I was over weight by 100 pounds for over twenty years,my choice but even at my heavest weight of 310 pounds I never smelled! I was conscious of my size and always made sure that I did not smell. when I worked i brought a extra shirt with me in case I was to work up a sweat, I could change........

well to make a long story short Im at a store and these to large men smelled so bad you could not get twenty feet away from them, people were turning there heads and walking away. the smell almost felt like it was cutting your nose.

what do you say?

I've smelled these men (and women, too!). Unfortunately, they don't have to be overweight to smell bad. It's simply poor hygiene habits. I was in line in a grocery store behind one of these people, and was trapped there by the person behind me. When I got my first whiff of this person, it was ALL I could do to keep myself from gagging. I'll never understand why some people just don't care or don't know they should care about using soap and Water on a daily basis.

(---rabbit trail alert---) I have a family member who is this way, she thinks that showering is something to only be done once a week, and NEVER washes her hands. I can't stand to even THINK about eating anything she cooks. EEWWWW!

I smoke and have sinus trouble. This is very helpful with body odor. I can't smell much at all. When I was in beauty college years ago, they gave me a woman with terrible body odor. I couldn't smell a thing. Later, the other students asked me how I managed to do this woman's hair, but it was no problem for me. I quit smoking for a year about 14 years ago, and I noticed a lot of bad smells. I started smoking again, and the smells miraculously disappeared. Now I'm the one who smells due to smoking. People are pretty polite about it, but I know I smell. Too bad. I may smell bad to them,but no one smells bad to me except one student who apparently never took a bath. He smelled so bad that even I noticed it. He dropped out of school though, possibly because he smelled so bad that he was lonely. Baths are good.

Well here's my 2 cents. I have a friend...a dear friend whom has this very affliction. He is supersized and I assume is unable to get into the shower regularly.....probably over 500 at least. He has an intense odour...its the only way to put it! You can smell him coming a mile away. He tries to disguse the odour with perfumes....but that makes it worse. I know where you all are coming from....I too was always VERY conscious of my smell and NEVER had body odour...EVER! Its not important to everyone and that is there choice....but I think when it becomes offensive to others its time to fix the problem!! My 2 cents....POPT

I have said stuff to people about it, because I will just bite my tongue about a lot of things I'd really rather address... but having to smell someone else is not one of those things. I've said thing to people (a few times I've had to, many years ago I was a manager in a call center, and had to send people home on a near daily basis for hygience and dress code reasons.) I just won't do it. If I can't walk away, I will ask them to step back.

Ugh, I was on a flight the other week with a man who took his shoes off, and it was horrible. People six rows back were talking about smelling someone's feet. I told him he really needed to put his shoes back on. He refused, said he had athlete's foot and needed to air his feet out. There is no "just be nice" when it means you have to smell someone else. Uh uh, sorry.

I didn't even mention the times when you're in a meeting across the table from someome with halitosis, or someone who doesn't observe the 3 foot rule wants to say something breathy. Oh, geez. There have been times when I've gotten a whiff of someone's breath, and literally had to turn my head so they didn't see me gag.

I don't say anything - especially in a situation like a grocery store or mall.

I would tell a friend though - if only to save her from embarassment.

Of course my son has a bloodhound nose and is very sensitive to smells (he has high functioning autism). We were at the checkout lane and the man in front of us STUNK (he was not overweight - he just had atrocious hygeine)! Here goes my bloodhound sniffing all around "What is that smell Mommy?"

All of a sudden my little angel goes on point, raises his pointer finger and says very loudly "It is that MAN, it is that stinky MAN!! That STINKY MANY needs a bath Mommy" I almost swallowed my tongue from trying not to laugh (even though I was mortified)

To my friends.....AREN"T YOU GLAD I USE DIAL

I was over weight by 100 pounds for over twenty years,my choice but even at my heavest weight of 310 pounds I never smelled! I was conscious of my size and always made sure that I did not smell. when I worked i brought a extra shirt with me in case I was to work up a sweat, I could change........

well to make a long story short Im at a store and these to large men smelled so bad you could not get twenty feet away from them, people were turning there heads and walking away. the smell almost felt like it was cutting your nose.

what do you say?

You say nothing. Manners rules. If they were close friends then you might want to give them a FUNK ALERT but other than that. Pass.

Ugh, I was on a flight the other week with a man who took his shoes off, and it was horrible. People six rows back were talking about smelling someone's feet. I told him he really needed to put his shoes back on. He refused, said he had athlete's foot and needed to air his feet out. There is no "just be nice" when it means you have to smell someone else. Uh uh, sorry.

That's the WORST!!!! Same thing happened to me...you're TRAPPED in a little can with this gross smell!!!!!!! :girl_hug:

Yup. If you can get away from it, just leave. If you can't (and there are times where you can't), say something. Like I said - IMO - there is no "just be nice" when it comes to smelling someone else.

I've also said something when it's repeated. Where I worked about 5 years ago, the guy on the other side of the cube from me would fart all the time. At his cube. The bathroom was literally 10 steps away, but he wouldn't walk it, he would just sit there and fart - out loud. And it wasn't a medical condition, he just didn't care. At least per his account. And it would piss me off when I would be on a conference call, and then out of nowhere get a whiff of something that would - very literally - make me start gagging.

.... I can't smell much at all.... I quit smoking for a year about 14 years ago, and I noticed a lot of bad smells. I started smoking again, and the smells miraculously disappeared....

Yes, it's a terrible shame that there are so many more bad odors in the world than good ones. I have horrible sinus problems and after 12 sinus surgeries, my sense of smell is highly acute. My doc jokes that he's going to write me up in a medical journal because I shouldn't have any sense of smell after all the surgeries. Sometimes, I can't even tolerate going to a crowded venue because I can smell the natural oil on people's skin and it gets to be too much. A smoker, a person with BO or halitosis, or a person who bathes in perfume just about kills me. Airplanes are torture. And newspapers are as bad a cigarettes to me.

A dear friend of mine who has been battling obesity his whole life is currently on a liquid fasting diet. As a result, he's having a problem with BO -- something about being in ketosis makes your body release toxins that come out in your skin and breath. Fortunately, he's aware of it and is making every effort to quell it. But for the most part, I don't think fat people have any more of a problem with BO than skinny people. It's all about good hygiene.

The only problem I noticed while fat that I didn't have while thin was the sweat in the skin folds. My pannus hung, and the fold between it and my abdomen was a problem area for me. Even with daily and sometimes twice daily washing, I would sweat there - and I'm not a sweater. But the skin there is in constant friction, a very warm place, and once it got moist there was no way for it to dry out. AFAIK it never got to the point where other people could smell it, but if I lifted the pannus up, there was no doubting whether or not it had been sweaty.

BTW, if anyone else has that problem, I fixed it by swiping my deodorant under my stomach. Not only did it take care of any odor, it also lubricated the skin (I use Dove, which is silkier than other brands) and I stopped getting the friction rashes.

I still have a pannus, though it's greatly deflated and reduced in size, but I still do the deodorant thing every morning after my shower. I just feel better for having done it. I probably don't need to do it anymore, but it doesn't hurt me, and hey - better safe than sorry.

The only problem I noticed while fat that I didn't have while thin was the sweat in the skin folds. My pannus hung, and the fold between it and my abdomen was a problem area for me.....BTW, if anyone else has that problem, I fixed it by swiping my deodorant under my stomach.

I do the same thing on my feet. I swipe a little deodorant on the soles, and, voilà, no more sweaty feet or stinky shoes.

The only problem I noticed while fat that I didn't have while thin was the sweat in the skin folds. My pannus hung, and the fold between it and my abdomen was a problem area for me. Even with daily and sometimes twice daily washing, I would sweat there - and I'm not a sweater. But the skin there is in constant friction, a very warm place, and once it got moist there was no way for it to dry out. AFAIK it never got to the point where other people could smell it, but if I lifted the pannus up, there was no doubting whether or not it had been sweaty.

BTW, if anyone else has that problem, I fixed it by swiping my deodorant under my stomach. Not only did it take care of any odor, it also lubricated the skin (I use Dove, which is silkier than other brands) and I stopped getting the friction rashes.

i have the same issue w/ my pannus. i could shower 2-3 times a day and still I could smell it and that was one person too many. i finally got in the habit of making absolute 100% sure it was totally dry after a shower and then sometimes on hot days when i knew i would be walking / moving a lot, i put a hand towel underneath it. the towel 'soaks up' any of the moisture and works perfectly!

I had to comment on the whole pannus thing... I ummmm dont laugh but I use my blow dryer in several areas that seem to sweat. Then I lightly powder and am fine. I find that the blow dryer is way better than drying with a towel.