This May Be Offensive To Many

[chinthee]

In the now running China thread, someone mentioned "I am regularly in China, few weeks at a time. In general the women there are quite on the nose ( shanghai ) and i have a very bad sense of smell."

Having personally spent years in China I don't agree with that generally, but also having traveled Asia extensively, I was wondering who agrees with me on these generalisations (not counting laborers you may be walking behind):

Least offensive: Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan: rarely encounter body odor

Sometimes offensive: Vietnam, China, Taiwan

Most offensive: Malaysia: often body odor

Who else has experience in these or other countries? How would you rate them, and importantly, how would you rate foreigners compared to locals. Thais I know complain that Eastern Europeans and those from South Asia and the Middle East smell the worst, and often complain that there are many more Farangs in general who smell bad compared to locals.

Hope this thread doesn't descend into a foul-smelling affair that results in being deodorized by the mods.

[eek]

The only thing i know about body odor is that if you eat certain foods you give off more odor. A person who has a more vegan diet is less odourous (sp?) than one who has say a high dairy diet. That way if you do sweat, dont have an opportunity to wash and clean up quickly then the sweat when dry will not give off a bad (or much of a) bad odor.

So, it may well be down to the national diet that makes one country smellier than another.

Western diet can be pretty fowl at times, loaded with all sorts. I have been told that westerners smell in general badly to people such as the Japanese (although i have no idea if true).

As i am a veggie who rarely eats dairy i would like to think im in the low bad body odor smell making catagory

[Crossy]

The only thing i know about body odor is that if you eat certain foods you give off more odor. A person who has a more vegan diet is less odourous (sp?) than one who has say a high dairy diet.

I agree on the food thing, BUT, the Indian diet is high in veggies and IMHO they are by far the most odorous nation (particularly Delhi) I've ever been to, my driver in Delhi was unbearable some days (even in the morning)

As i am a veggie who rarely eats dairy i would like to think im in the low bad body odor smell making catagory

Unfortunately it will take your very best friend to dispel this belief I have been that best friend (drew the short straw), not a pleasant experience.

Edited June 24, 2007 by Crossy

[tijnebijn]

I find Indians very smelly . Probably their curries . Also Turkish and Africans not paticular their body body ogur but their aftershaves etc ,they put on to many and that in particular I really find irritable.

From experience ,farang smell much worse then asians ,much much worse .

Although Chinese , seem to smell bad from their mouths ,also food . Asian food sticks much more in the teeth then western food does , and can get very smelly , and not forgetting the food smells from the stomach .

[Sing_Sling]

Indians and East Europeans . . . (we are talking generalities, right?!)

[WaiWai]

The Aging-Body Odors-Part XIII

We received the following email from one of our viewers of www.therubins.com site:

"Can you possibly tell me what the reasons might be for an elderly person to have a particular odor? It's hard to describe...a strong odor...an 'old' smell... not typical bad breath or unclean body smell ... it's just different. I've been told that people sometime begin to have an odor when they are elderly. I am concerned about an elderly relative and need advice if you can help me. Should I be alarmed by this?"

(Co-editor Harold Rubin's response) There would appear to be many different odors associated with the elderly or for that matter, humans in general. The primary source of these odors is poor hygiene, the infrequency of washing oneself, allowing malodorous bacteria to flourish. . During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church discouraged bathing, as it was a "pagan" custom and many times involved communal baths and public nudity. Over the centuries, being clean was associated with catching diseases, as body filth was associated with providing a protective layer against "vapours". Most Europeans at that time bathed only once or twice a year.

Another cause of odor is urinary leakage. Urinary incontinence is a not infrequent problem of the elderly, particularly prevalent among older women. Over 60% of women over 65 years of age are prone to urinary tract infections, with its own particular odor associated with the content of the urine.

Halitosis (bad breath) is not uncommon as people age. An estimated 70% of the elderly do not produce enough body saliva, not only because of aging, but also as a side effect of some of the common medications taken by the elderly. These medications include antidepressants, blood pressure medications, diuretics and sedatives. Saliva plays an important role in dealing with bacteria. With less saliva, malodor bacteria can thrive, causing bad breath. The medical term for reduced saliva is xerostomia. False teeth also allow odorous bacteria to thrive in the mouth. Hence the resulting bad breath.

The natural compounds released by the body also have their own odor. Bacteria are able to decompose a compound that is found in perspiration (sweating) called isovaloric acid. Isovaloric acid (also called Isopentanoic acid ) is a member of the series of fatty acids of colorless liquid with a penetrating aroma. The smell is associated with sweat and/or stinky feet and can be quite odorous. Sweating is the loss of watery fluid. This fluid consists of salt (sodium chloride) and urea, secreted by the sweat glands. Also in sweat are odorants of the methylphenol family. It is these different compounds that give sweat its bad name.

There are different types of sweat glands in the human body. Sweat itself is almost totally odorless. Body odor, more formally called bromhidrosis, is the smell of bacteria growing on the body. Sweat is the medium in which they thrive. Diet, genetics, health, medication, occupation and mood also influence body odor. Apocrine sweat glands produce sweat that contains fatty materials. These glands are mainly present in the armpits and around the genital area and their activity is the main cause of sweat odor, due to the bacteria that break down the organic compounds in the sweat from these glands. Emotional stress increases the production of sweat from the apocrine glands, or more precisely: the sweat already present in the tubule of the gland is squeezed out.

Apocrine sweat glands essentially serve as scent glands. East Asian people typically have markedly fewer of these glands compared to people of other ethnicities, which is why East Asian people generally do not emit such odors. (It is reported that 17th century Japanese described Westerners with the word bata-kusai, which means "stinks of butter".)

Other unique scents released by the body as result of bacteria decomposing sweat include nonenal, indole and skatole. The extent of these malodorous scents are related to changes associated with aging. A researcher at Shiseido Laboratories has traced the problem to a fatty acid known as palmitoleic acid -an unsaturated fatty acid that is a common constituent of the glycerides of human adipose tissue. He has also learned that the body of a person up to about the age of 30 does not secrete a noticeable amount of this substance, but that once a person--whether male or female hits 40, the volume rises sharply. The volume of palmitoleic acid released by the human body is 10 times as great among people in their seventies as in their forties.

(See: http://web-japan.org/trends00/honbun/tj990921.html)

Sebaceous glands (classified as holocrine glands), found in the skin, secrete an fatty oily substance called sebum that is made up of lipids (fat) and debris of dead fat-producing cells. The function of sebum is to prevent the skin from getting dry, cracked and brittle and to protect and waterproof the hair and skin. Sebum itself is odorless. It is because of sebum that hair gets "oily" after several days of not being washed. Sebum is also the dry stuff found in the corner of our eye after sleeping as well as part of earwax.

Skatole is a white crystalline organic compound, C9H9N, having a strong fecal odor. It is found naturally in feces, beets, and coal tar. Indole and skatole (IS) arise from bacterial degradation of tryptophan (trp) and can contribute significantly to the oral malodor "bouquet". Skatole is formed in the intestine by the bacterial decomposition of tryptophan and that has a strong fecal odor that can remain in the air for quite a while, similar to the way a skunk scent remains after the skunk has gone. This odor is a problem in fecal incontinent individuals or individuals with gastrointestinal difficulties that result in flatuence.

Lastly, you have a number of metabolic disorders that have their own distinctive odor. This has to be evaluated by a treating physician.

The take home message from this article is that body odor is a part of the human body, probably a vestige from the past when scent was an important defense for survival. Today, after ruling out all the typical reasons for "foul odor", a physician needs to be informed of the smell and investigate the causes of the scent.

What's offensive to one group may not be offensive to another. Asians sometimes dislike the smell of lamb/mutton and can detect the scent the following day on someone who has consumed it. Similarly dairy products. In some cultures people go to great lengths to avoid or remove the smell of garlic; in others it's not considered a problem.

And perhaps some differences are age-related .

[Zeid]

yes yes indians, curries, even though one would say thai eat curry but thai curry is fresh not powder like indians so there is no way that thai would smell like indians

so by far far far indians are the top of the list.

as for the middle-eastern, it is hard to believe since they cover themselves with tons of perfume, but living with them i can not agree more with thais some of them are really ....oooough.... actually they are the egyptians not Middle-Eastern north africans,

but again Indians.

[Zeid]

wai wai could not agree more with you

our national dish is lamb with rice and deyhdrated goat youghrt and my wife almost faints anytime hears the name

[kmart]

Western diet can be pretty fowl at times, loaded with all sorts. I have been told that westerners smell in general badly to people such as the Japanese (although i have no idea if true).

As i am a veggie who rarely eats dairy i would like to think im in the low bad body odor smell making catagory

The Japanese and Chinese used to perceive Westerners as being smelly due to eating a lot of dairy products. They have since adopted dairy stuff into their own diet due to lack of calcium and bone disorders affecting the national health.

India is a pretty sme.... pungent country, generally.

[technocracy]

Indian - well West Asia i.e. Pakistan, Indian etc. should all be lumped in this category!

Just for the record I've never smelt any odours from any Lao folks - even the worker on our house who have been grafting all day in the full sun didn't emit any!

I took my wife to Singapore not that long ago and we went into Little Indian and she couldn't stand it - particularly in the shops she had to go stand outside because of the smell!

But some Europeans and the Americans ain't the best smelling folk in the world either!

[chinthee]

yes yes indians, curries, even though one would say thai eat curry but thai curry is fresh not powder like indians so there is no way that thai would smell like indians

so by far far far indians are the top of the list.

as for the middle-eastern, it is hard to believe since they cover themselves with tons of perfume, but living with them i can not agree more with thais some of them are really ....oooough.... actually they are the egyptians not Middle-Eastern north africans,

but again Indians.

Yes, I have to agree with (Zed is dead, baby Pulp Fiction ) and others. I regularly visit India and it is truly unbearable at times especially with a driver stuck in the car 3 hours or more in traffic.

[blizzard]

come on now!

indians smell becoz they dont take showers or bathe regularly. it aint the curries............lol.

curries make your breath smell not give out body odor. same with koreans who eat lots of kim cheese. their breath may smell but you cant smelll them from 10 feet away.

[soundman]

People that eat lots of cheese, onions & garlic tend to have quite severe body odour.

But nothing tops my dogs who have decided that rolling on a dead rat is the untimate canine perfume!!!

Cheers,

Soundman.

[BrissyBoy]

backpackers

[jdinasia]

In the now running China thread, someone mentioned "I am regularly in China, few weeks at a time. In general the women there are quite on the nose ( shanghai ) and i have a very bad sense of smell."

Having personally spent years in China I don't agree with that generally, but also having traveled Asia extensively, I was wondering who agrees with me on these generalisations (not counting laborers you may be walking behind):

Least offensive: Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan: rarely encounter body odor

Sometimes offensive: Vietnam, China, Taiwan

Most offensive: Malaysia: often body odor

Who else has experience in these or other countries? How would you rate them, and importantly, how would you rate foreigners compared to locals. Thais I know complain that Eastern Europeans and those from South Asia and the Middle East smell the worst, and often complain that there are many more Farangs in general who smell bad compared to locals.

Hope this thread doesn't descend into a foul-smelling affair that results in being deodorized by the mods.

Was that you at Kamala Beer Garden last night listening to the music? .... if so ... well I import Mitchum deoderant if you want to buy some!

[blizzard]

better ? is why some girls smell and some dont..................lol.

no offense to those that do.

[chinthee]

In the now running China thread, someone mentioned "I am regularly in China, few weeks at a time. In general the women there are quite on the nose ( shanghai ) and i have a very bad sense of smell."

Having personally spent years in China I don't agree with that generally, but also having traveled Asia extensively, I was wondering who agrees with me on these generalisations (not counting laborers you may be walking behind):

Least offensive: Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan: rarely encounter body odor

Sometimes offensive: Vietnam, China, Taiwan

Most offensive: Malaysia: often body odor

Who else has experience in these or other countries? How would you rate them, and importantly, how would you rate foreigners compared to locals. Thais I know complain that Eastern Europeans and those from South Asia and the Middle East smell the worst, and often complain that there are many more Farangs in general who smell bad compared to locals.

Hope this thread doesn't descend into a foul-smelling affair that results in being deodorized by the mods.

Was that you at Kamala Beer Garden last night listening to the music? .... if so ... well I import Mitchum deoderant if you want to buy some!

Hah. I haven't been there in years. Personally, I smell like a saint. Always did, but even more so for the past years of eating mostly Thai food. There is a lot to this food theory. I love Indian food immensely, but honestly, if I load up on Indian curry I'm not proud of the resulting effects! Thai food seems to have some kind of purifying effect, and I've noticed this on prior girlfriends and wife. All smell like saints, rarely, use any deo.

[farang prince]

Personal observation only:

1. Indians

2. Africans (especially Nigerians and Somalians)

3. Pakistanis

4. Poles

5. Mexicans

6. Azerbajanians

7. Turks

8. Croatians

9. Koreans

10.Iranians

[girlx]

normally i would hate to generalize an entire population but i do feel that because of the food they eat and the fact that they don't seem to use deodorant, indians are horrifically smelly. i worked in an office with an indian family in bangkok and they made me physically ill. also in india itself, i almost passed out on the trains sometimes due to the odor. and in NY, sometimes indian contractors would get in the elevators full of business people and everyone would fight to get off at the next stop because of the smell. i guess they don't notice it themselves.

[jdinasia]

Personal observation only:

1. Indians

2. Africans (especially Nigerians and Somalians)

3. Pakistanis

4. Poles

5. Mexicans

6. Azerbajanians

7. Turks

8. Croatians

9. Koreans

10.Iranians

Guess you've never been on the subway in Paris!

[farang prince]

Personal observation only:

1. Indians

2. Africans (especially Nigerians and Somalians)

3. Pakistanis

4. Poles

5. Mexicans

6. Azerbajanians

7. Turks

8. Croatians

9. Koreans

10.Iranians

Guess you've never been on the subway in Paris!

Actually, J.D., I have. Nothing compared to the above list in my opinion. The New York subway is no walk in the park either.

[jdinasia]

Personal observation only:

1. Indians

2. Africans (especially Nigerians and Somalians)

3. Pakistanis

4. Poles

5. Mexicans

6. Azerbajanians

7. Turks

8. Croatians

9. Koreans

10.Iranians

Guess you've never been on the subway in Paris!

Actually, J.D., I have. Nothing compared to the above list in my opinion. The New York subway is no walk in the park either.

The worst assault on my nose ever was in the Paris subway ... and it was the locals! After next year's trip to India .. who knows I may revise that!

[Paulbangkok]

Nobody has mentioned Bangladeshies I've truly never met a stinkier group. I've come accross them here but I was In Dhaka for a short time and they really <deleted> stank bad!!!!

Not a diet thing either, just really really bad standards of personal hygiene!

[meemiathai]

My wife flew to thailand recently with Kenya Air. I promise I will never let her suffer that again. She nearly suffocated inside the plane.

"men kee tau! mak mak!"

[farang prince]

Personal observation only:

1. Indians

2. Africans (especially Nigerians and Somalians)

3. Pakistanis

4. Poles

5. Mexicans

6. Azerbajanians

7. Turks

8. Croatians

9. Koreans

10.Iranians

Guess you've never been on the subway in Paris!

Actually, J.D., I have. Nothing compared to the above list in my opinion. The New York subway is no walk in the park either.

The worst assault on my nose ever was in the Paris subway ... and it was the locals! After next year's trip to India .. who knows I may revise that!

You will. Travelling in India will assault all your senses. I'll be very interested in your comments when you come back...especially about the pollution, the traffic, and the tragic degradation of the human condition there.

[Zeid]

now i have to admit something when ever i eat fried onions home tod, i do not stink not at all but when i back fire that is teh worst case scenario anyone can have, and do nto tell me none of you has some kind of food that make them break wind in an attractive way,

after all most guys wher saying how much their wives do not like them arting in bed hahahah

so food does have to do with the smellness of people. and the indian subcontinent is one place i will avoid going,

[canadiangirl]

Right off the plane from Thailand, I had to take an airport shuttle to get home, and I was sharing the van with an Indian family just back from India -- I almost died. They were SO smelly, I don't understand how people can smell that bad and not realize it.

Some guys from Africa can be pretty smelly. French men too, sometimes. I remember riding the bus in Bordeaux, standing next to someone who was holding on to a pole with his arm up and yuck!

Oh yeah, math majors from my uni! I swear, I've never smelt as much BO in my entire life as in my math classes.

[jackspratt]

POMs - every Aussie is taught from an early age that those from the Mother Country only bathe once a week (if lucky)

[chinthee]

I don't want to turn this into a racist rant as I have a number of Indian friends and mostly find Indians nice and interesting people. But, ask the average Thai about it, and you know what their reaction is. I've never seen a Thai eating Indian food, as they believe it's dirty.

Coming back to Thailand for a minute, have any of you noticed any regional differences? For example, Isaan vs. central vs. south in this regard? I know many of you have gotten quite "close" to a number of different thais, sometimes in one day!

[blizzard]

i guess noone took offesse to this thread!