This thread is a spinoff of the "patient won't shower" thread.
Well you know, you just can't make someone have your standards of hygiene if they don't want them.
...
In lots of cultural settings smells and odors are percieved differently. I am sure you tried your hardest, don't feel a failure, what did you fail at?? Not getting someone into a shower??!!
I think within certain limits we need to be tolerant of cultural differences in hygiene practices (say, once a day vs. once a week), but at what point do you say, sorry, buddy, you got a PROBLEM? Is there any culture in which it's the norm to go weeks without bathing?
Yes, showering and cleanliness is a cultural thing! I worked with a group of Danish athletes and you could smell them before you could see them! They did not shower everyday like Americans...I understand this is sometimes a European thing too!
Another piece to the puzzle is that some of the foods eaten by different cultures can affect the smell of the body.
I had a roommate in college years ago that was from India. She was a very clean person and bathed regularly, yet I often noticed she had a different body odor. It was very strong and noticable at first if I recall correctly, but I think after a while I just adjusted to it.
How I wish I had spent more time learning about her culture! Talk about missing a great opportunity.
This is a point I was going to bring up. What some people consider BO may not be due to a lack of hygiene. Certain foods really do seem to come out of your pores and affect your body's natural scent.
I remember a former neighbor of mine once shared a story from when he and his wife had first started dating. He is from Oklahoma, and is a very "meat and potatoes" kind of guy. She was born and raised in Japan and had recently emigrated. Apparently, he noticed a difference in her smell and finally had to ask , "Why do you always smell like fish?". Her reply was, " I don't know, why do you always smell like beef?". They shared a good laugh over that. Just goes to show you that all things are relative, I suppose....
ETA:
Also demonstrates that America is not the gold standard. People shouldn't assume that they are "normal" and foreigners have a "weird" smell. They may be thinking the same thing about you as you are about them.
I remember being fascinated as a child when my mom would tell me stories about growing up on the farm where full baths were once a week on a Saturday night.
When you have no running water or electricity, a family of seven, and have to haul water from a stream, heat it on a wood stove and repeat the hauling and heating several times to fill the tub, you could see that the daily shower is easy in comparision.
For the rest of the week, the family would wash daily with a pitcher of water and a bowl and a bar of soap not unlike the way we wash our patients.
You dont really need to use deodorant if you shave your armpits like everyday or every other day...I rather have a shaved armpits than hairy armpits covered with powder...
I remember being fascinated as a child when my mom would tell me stories about growing up on the farm where full baths were once a week on a Saturday night.
When you have no running water or electricity, a family of seven, and have to haul water from a stream, heat it on a wood stove and repeat the hauling and heating several times to fill the tub, you could see that the daily shower is easy in comparision.
For the rest of the week, the family would wash daily with a pitcher of water and a bowl and a bar of soap not unlike the way we wash our patients.
My grandparents grew up this way and continued it until the day they died. Saturday night was shower night. For the rest of the week they did what they called "spit baths". The daily wash with a washcloth and soap.
And they moved from Arkansas in the 1950's, had hot and cold running water, an indoor bathroom.
Waste not, want not.
I loved them - such ornery characters! And they never smelled bad.
My grandma made all her own clothes - knitted beautiful sweaters - she always dressed very well.
Also demonstrates that America is not the gold standard. People shouldn't assume that they are "normal" and foreigners have a "weird" smell. They may be thinking the same thing about you as you are about them.
An excellent point. When I lived in Quebec, my landlady and her friend went to Vietnam. She found that apparently, many folks in Vietnam often find the odor of North American tourists (even those who shower daily!) to be pretty offensive. My initial thought was dietary differences, which seems to have been confirmed by some of the other posts on this thread. If you happen to be working with a patient whose smell is too much to bear, be it r/t hygiene practices, illness, whatever, remember that you can always put some Vicks Vapo Rub under your nose!
You dont really need to use deodorant if you shave your armpits like everyday or every other day...I rather have a shaved armpits than hairy armpits covered with powder...
Yes. It's the hair under the armpits that traps odor, rather than the lack of deodorant.
And they never smelled bad. 
Neveranurseagain, RN
866 Posts
Yes, showering and cleanliness is a cultural thing! I worked with a group of Danish athletes and you could smell them before you could see them! They did not shower everyday like Americans...I understand this is sometimes a European thing too!