Old Person Smell: The Science and Factors Behind the Odor

There's that smell, unique to your grandparents and other elderly people, as you enter their house. It is frequently described as having a musty, stale, or mothball-like scent.

It irritates us more when we're younger, and most of us assume that our grandparents are the only ones who do it. As we get older, we get to understand that we're not alone and sometimes we even notice it when we go to our own parents.

It might be in the air when we enter an elevator, pass elderly individuals, or sit at a table in a restaurant where they have just finished eating. It's a pervasive odor that follows elderly people everywhere they go and isn't limited to their homes.

What precisely is it then?

The Scientific American website claims that this peculiar smell, which isn't unpleasant per se but is specific to the older generation, lingers like perfume, especially in small spaces. Up until the age of senior citizens, no age group has a distinctive smell other than that of newborns.

According to the Healthline website, it's thought that as we age, the chemical composition of the bacteria combined with our skin gland secretions changes, much like everything else in our bodies.

Age-related changes in body odor likely have nothing to do with personal hygiene. Instead, experts think it’s the result of odor compounds and bacteria interacting on the skin. The major odor compound at play is called 2-nonenal.

 

In essence, the funny chemicals in our bodies age with us, just as the different kinds of germs that reside on our skin. According to Scientific American, scientists call the major odor component at play "2-nonenal."

According to Healthline, nonenal only occurs in us after the age of 40, with minimal amounts rising with aging.

Stated differently, it is an inherent aspect of existence.