Hi - I've just found this discussion. I hope this helps somebody.
I noticed a strange smell during the latter stages of perimenopause - I've heard it variously described as like soy sauce, or salt & vinegar potato crisps, etc.
At first I thought it was a hygiene issue and I was mortified as nothing I did seemed to help. It went on for months and months. I used antibacterial soap, showered/bathed at least twice a day (paying OCD-like attention to cleaning my genital area!), but nothing helped. I knew I smelled weird and I knew other people could smell it too. It was horribly embarrassing, whether at work or in the supermarket.
One day, while shopping, I decided to try changing my washing powder and fabric conditioner. I could hardly believe that it worked! It really did.
I am 51 and haven't had a period for a year now, so I guess that means I've officially reached full menopause. I changed my powder and conditioner around 4 months ago and the result was almost instant. (I had to wash everything a couple of times to get rid of any residues from the previous products.)
Last week, my 'new' fabric conditioner was out of stock so I bought some of the old one. The smell came back immediately. This time I paid a lot more attention to what was happening and it was clear the odour was from all over, not necessarily the genital area. If I sat with my arms crossed for a short while (so that my hands were in contact with my cardigan) I found the backs of my hands smelled really strongly of the weird/bad smell. Especially during hot flushes.
I drove out of my way to buy some of the other brand and re-washed everything. The body smell went again.
I am a scientist, working in the field of chemical risk assessments and toxicology. It is my opinion that, for some of us at least, an adverse chemical reaction occurs between the chemicals on our skin during/after menopause, and the chemicals used in some brands of fabric conditioner.
My hormone balance has changed (obviously!) and the reaction is certainly adverse! The smell was soooo embarrassing!
I am in the UK. The fabric conditioner I was reacting to is sold here as Lenor, and is made by Proctor & Gamble. The conditioner I changed to is made by Unilever and called Comfort Pure. I found ingredient lists for each and they differ by a surprising amount. I can only surmise that one of the chemicals used in making Lenor is 'clashing' with the chemicals/hormones I emit these days, where it did not before.
If any of you recognise the description of the smell, please try doing this. I wouldn't wish the horrible smell on anyone. Everyone else thinks it's a hygiene issue and you get some strange looks from people and some people can even be heard commenting behind your back when they think you can't hear them.
I continue to use antibacterial soap to help deal with the sweaty smell from... well... sweating! These hot flushes are driving me nuts! But I'll stop as soon as I can because we are not helping ourselves by using too many antibacterial products.
Anyway - I hope someone else finds relief by changing products like I did. Remember to go for a different manufacturer, to increase the chances of the ingredients being different. In the UK, Comfort is a more expensive brand, but I can't begin to put into words how much it's worth paying the extra.
Good luck
From Helen
xx
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Hi - I've just found this discussion. I hope this helps somebody.
July 2, 2011 - 6:22amI noticed a strange smell during the latter stages of perimenopause - I've heard it variously described as like soy sauce, or salt & vinegar potato crisps, etc.
At first I thought it was a hygiene issue and I was mortified as nothing I did seemed to help. It went on for months and months. I used antibacterial soap, showered/bathed at least twice a day (paying OCD-like attention to cleaning my genital area!), but nothing helped. I knew I smelled weird and I knew other people could smell it too. It was horribly embarrassing, whether at work or in the supermarket.
One day, while shopping, I decided to try changing my washing powder and fabric conditioner. I could hardly believe that it worked! It really did.
I am 51 and haven't had a period for a year now, so I guess that means I've officially reached full menopause. I changed my powder and conditioner around 4 months ago and the result was almost instant. (I had to wash everything a couple of times to get rid of any residues from the previous products.)
Last week, my 'new' fabric conditioner was out of stock so I bought some of the old one. The smell came back immediately. This time I paid a lot more attention to what was happening and it was clear the odour was from all over, not necessarily the genital area. If I sat with my arms crossed for a short while (so that my hands were in contact with my cardigan) I found the backs of my hands smelled really strongly of the weird/bad smell. Especially during hot flushes.
I drove out of my way to buy some of the other brand and re-washed everything. The body smell went again.
I am a scientist, working in the field of chemical risk assessments and toxicology. It is my opinion that, for some of us at least, an adverse chemical reaction occurs between the chemicals on our skin during/after menopause, and the chemicals used in some brands of fabric conditioner.
My hormone balance has changed (obviously!) and the reaction is certainly adverse! The smell was soooo embarrassing!
I am in the UK. The fabric conditioner I was reacting to is sold here as Lenor, and is made by Proctor & Gamble. The conditioner I changed to is made by Unilever and called Comfort Pure. I found ingredient lists for each and they differ by a surprising amount. I can only surmise that one of the chemicals used in making Lenor is 'clashing' with the chemicals/hormones I emit these days, where it did not before.
If any of you recognise the description of the smell, please try doing this. I wouldn't wish the horrible smell on anyone. Everyone else thinks it's a hygiene issue and you get some strange looks from people and some people can even be heard commenting behind your back when they think you can't hear them.
I continue to use antibacterial soap to help deal with the sweaty smell from... well... sweating! These hot flushes are driving me nuts! But I'll stop as soon as I can because we are not helping ourselves by using too many antibacterial products.
Anyway - I hope someone else finds relief by changing products like I did. Remember to go for a different manufacturer, to increase the chances of the ingredients being different. In the UK, Comfort is a more expensive brand, but I can't begin to put into words how much it's worth paying the extra.
Good luck
From Helen
xx
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