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The story
An Asahi Shimbun article about people who suffer from the conviction that they smell bad drew a wave of responses on 5ch’s News Express+ board. The piece is based on an interview with Professor Kenji Shimizu of Hiroshima International University and examines the psychology behind believing “I smell” even when there’s little to no actual odor. The thread quickly filled with personal stories about age-related body odor and sweat smells, along with tips on laundry tricks and antiperspirants — but pointed remarks that “you can’t smell your own odor” and jabs at other people’s body odor soon took over, turning what should have been a serious topic into a free-for-all about who stinks.
Posted 9/6 (Sun) 8:30 AM
Asahi Shimbun
Our bodies give off odors. Even when there’s actually no smell — or only a faint one — some people become convinced “I smell bad” and suffer deeply over it. How should those affected, and the people around them, deal with this? We spoke with Kenji Shimizu, a professor at Hiroshima International University specializing in clinical psychology.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
You're bald, aren't you?!
Must be nice, filling up pages with junk articles like this.
Even if you say "I keep it under control, I'm not smelly," physically you still have apocrine glands.
To put it in terms everyone can picture: it's like puff pastry.
But well… most Japanese people have the dry, flaky earwax type, so if yours is wet…
I'm the daughter of an ENT doctor, so take this as one rough guideline, for what it's worth.
My earwax isn't wet, but my armpits still stink.
Can they really not notice it themselves?
Nope, you really can't.
You think 'ugh, this smells' when you put the clothes on, but only in that moment.
Just taking a bath at night isn't enough — night sweats will make age-related body odor smell plenty bad.
My parent suddenly started smelling without changing anything else in their routine.
I used to think 'don't wash it together with Dad's laundry!' was harsh on him, but
it turns out body odor really does transfer onto clothes.
I never imagined that even with detergent and a washing machine, body odor could still transfer like that.
What era are you living in?
The cause of the smell has already been figured out —
just use antibacterial detergent, body soap, and antiperspirant.
You should always add one cap of oxygen bleach to your laundry.
I recommend the liquid OxiClean.
And hardly anyone will tell you to your face either.
You guys reek.
I think Mom's the only one who'll actually tell you.
Mom is the safety net.
Brush your teeth properly, and in the bath, take your time really scrubbing behind your ears, the back of your neck, armpits, groin, hip area, and soles of your feet.
Still not enough.
Even guys should always wipe the tip after using the toilet.
Guess deodorant technology has really improved.
If there's a smell, it might be the clothes.
Once in a while you get someone giving off that damp-laundry odor.
I soak everything in OxiClean and always dry it in the dryer.
I clean the washing machine often too.
No matter what I do, it still smells.
No way ((´・ω・｀))9m
That's probably some kind of armpit-odor (wakiga) thing.
Bacteria left behind from sweat means that sweet-sour smell comes right back even after washing.
For that, soak the clothes in hot water before washing and the smell disappears.
The more pointless someone is, the more they tend to think that way.
Gum disease.
Their teeth are rotting.
A smell that's different from normal bad breath
is more likely to mean stomach cancer or a stomach ulcer.
If they're actually taking proper care of their teeth,
it might just be a dry mouth.
Drinking a little tea can be enough to make the smell go away.
The smell was like dried-up saliva, so I told her to drink water — turned out it was actually the smell of her period.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Olfactory reference syndrome (fear of one’s own body odor) is a condition in which someone becomes strongly convinced they smell bad — despite having little or no actual odor — to the point that it disrupts their relationships with others; it has been linked to perfectionist personality traits and strong social anxiety. The original article is an expert interview focused on this psychological angle, but the thread’s focus drifted, centering instead on coping tips and personal anecdotes about people who genuinely do smell. While plenty of advice piled up about improving age-related odor and damp-laundry smell through laundry techniques and antiperspirants, neither the article nor the thread spent much time on the fact that armpit odor (wakiga) is largely genetic and often can’t be solved through personal effort alone. The point that “it’s hard to notice your own smell” is considered medically valid, and the fact that people around you rarely point it out directly is thought to be one reason the anxiety drags on for those affected.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread ““Do I Smell?” Why Perfectionists Can’t Stop Worrying About Their Own Body Odor — and How to Cope.”
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