Recruiter needs your help!

[Kayla54321]

I am here on allnurses.com because I am a Recruiter for a Health Care Agency and need some help with a problem. There is a nice, sweet, clean LPN whom works for the agency, and she has been employed over 6 years here. For some odd reason she really carries a distinctive odor that smells like rotten eggs, or maybe some type of sulfer dioxide, or sometimes even feces. At first, I thought this odor was coming from her mouth, but you can smell this even when she is not talking. I thought it was coming from her mouth because I could smell it as she talks. Not to be funny or anything of that nature, I can smell her before she comes through the door. She mentioned that she visited a ENT and GASTRO to view her sinsuses and the upper digestive system. She really wants to figure out what this is. She's been to numerous of doctors here in Carolina, but any antibiotic makes the condition worse, and almost all foods make this severe too. I do not comment because I really do not know what to tell her. She does suffer with endometriosis, and I am wondering if the endo has invaded her lower abdominal area, since only the uppper digestive tract was viewed by a GASTRO. Do anyone know what this could be. I mean the smell is awful. If she is in the office and I step outside, I can smell it outside. She got her tonsils removed but that also did not help. She said she is always spitting out mucous and have a stuffy nose. She went to many ENT's but there is no sinus infection. I do not know what to tell her. I hope someone can tell me something. I really do like her, and one of our older clients complained about her odor, and do not want her to work with him. I hope someone can help. Oh, yeah I asked her have she tried a tongue cleaning system, and she's tried many, and she said it seemed like the odor was worst. She also mentioned that her neighbors complained about this odor coming through their apartments. Thank you so much in trying to help.

[mom4jesus]

I hope this helps. My son has an odd thing happen to him when he eats eggs. When he was younger he had this very odd smell, musty rotten egg smell. He would take a bath and shower ect. Nothing seemed to help until I read that some people cannot digest or assimilate something in the egg or beans. He stopped eating them and now he is fine. If he eats them the smell comes back. She may try to illiminate these and see if that helps.

Teresa

[Kayla54321]

Ok, thank you

[justme1972]

Is it possible that there is something in her house that is causing it, and it's her CLOTHES instead of her body that is causing the odor?

I'm not saying she doesn't wash them...but you usually can't smell a bad odor in your own home.

If the odor is sulfuric and sometimes smells like feces, it could be she has a trap on her toilet that is leaking sewer gas in her house, and this is a common problem. The trap just gets bad and doesn't close all the way after a toilet is flushed...it is extremely toxic, and that (and I'm not a nurse, so I am guessing), it may be getting into her mucus if she is breathing it, just like you can "taste" a bad odor for days after you are around something for an extended period of time.

She also needs to check her closets at home, again, to see if it's her clothes...maybe something is under her house and getting into it.

If she is open to suggestions, and God bless her heart, it sounds like she is, maybe someone can come out to her home...the odor is unmistakable, and all you have to do is step inside to see if that is the culprit.

I'm just throwing suggestions out there.

[EmmaG, RN]

Has she had a complete dental exam ?

She also mentioned that her neighbors complained about this odor coming through their apartments.

BTW, sounds like hopefull might be onto something there...

[Aquarian]

It could be "spices" that they cook that's why even the neighbors could smell it. Odors of onions, garlic, or even fumes of grilling burgers can really stick to clothes if there's not much vent in the house. Try Downy.

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

Hopefull could be on to something. Let me add, if she has an apartment or home that has a washer drain stack (where you put the washer drain hose) and it isnt stuffed with a rag or towel if no washer is being used, it will leach fumes back into the home from the sewer also. And the fumes can be very toxic as well as permeate clothing, bedding and anything else around the area. Have her check that too.

But on another note. my sister had an intestinal infection when she was younger. No pain, no symptoms really except she used to have this horrible odar when she belched, and she would complain it tasted like rotten eggs. She got rid of the problem, dont remember what they did though, we were just kids.

[Kayla54321]

She's been to several dentists' and they all cleared her. Her teeth and gums are perfect.

[TeresaB930, BSN, RN]

I have 2 possibilities to the malodorous situation. First, Some meds when taken for quite awhile have a tendency to come through the pores. My ex-husband had this problem.

The second, I was watching a show where a female patient had a liver that didn't produce enough bile to break down fats (I think, this is what was going on...at any rate it was liver related) and this caused her to have a very offensive odor she could not rid herself of. This is a pretty rare disorder, but nonetheless, an option.

Good luck, and the best of luck to her. It must be very uncomfortable for her.

Teresa

[mekrn]

I work with a nurse who is anorexic and has a constant smell like this, more like rotting garbage, from vomiting all the time. It doesn't smell like vomit, it's a horrible, metabolic type of odor. Could this person possibly have an eating disorder?

[Kayla54321]

No, not at all. This person is very healthy.

[Kayla54321]

You know what, I thought maybe it was a liver problem also. I have done so much research on it. She only had an upper digestive area looked at, not her lower part. I also believe it is something going on in her lower digestive system. What side of the body the liver is on?