What is the cause of the common odor many senior citizens have (despite good hygiene)?

I am 78 and I sure hope I don't smell like an old lady. In my professional career I have encountered quite a few stinky people. It was either from unwashed bodies, hair, or clothes, or else stale perfume, or some combination thereof. Also, one loses one's sense of smell so it doesn't register with them.

Oral hygiene is important too, and one of the worst smells, according to professional tasters, is stale saliva. So drink plenty of water, floss, brush, and blast out the food particles with a water pick. If you have dentures, keep them fresh.

Unwashed hair smells really gross. Take a sniff of an old brush. Yuck. Wash your hairbrush and combs too. And behind the ears. That is a source of oil that goes rancid. Launder the pillowcases.

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

Walk in the front door of a nursing home and you will gag. Combination of piss, scented cleaning products, years of dust, and poor ventilation.

Bathe daily, wash your hair and behind your ears, use unscented products as much as possible, and sniff your clothes. Dead skin breeds dust mites, so keep things clean. Drops of urine tend to be absorbed by your knickers, then give off odors, so rinsing it off with water and drying off with a facecloth is better than blotting with toilet paper, also less irritating on your skin. Do that as much as possible. I learned that from the babies. Never got diaper rash if I washed them rather than just wiped them off. If you leak, deal with that too, and check your outer clothing for smells.

Omigosh, deal with this stuff as long as you can. If you don't smell it, others might, so make it a habit.

Why COVID 'Razor Blade' Sore Throat Hurts So Bad - WebMD