Does chemo make you smell different?

One of the oddest and sometimes most annoying side-effects of certain chemotherapy drugs is an awareness of bad smells, or consciousness of foul-smelling odours in various locations, particularly around the house.
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Does Chemo change body odor?

Chemotherapy drugs have an odor. Some of them have a stronger odor than others. That odor may seem to follow you around because your own sense of smell is more sensitive than it normally would be. Other people may not be aware of an odor.
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Does your body odor change when you have cancer?

Some people with advanced cancer have reported unpleasant body odors, but they're typically due to infected cancer-related wounds. These wounds occur in around 5 percent of people with cancer.
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How does chemo affect smell?

Chemotherapy changes receptor cells in your mouth. If you've had chemotherapy, you may notice that your sense of smell has increased or that you're more sensitive to certain foods. With this comes the possibility that your sense of taste may be affected, too.
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How long after chemo does your body get back to normal?

Most people say it takes 6 to 12 months after they finish chemotherapy before they truly feel like themselves again.
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Acute Complications of Chemotherapy (side effects, adverse effects)



What do polyamines smell like?

Some polyamines have characteristic names like cadaverine, spermine and putrescine (putridus in Latin means rotten or decayed). Hence, these substances have in higher concentrations an unpleasant smell and signal danger to humans and many animals.
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What does the smell of cancer smell like?

In fact, there are quite a few anectodical online posts from random people who describe the “cancer smell” as a “sweet fruity sickly” smell while others describe it as a “dead fish” smell but no research was done on those.
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Why did my body odor change?

Your body odor can change due to hormones, the food you eat, infection, medications or underlying conditions like diabetes. Prescription-strength antiperspirants or medications may help.
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Does Chemo come out of your pores?

Chemotherapy leaves the body through urine, vomit, blood, stool, sweat, mucus and sexual fluids. Most chemotherapy medications will be out of your body in less than 48 hours.
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Does urine smell after chemo?

Some urinary or bladder changes may be normal, such as changes to the color or smell of your urine caused by some types of chemotherapy.
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Why do I smell sour?

Examples of skin infections that can cause a sour body odor include: ​Trichomycosis axillaris​, a bacterial infection of the hair follicles in the underarms. ​Erythrasma​, a bacterial infection more common in warm, humid climates that affects skin folds like the groin and between the toes.
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How do you know if chemo is killing you?

Here are some signs that chemotherapy may not be working as well as expected: tumors aren't shrinking. new tumors keep forming. cancer is spreading to new areas.
...
Along the way, the timeline may have to be adjusted due to:
  1. low blood counts.
  2. adverse effects to major organs.
  3. severe side effects.
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Does chemo age your face?

So, it is not surprising that many people feel that they age dramatically during chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, the epidermis loses its ability to hold on to moisture, which leads to fine lines in the skin's surface. In the dermis, the collagen and elastin break down, which weakens the skin's support structure.
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What does chemo do to your face?

Some types of chemotherapy can cause your skin to become dry, itchy, red or darker, or peel. You may develop a minor rash or sunburn easily; this is called photosensitivity. Some people also have skin pigmentation changes.
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Does chemo change your face?

Skin changes also occur during chemotherapy. Certain chemotherapy drugs can cause temporary redness in the face and neck. This happens when the blood capillaries, which are the smallest part of blood vessels, enlarge and expand. The skin also can get dry, become darker or even more pale.
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Why does my BO smell like onions all of a sudden?

Foods such as garlic, onions, cumin, and curry can also cause changes in body odor. The sulfur-like compounds that the body releases as it breaks down these foods can react with the sweat on the skin, producing body odor that may be different than a person's natural scent.
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Why do my armpits smell different all of a sudden?

Your armpits have an inherent odor that's totally normal due to apocrine and eccrine glands. Everyone's armpits smell different thanks to genetics, hormones, diet, and other factors. If your armpits suddenly smell especially foul it could be a sign of an infection that needs medical attention.
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Does a woman's body odor change with age?

The bottom line. Body odor naturally changes as you age. For older people, this change in smell is likely due to an increase in levels of a compound called 2-nonenal. No matter the cause, there's no reason to run from these changes.
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Can dogs smell cancer in humans?

Cancer cells, or healthy cells affected by cancer, produce and release these odor signatures." With proper training, dogs have been able to smell cancer in humans' skin, breath, sweat and waste and to alert them.
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How do dogs act when they smell cancer?

If your dog does smell cancer, it may act very different from normal. Some dogs will keep sniffing at you constantly and you may struggle to push your pooch away. Others may lick or even bite at lesions on your body – their way of trying to get rid of the cancer for you.
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Does your poop smell different when you have cancer?

Changes in the appearance, smell, or form of the stool can be seen with different conditions ranging from chronic inflammatory diseases of the bowel to infection and in rare cases, cancer.
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What disease makes you smell like rotten eggs?

Description. Trimethylaminuria is a disorder in which the body is unable to break down trimethylamine, a chemical compound that has a pungent odor. Trimethylamine has been described as smelling like rotting fish, rotting eggs, garbage, or urine.
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Can you smell illness on someone?

Humans are able to smell sickness in someone whose immune system is highly active within just a few hours of exposure to a toxin, according to research published in Psychological Science.
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What diseases can you smell?

Scientists have found that dozens of illnesses have a particular smell: Diabetes can make your urine smell like rotten apples, and typhoid turns body odor into the smell of baked bread. Worse, yellow fever apparently makes your skin smell like a butcher's shop, if you can imagine that.
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Does chemo make you fat?

Chemotherapy can lead to weight gain by: Causing the body to hold on to excess fluid, called edema. Causing fatigue, making it harder to exercise. Increasing nausea that improves by eating more food.
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