Body's Response to Disease Has a Smell, Study Suggest
http://news.yahoo.com/body-39-response-disease-smell-study-suggest-145515181.html
Very interesting! I feel as though I can smell the difference on my kids when they're sick. I'm certain that I wreak to them!
Our oldest son is autistic and has heightened senses. No joke, he can smell a single strawberry from 2 rooms (with walls) away! When I want a quick snack and don't want to share with the five kids (whatever, yes, I get lazy and stingy sometimes), I'll take my snack and hide next to the fridge in a corner. Lol. I did it with a strawberry from the fridge one time and he yelled from the living room "Mmmm! I smell strawberries!" I about died! Anyway, he says that he can "smell when someone is sick."
I know when my children were young if their temp was raised I could smell it on their breath before I even used a thermometer.
And when I am in flare my sweat smells differently. When I sweat at all.
Or there is that metallic taste.
We just lost our "Buddha", adopted Siamese. First thing the other cat sniffed her, got low, backed away and laid a short distance away ..so she could watch her.
Scent is primal ... to warn us of illness. Alert us of who is healthy.
In one study blindfolded mothers of newborns can pick out the scent of the clothing their infant has worn. This was in a Canadian study many ago
The phrase "It smells like a sickroom".
I am sure my cat can tell when I am ill before I do due to how I probably smell.
I think there's something to the "smell" connection to disease. When I had a service animal, Tigger knew long before me when my thyroid levels were "off", or when a migraine was approaching, etc.
My former work was dealing with the public a lot - I have a very sensitive sense of smell anyway - and the people I encountered who had health issues (as it turned out after the initial pleasantries) I noticed smelled different. I thought maybe I was weird or something noticing that.
@Andrea - my youngest daughter (Asperger's) has incredibly heightened senses. And raising her up had it's challenges, of course, but she was NOT shy in the least about blurting out "mommy why does that lady smell bad? Oy vey
Awhile ago I saw on the news a piece about, " Seizure Assistance Dogs"
"The one thing scientists have been able to come to an agreement on is that the dog smells a chemical body change on the person just prior to and during a seizure. "
"..children with seizures may be afraid of being alone, sleeping in their own beds, and engaging in activities because they might have a seizure. In these instances, dogs can give the children a little courage while helping them maintain their independence."
" If the dog is able to make the connection between the chemical changes he senses and the occurrence of seizures, he may begin to act in a certain way when these changes begin. ..Eventually people who seize realize that every time their dog barks madly and nips at them they will have a seizure and they will begin to prepare themselves for the seizure before it actually starts."