Very odd ?, what's that flu "smell"

[Eric95403]

I'm detoxing from my 2 week WDW I just got back from....actually I "luckily" got the flu on my very last day in Florida (the day we flew back). I was lucky because it didn't ruin my trip. I actually think I'm detoxing from all that "Happiest Place on Earth" stuff I was emersed in for my longest stint yet.

Here is my stupid question and I could NOT find an answer to on the internet. Just someone on some other message board asking the same stupid question I am about to ask.

What the heck is that smell/odor you get when you get the flu / severe cold? Apparently I'm the only one that can smell it. If I enter a room in which I spent some time in...I immediately smell that stale, odd, sick smell. Okay...I have showered, I'm clean . This happens every time I get the flu, ever since I was a kid. DW ignored my stupid question, only stated she seems to recall some "smell." The woman never gets sick, she's not a good reference for me, but apparently the internet wasn't either. So I come to you..the knowledgable folks @ DIS.

Help me...since I can't sleep because of this darned illness, I might as well sit here and wait for the answers to roll in. Since it's past midnight back east, I may be sitting here for a while.

Thanks.

 

[MosMom]

Dh and I can smell it as well and I've always assumed it was infection. I can usually taste it too.

 

[Eric95403]

I can taste it slightly...true, but the smell is what really gets to me. I'm just curious why I smell it more when I enter a room I have spend some time in. It's just an awful smell. Thanks for responding.

 

[HaleyB]

Did you take anything for the flu? I can smell some meds on people- one of the ones my DH has to take right now has a very strong odor for me right after he takes it.

Also I get a metalic kind of smell/taste sometimes when I am sick- is that what you mean?

 

[poohandwendy]

Actually, it may not be the sickness that you are smelling...but that the sickness is messing up your sense of smell and taste too.

 

[momsgonwild]

Actually, it may not be the sickness that you are smelling...but that the sickness is messing up your sense of smell and taste too.

That was going to be my answer too. Everything always tastes and smells bad when I get any type of respiratory infection.

 

[Eric95403]

I do think the flu does mess w/ your system (sense of smell). Very possible/probable ... I know it's not medication. Motrin doesn't have an odor. I don't smell it around me per se, just certain areas I have frequented since I've been sick. I thought others could smell it too so I kept squirting Febreeze everywhere. Finds out it's just me and Febreeze only masks it for a short time. Thanks.

 

[poohandwendy]

I do think the flu does mess w/ your system (sense of smell). Very possible/probable ... I know it's not medication. Motrin doesn't have an odor. I don't smell it around me per se, just certain areas I have frequented since I've been sick. I thought others could smell it too so I kept squirting Febreeze everywhere. Finds out it's just me and Febreeze only masks it for a short time. Thanks.

If it is just you smelling it, I would say it is definitely the flu messing with your sense of smell. LOL, stock up on the Febreze!

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[RNMOM]

I think it is the in your sinuses. The extra mucus all all that irritation/swelling really messes up your sense of smell and taste. So, it is mucus you smell. YUCK!

 

[Eric95403]

Now that makes me feel better....

 

[miss missy]

As one that is a totally Germ freak... just talking like this makes me cringe Smell ICK! Get the freakin lysol and get it NOW
I am a whimp and if anyone here is sick, they are to stay in one room (you are ok to go in the bathroom only!), I will bring you what you need and pamper you... but you can not go touching everything and passing it along LOL LOL Yep, I am not normal! I could NEVER be a nurse NEVER EVER bless them all for what they do!!

 

[flaviakinkaid]

I have always experienced this smell/taste as well, since childhood, when I have had or been around the flu. And others around me can't smell it either. I remember my mom telling me it was the smell of medicine or vitamins in the pediatrician's office but I've ruled that out after years of experience. It's nice to know that there's another person out there who experiences this too!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I think it is the in your sinuses. The extra mucus all all that irritation/swelling really messes up your sense of smell and taste. So, it is mucus you smell. YUCK!

 

[Lintasare]

Does the zombie thread want...brains?

 

[lynxstch]

Does the zombie thread want...brains?

they must, I was wondering why someone was bringing up an almost 7 year old thread, I would hope they were over the flu by now!

 

[LongLiveDisney]

I have the same thing! When I told my sister and mom they just looked at me like I was insane. I smell it and taste it too a little when I'm sick with a cold or flu. No idea what causes it, but there you have it.

ETA: Didn't see this thread was seven years old.

 

[runsandjumps]

When someone spends a good amount of time in one place coughing and sneezing it never smells clean to me. I would describe it is slightly sour/ musty. However, I really like clean clothes and linens- so if someone is sickly I usually attribute it to compiling body odor even when showering.

Which is a good reason to change your sheets and wash your blankets. I dislike nothing more than sweaty smelly linens.


ETA didn't realize this was an old thread

 

[disneymarie]

I'm detoxing from my 2 week WDW I just got back from....actually I "luckily" got the flu on my very last day in Florida (the day we flew back). I was lucky because it didn't ruin my trip. I actually think I'm detoxing from all that "Happiest Place on Earth" stuff I was emersed in for my longest stint yet.

Here is my stupid question and I could NOT find an answer to on the internet. Just someone on some other message board asking the same stupid question I am about to ask.

What the heck is that smell/odor you get when you get the flu / severe cold? Apparently I'm the only one that can smell it. If I enter a room in which I spent some time in...I immediately smell that stale, odd, sick smell. Okay...I have showered, I'm clean . This happens every time I get the flu, ever since I was a kid. DW ignored my stupid question, only stated she seems to recall some "smell." The woman never gets sick, she's not a good reference for me, but apparently the internet wasn't either. So I come to you..the knowledgable folks @ DIS.

Help me...since I can't sleep because of this darned illness, I might as well sit here and wait for the answers to roll in. Since it's past midnight back east, I may be sitting here for a while.

Thanks.

Sure it's not neurvo-virus That is a distinct Smell, you don't have the upper respiratory stuff of flu, it is stomach and intestinal. Feel better.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I can detect when my kids are sick beyond the common cold, especially with dd for some reason, by a "sick smell" they have. Dh thinks I'm crazy and doesn't notice it, but when I notice that "sick smell" it's usually a fever, sinus infection, etc. instead of just a cold.

 

[Disney Doll]

I think illness causes a chemical reaction in one's body which makes one smell differently than they do when they are well.

Certain conditions have a very distinctive odor...as an RN of 30 years, I can walk into a patient's room and tell you immediately if they are GI bleeding based on the smell. Same thing with a C.Diff infection....both of those conditions have a VERY distinctive odor. I sometimes tease the young intern or resident MDS by saying "My job is to tell you the patient has a GI bleed....your job is to figure out where it's coming from'>