Bad Odor after Cadaver

[as90]

Hi everyone,
I just recently started Med school and I have been enjoying it so far. The only problem is the body odor that I have been experiencing especially after being in anatomy lab. I have one designated pair of scrubs that I had been using and those have been completely drenched by the formaldehyde. Additionally, I'm a bit prone to sweating due to being very hairy so whenever I wear flip flops it tends to stink there as well.

Due to the smell, I have been buying several pairs of clothes at WalMart, however the problem continues and whatever I wear gets drenched with formaldehyde. I've always struggled with body odor my whole life, but I feel like its gotten worse since going into Anatomy lab. Even after I take my clothes off from lab and take a shower, people still complain about my odor.

There are times when I don't even notice it, but people still complain. I find it very hurtful and it is a very uncomfortable situation especially during OMM lab and study sessions (where people tend to leave when you come). I'd really hate to make anything uncomfortable for anyone especially for my future patients and colleagues.

I am showering daily and I am also wearing deoderant, but perhaps the deoderant could be making it worse. I have also checked with my FP and she says that I'm perfectly healthy. There are times where I don't notice it, perhaps I have undergone sensory adaptation? I'm so surprised that people would notice my body odor when the smell of formaldehyde is so strong in lab.

I'm also very anal about not wearing my regular clothes to lab, when I see other people just coming in with their regular clothes and not solely lab clothes.

Any remedies or tips that you guys could recommend would be very appreciated as it is making things a bit difficult for me. School is pretty stressful and I would like to try to eliminate any extraneous stress that I can.


Thanks so much in advance!

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[costales]

Have you tried lemon juice?

 

[heroes31]

Maybe try using a good exfoliator/ loofah scrub to really scrub off that smell from your skin.

 

[jphwki82]

http://youtu.be/zmlS7d2Sbf4



Sorry, couldn't resist. Double up on showers, and you can get extra scrubs at walmart too. Also, was your scrubs in warm water.

 

[Cheshyre]

What exactly does your bad BO smell like?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylaminuria

 

[Postal]

Hmm... the only thing I can think of is upping the showers to 2 times a day, at least. Try reapplying deoderant through-out the day as well.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Swimmer's shampoo works the best. Use it as a body wash with a luffah

 

[bunny03]

Perhaps switching to a more organic based deodorant could help. I know someone who switched to a deodorant from Trader Joe's and they noticed a difference. Also they use odoban detergent for their gym clothes. Not sure if that'll help with your scrubs but it couldn't hurt to try. Good luck

 

[SLC]

Is it maybe you're clothing? I had a problem with my washing machine for a while. It left the clothes smelling funny, no matter how quickly I got them out of the washer and into the dryer, the milldew smell just wouldn't go away. When they were dry I wouldn't notice it, but the second they got the slightest bit damp (like if I started sweating, or it rained even just a little) the smell would come out.

Then I bought a new machine, one with Silvercare which infuses silver ions into the wash water. Not a problem since.

Otherwise, I'd just suggest experimenting with diet changes etc till you find out what helps the most. Some foods can change the way you smell.

Tough situation, hope you get it figured out.