6

mine comes from years of eatting beans

Answer 7

idk. i've always wonderd that maybe its a medicine or something.

Answer 8

they dont shake it after they pee.

Answer 9

They get pee in their pants and don't wash them.

Answer 10

I'm thinking it's the smell of their lotion and the heat in the room mixing together.

And their love of moth balls for their clothes.

Answer 11

They are forgetful, and leave bits of food in their pockets.

Answer 12

I know old men who bathe and they have no old man smell. Then there are the ones who don't adequately bathe.......

Answer 13

The older the man, the less sophisticated the cologne . . . Plus, taking a full, complete shower or bath-tub bathing seems to decrease in it's occurrences as the elderly age . . . Even then, when they do, they don't do it all the way properly.

Answer 14

Their are two types of odor: body odor and clothes odor. Both need to be clean.

If it's not the telltale onion or urine odor from body odor, then it's probably unclean clothes. Wash the clothes.

Answer 15

Their clothes are old.
They are drying out.
Probably not as clean. & just don't care!
i never really thought of that?!
Why do old people smell old? Good question.

Answer 16

It is just their caecass slowly rotting !

Answer 17

Old Spice?

Seriously though ...
-not washing clothes daily, medications, old fashioned cologne and most of all, a house full of old stuff that isn't cleaned regularly.

The thing is .... Don't you miss the way your grandfather used to smell? Mine smelled like a pipe. I still love that smell.

Answer 18

the lack of bathing causes that smell.

solution: bathe yourself


old people bathe less as they age.. dunno why, they just do!

Answer 19

Garlic.

Answer 20

moth balls they place in their closets gets on their clothing, bad breathe from rotted teeth, garlic they take for what ails them and cheap after shave lotion

Answer 21

CHRIST wht the hell are these ppl talking about?????old ppl not cleaning themselves....s hitting their pants and peeing but not shaking...our youth is rotting away....Some of the cleanest most respectable people I know are old....go to church /place of religious beliefs regularly and WASH them selves more often than NFL players.....don't JUDGE and don't HATE!!!!...they don't put colonge and all sorts of greasy s hitt that we put on ourselves and think we are so cool....

Answer 22

Decomposition!

Answer 23

the smell of old people is caused by decomposition. see as you get older, your insides decompose faster than your outsides so what your smelling is old people slowly dying, either that or they like cheap chologne

Source(s):

my friend said this, not me so if you want to hate somebody hate her... she is crazykid candy she allows e-mail