I have a friend from my old working days at ODD (Office of Disability Determinations) and yes the people who work there are kind of odd (except me of course). Anyway he is an older guy in his 70"s, a doctor, very nice except for one thing-he had an odor problem. Anyway, I kind of adopted him when he retired. He is legally blind, and occasionally I would pick him up and take him to the doctor or run some errands. In return, we would go out to eat after and have a couple of drinks. This last time while we were on our way to a restaurant, I got a phone call from a friend asking me to go to a movie preview. I looked at my watch, figured I would have enough time and we agreed that she would pick me up at my house at a certain time. We were on our way back to his house and I know we were running late, but my friend usually runs late, so I wasn't to worried. Anyway, my husband called and told me she was there (on time-which was unusual) and I asked him if he would run my friend home and then I wouldn't be so late. My husband agreed and my friend agreed to wait for me.

Okay, I know this is long, but bear with me. When I got home, my husband was pretty agitated. First of all, my friend had a hard time giving him directions to his house because of his vision problems so it took a while. But this is what really got him, apparently he smelled really bad. I had know idea!
I never noticed it at all. I profusely apologized and the next day looked it up and found out that it's a symptom of MS. Not a bad one for me, but definitely it is for others who are with you!! Who would've thunk.

Anybody out there have this problem????

Doxie

I think I have an opposite problem. My nose seems to be overly sensitive to smells. Not a bad thing if I'm in a chocolate store, but a bad thing if I'm near a landfill.

Me too! I am overly sensitive to smells. Let the waitress with a splash of colonge wait on me, and I am suffering by the time the check comes. I seem to have gone into hyper sensitive drive when it comes to odors.

it may just be that you have grown used to this person, and over look it because you care. It was nice of the hubby to drive them home, and next time you need him, he will take some cologne of his own.

you are a good egg to be so helpful.

I find that some people just have a natural smell about them that is offensive to my nose. I tend to avoid said individuals in confined locations, like elevators or cars.

Perhaps this is a natural body odor that doesn't phase you but others pick up?

I tend to keep candy tucked in my pocket, or those strong cough drop things. it really works when you are really trapped with others that either bathed in colonge, or forgot to bathe at all. pop in a peice of peppermint, or that hallsmentholypus stuff, and it overwhelms my sense of smell long enough for me to survive.

As the years passed, and MS decided to settle in, mine got worse. Esp after stopping smoking. As a paramedic/nurse, trust me, I was exposed to some pretty bad odors, but after I quit and wasnt exposed to them all the time, my tolerance level dropped way down!

There are just some folks that no matter how much they bathe, have an odor. Whether its that they are missing some parts (a dirty crack will carry a tremendous odor) or they are not washing their clothes before rewearing them, and the clothing is the offense. in some cases, we will never know. Does this man need help with laundry? I know if I hug some of the old ladies at church, I have to hang my sweater outside for days and days to air off the perfume smells. I have learned to not wear my fancy dry clean only stuff to some events.

I went to High School with a girl who had a disorder and while she was clean, it created an odors, might seem like BO but was a medical problem. I can still smell it if I think hard enough (smell memories are strong).
High school kids being HS kids and fact she was heavy and not very cute, sure HS years were a torture for her.
Everyone knew she had a disorder but weren't very nice. Not direct teasing but totally ignoring her.

Are you saying that, PwMS have an odor about them, or are not sensitive to smells?

Doxiemama is saying that some people with MS have anosmia which is an inability to be able to smell.

There are times when I wish I had anosmia. But I've got the opposite problem. My nose is extremely sensitive. I was in a grocery store yesterday and was being made ill by the smell of the seafood (I could smell it everywhere in the store...my parents either couldnt smell it, or didnt think it was very strong) I also could smell a bunch of different perfume smells on people walking past. Bad enough that when mixed with the smell of the seafood that I wanted to be ill. It triggered some vertigo in me (I think...that could have been caused by the lights too)


On the way home, I stopped for gasoline. I swear I can still smell it on my hands, and I've washed them a couple of times, and I've thrown the clothes I was wearing into the washing machine. I can still smell the gasoline.

At least the smell of gasoline doesnt bother me as much as a perfume or seafood.