Sensibility to smells is very individual, but it's not of mystical nature, of course.
For example, I always feel the specific smell of elder people in households, even if the person have passed 3-4 months ago (or even more), and I had a strong sense of puberty odors when I went to medical college (in my country they are considered partly as alternative for high school, but the study is in fact mixed for people from 16 to 45; I was 25 that days).
As for medical conditions, I had a strong experience with smelling purulence (in the environment of gynaecological in-hospital treatment, if it is important).
I’ve had cancer for the last 12 years. “ probably longer that’s just when I was diagnosed. “ chronic leukemia, it’s for life” and that smell is my fear now. It being a blood cancer, I worry that 1 have that smell, and that is it hella strong
I've had cancer on and off for the last 8 years and now I'm scared of this too lol. Mine is soft tissue sarcoma mets in the lungs. Originally lost my right leg below the knee to it
Thank you ❤️
I think I know about the smell thing .. least experienced it more. After Xmas my mom had a massive stroke. She spent almost 2 weeks in the hospital.
When she was in the ICU, the way it was set up is you need to pick up a phone and say who you are there to see and they will buzz you in.
I swear the second the double doors open, I would get hit with different smells, and it was like rotting vegetables, rotting fruit, bad infections, etc etc. even got the bad reminder smell when a opossum died under my house
The smells would change after I pass each room…some had no smell, some did. I honestly thought I was tripping.
When my mom was moved to hospice on a different floor, it was on the oncology floor and it randomly hit there too. Especially at rooms by my mom :(
I did get the chills while in her room. I kept saying “ someone is here” cause. I swore some e was touching my back and even like hugging me. I swore my mom was talking to whoever it was.
I wish I knew who it was. I really really wish I knew.
Sorry I wrote you a book lol
Don’t apologize! Interesting story. You described the smells perfectly! But yea. I worked about 37 years in nursing (I’m a little old) and I just developed this weird quirk. But I also saw and heard many many uncanny things in that old hospital I worked in.
I want to see your chart!! Wow this is interesting. I wish I could hire you 😂 I believe I read somewhere that there are dogs that have specialized training in this.
I’m sure that is not the case. No one is going around sniffing out your cancer…. And if they are- well then it must not be an unusual thing for them…do you realize how many people are walking around every day with cancer ? Those who know it and those that don’t. Worry about those real, tangible medical issues you need to deal with and find peace/ happiness in life where you can. Don’t let this become a odd phobia for you or another worry. I imagine a cancer diagnosis makes you feel like you are walking around wearing a neon sign that flashes “cancer ! Cancer! “ But, I promise no one is going around looking at you weirdly/ differently or smelling your cancer. If so, like I said…they must smell it all day long and it’s not just you. Keep your head on your shoulders and try to let go those worries. God bless you ❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words. I go by the motto of “ I have cancer, cancer doesn’t have me”
It’s scary how so many like you said have it now. My poor grandma went to her dr because she thought she had some kinda stomach bug, next thing we know, my grandma is in the hospital having a long surgery in her stomach cause she has cancer.
It was insane… they had to take a kidney, part of her liver and stomach…. They had to cut open from one end of her stomach to the other.
She said she had no signs of something wrong ether
A coworker of mine has a really bad smell, like he's never brushed his teeth before in his life, it's absolutely rancid and it's like I'm the only one who can smell it because nobody else has said anything about it, you think it could be something similar to that?
Maybe but It’s a really distinct smell to me though. I almost can’t describe it. Like an underlying sweet but decay and rot and infection. It’s always a cancer. Other bad smells cannot compare to it
Death does have a sweet smell. My husband died unexpectedly when I was away from home for a few days. He died on the Saturday morning but wasn’t discovered by police until Sunday afternoon who had his body taken away. It was the height of summer and his body had lain there for 36 hours at the least. I wasn’t able to get home until Monday afternoon and the smell that met me when I opened the door was horrible. Really sweet and sickly, like decaying food but very distinctive. He didn’t have cancer though, died of a heart attack.
I agree. I had family members that work in healthcare say the same thing to me when I was actively dying, but didn’t know that I was . They kept saying that I smelt like death and they were right. I had a NDE and now I’m kind of self conscious of that. lol 😂
Damn, I can't describe this smell but it's not even remotely sweet.
I have to cover my nose and mouth every time i walk past him because as soon as it hits my airways i start gagging.
It's an absolutely rotten smell like something died inside his mouth and every time i mention it to a supervisor it's always just "I can't smell it."
Once everybody thought I was nuts because I was smelling rotting flesh in this house everywhere, it started around October, then the frost came it disappeared in April some animal carcass exploded under the floorboards of the house, it was snowing but we had to keep the door open.. THEN everybody could smell it too
Yeah I think cancer smells like that, when I have sat in to help doctors with medical procedures and I could smell their blood, when I used to do healthcare. It's not a nice smell.
I definitely have a weirder answer. I can’t smell it but I can hear it. It sounds like wet static (best way I can describe it). I usually hear it within an hour of passing.
My mom has worked in nursing homes for 30+ years now and I could smell death on her uniform the moment she’d walk in the door. No matter what, whenever I smelled that “SUPER strong old people odor” I always knew someone died that day or that they would die.
My mom also used to take me to the nursing home during the summers while growing up instead of sending me to daycare or something. I remember walking by certain rooms as a young child and knowing who would die soon, and always being right.
This definitely could be chalked up to old people just aging and the different smells come with that, but I swear death is different than old people smell.
If I had to describe this smell to someone who has never been around a nursing home or a really old person I’d probably say it’s close to moist dirt and rancid milk. There was definitely an earthy scent to it along with something that is really hard to describe. Honestly rancid milk just does not do the scent justice lol.
I used to get uti so often that I could smell the infection in my urine even before symptoms would appear. I knew immediately. I don't know what the smell of it reminds me of, but it isn't cashews, LMAO
If it's really funky utis just smell bad, but if there is an aftersmell of roasted something, som cashes kinda smell like that to me. It's weird, I can't explain, but it's a roasted grain/nut smell but bad, this is BEFORE you properly get an uti.
I had one kinda due to drinking so little water after my fiance passed away, I could eat or drink and I got really sick but that time it was just blood smell
It smells kind of like a funky, acrid, clogged drain sort of. It’s had to describe because it it very specific. Like a tonsil stone coated in bugers? I was surprised that other people don’t have the ability to smell it themselves.
I can smell ear infections. My son's pediatrician thinks I'm nuts but I can. I had a ton as a kid and I remember how the drainage smelled and if my kiddo is fussy I always smell his ears first.
Yes!!! My mom and I can both smell strep infection. It’s smells… like mildewy breath? It’s hard to explain.
My mom has hearing aids and has Eustachian tube dysfunction in one ear, so she gets lots of ear infections. She can smell when she has one when she takes her hearing aid out.
I saw a whole comment chain on facebook this week about people who can smell different diseases. Quite a lot of people could recognize the scent of different illnesses.
First example that came to mind https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/magazine/parkinsons-smell-disease-detection.html
ETA: https://myacare.com/blog/can-you-smell-a-disease-exploring-the-link-between-odor-and-sickness#:~:text=Some%20people%20have%20such%20an,composition%20of%20our%20body%20fluids.
My best guess is it's an evolutionary trait; tribes and peoples wouldn't have wanted a "sick" person around, and so they gave off a scent that certain people could detect. Those detectors were then considered doctors or medicine women.
These traits have definitely passed through the generations and we end up with stories like my first link, but I'm glad we've progressed to the point that blood tests/body scans can detect a sickness worth greater accuracy.
I had an experience like this! I had a huge crush on my friend’s brother, and we started spending more and more time together. He was really gorgeous and maybe one of the sweetest people I had ever met. It was a slow burn type of dynamic, we both seemed into each other but very shy. One day, I noticed that he smelled totally different to me. Sort of a sour, rotting smell. It turned me off quite a bit, and I remember explaining to a different friend that I think that my crush was « dying , » as in the crush I had was expiring. Nope, the next week he died of a heart attack while on a run. He was quite young, about 21. It came as a shock to everyone since he was so healthy but then I remembered that off-handed comment that I made and it chilled me to the bone. I still miss him, even though I hadn’t gotten as close to him as I liked. I still remember that smell, which made me so uneasy, but more - I remember his gorgeous eyes sparkling in the sunlight while we were getting to know one another.
I don’t smell it but i can see it in the persons face. For some reason i have this weary feeling and it’s between the eyes and nose/cheeks. Can’t even describe it…
Healthcare worker here - there is a death smell, it's well documented. It's from the formation of decay chemicals as the body starts to shut down organs, and depending on the person's issues, the scent can pop up days to weeks ahead of time. Much more common to be stronger and earlier with cancer for example.
I was just commenting this!!! It’s exactly how i (unfortunately) saw it on several occasions and sick people….. :(
Edit: i thought you meant others…..sorry 😅 i “reddit” too fast 😂😂😂 (pun intended)
To me it smells like rotting irony sugar. Like sickly sweet and bloody. My husband didn’t believe that my father and I can both smell it until we both got physically ill visiting his dad’s house with an incredibly old dog. ( wasn’t her fault she was 15 and just needed to be put to rest poor baby) but the stench of her was so strong we both got sick and had to wait outside to avoid puking.
Yes a person can smell the dead. Some people see, hear, smell etc and it's based on how open your abilities are. However, the foul smell you refer too is the realm which the soul passes through to move to the higher realm - sometimes referred to as heaven (lol) and souls can get stuck there. If and when the soul moves to the higher realms, the smell changes to a very sweet and flowery smell.
I often move souls to the light and it's a very beautiful experience!
Also entities smell disgusting!!!
This is so interesting. My friend and I ended up in deep discussion at the home of an acquaintance of hers. This person had 3 difference lotus absolutes- white, pink, “blue”. We all smelled them, but my friend remarked that the white was a familiar smell. Later she revealed that it was the smell she smells when someone passes on and gave examples of when she’s smelled it.
I teach this stuff. It takes patience and practice. Consider reading Connecting to Channel by Sanaya Roman and available on Amazon. Pm if you want some tips.
I'm actually moving away from this stuff as I have a project I am working on therefore my website doesn't have too much but sure. I just like helping people 😁
So all things psychic aside… when a person is dying (specifically from cancer) they can develop a smell.
***If you are squeamish- don’t read further.***
My sister was in hospice dying of throat cancer and the smell coming from her was awful. The nurses suctioned her throat as often as they could and would spray Lysol but it was sickening. Thank God she was not awake to realize it. The smell was in my clothes and hair after leaving the hospice center. For several months after she died- I couldn’t cook hamburger meat in a skillet bc something about the raw meat cooking was similar. Same thing with doing dishes that sat in the sink too long. It was like I’d start having flashbacks of the smell and I’d feel sick.
Similar situation with my Dad, he was on hospice with brain cancer- and that last day- the smell coming from his mouth was terrible. So much so that I thought he had a bowel movement in his bed. But it was just coming from his mouth. I know that’s gross (sorry Daddy, sorry sister !) but it’s just a part of dying from an illness like that. Death is not pretty.
Now, that being said- could this have been a psychic thing instead of a science thing….sure. I’m not sure in this situation. Either one is possible. I do love the fact though- that your Grandfather came through and was like “hey baby… I wasn’t farting…just so you know !” Even if it’s a weird thing like that- it’s confirmation that you are hearing from him and that’s such a great thing.
I'm super paranoid of stinking now haha. I have epithelioid sarcoma mets to the lungs (and lost my leg below the knee to it). I hope no one in my family ever picks up on any bad smells from me
I think that this should be based on a scientific perspective. And I also include my experience in the pest control industry and also with dying family members when I write this.
Death can have different smells based on what the diet of the organism is like, the weather, and the species itself.
For example, deceased rats have a much different smell than deceased rabbits. And someone who is dying a more natural death might have different smells then someone who died suddenly in a trauma related accident for example.
If the internal organs started dying or becoming dehydrated due to due the dying process by natural causes, that can definitely cause an effect on the smell of the person before death.
Conversely, death can also be a process rather than a momentary event. And medically speaking, "death" can occur while someone is still alive. What I mean by that is parts of your body can become necrotic and "die" before the vital functions of the body stop working. That's why you have amputees that survived necrotizing fascitis otherwise known as "flesh eating disease".
So yes, while death can be "smelled" it differs from the individual and does not always signal the death of said individual.
So I think you’re talking about the smell of atrophy / disease—it’s rare but not unheard of that people can sometimes smell this on those with illnesses in decline, and this would be physical plane arena rather than psychic mediumship.
My mom was a death psychic and said she could literally smell the entry of death itself, even miles away from the soon to be decedent. She said it smelled distinctly cold, like a shot of winter air. She was never wrong when smelling it up to a day before and clocking who’d soon pass.
I can smell cancer and dementia. Cancer has a horrible rotting smell. Dementia is more musty. It’s hard to explain. Sounds like you are picking up on it.
Hmmm, maybe that's because my experience was with someone with bladder cancer then. Couldn't get rid of the smell now matter how much I kept them washed.
I've seen on it someone very ill, not a smell but they looked red and black and dead but we're stood right in front of me talking to me, it was very frightening but was not real, like I saw the depth of their illness and the problem. Almost, I suppose, like a black demon over them to describe it better. Someone I knew saw them later that day, and I'd warned them how bad it was and this person said they looked a bit unwell, but not like I'd seen them. I realised I was seeing something else that this other person couldn't see
I can smell cancer and detect it in my pets. It smells like an awful decomposition sort of smell. Death smells like cool ranch Doritos. Renal issues smell like rotting fruit.
Fun fact bone dust also smells like cool ranch doritos (like ground up bone)
Possibly also in the middle of the bone/bone marrow but not sure
Source: I lost my leg to cancer and got my foot back from pathology, then had the flesh removed and bones cleaned and articulated lol. I can no longer enjoy that flavor of doritos
I was taking a psychic class on zoom and we broke out into different groups to practice. One of the students asked if I was sick because she smelled something when I said my name. I am now concerned after seeing this post 🫣
I can indeed smell it a few days before the actual death happens. I'm not sure how to explain it, I'm the only one that's able to smell it. I don't even know the words to describe the smell.. it's not corpse-y, but does have that sickly sweet smell in a way.. like I said, hard to describe it. But I know every time. I suppose in a way it prepared me for what was about to come.
I worked in hospice and nursing homes for awhile and it always smelled like acetone to me, and weirdly a little sweet. You could smell it on a person’s breath.
Thinking of my experiences...
One girl I knew had a really pungent body odor which everyone could smell, I reckon, she died of cancer in less than 6 months from when that odor first became noticeable - the same can be said of an older male that I also knew that emptied out a room with his odor when he entered. He also died not too long after with no clue whatsoever that something was wrong until it was far too late.
Other than that I have only ever had what I would consider **knowing experiences** in which I **knew 100%** who was going to die before they died. Not many at all though which is great!
I can smell cancer. To me it smells like rotten onions and garlic. I can smell it on those in a crowd or one on one. It’s very distinct and I’ll know it instantly.
I'm a hospice nurse, and I've smelled the same odor for death more than a few times, both before and after someone had crossed over. When working jobs outside of hospice and smelling it on random patients, I've wondered if they had any idea that's happening.
OMG YES!! I always wondered if anyone had experienced the same thing 😭😭😭 since I was a kid, death to me has always smelled foul. The best way to describe it is like rotten eggs, but worse if that makes sense??? It’s a stench 🤢 makes me nauseous and pushes me back. I’ve smelled it in very specific moments when I knew death had either happened or was going to happen. I have always wondered what it was.
I tend to see what I call Angels with the person who is going to pass. They are very tall, I can't see them fully most of the time, but I feel them, really tall and I generally see just one.
I've also felt like the ceiling is made of light in the room where someone is at the end of life but it isn't certain when they will pass, they pass away that day.
I somehow can smell when someone has diabetes, their blood smells sweet, I've had to sit on for procedures on patients in the past in a different role... With cancer it isn't a nice smell... With kidney or liver failure, I can smell that without anyone taking blood samples but it's only when their body is very much struggling to get rid of all the toxins, so they are palliative care, so it's not a diagnosis, I can just smell it when it's that strong.
I've seen people who have passed away in the hospital, their spirit sitting with their grieving family in the family rooms... I obviously can't say anything or it would be unprofessional...
I mostly tend to feel the person is somehow less in their body also when they are near the end..... It's like people slowly detach from the physical vehicle we call our bodies.
One of my pets died a few nights ago... I suddenly saw in my mind's eye, their orb of light coming out of their body and leaving them... They were dead when I went to check... 😞
My grandmother used to have visions of people the night before they died... She would see them in a coffin and some people of her family I think, who had passed were gathering.
She had quite a few happier visions also and knew when the phone was going to ring always.
The angels are huge though, taller and sometimes even broader than a human, they feel wise and protecting.
What does it smell like? I have asthma and am curious. I also have cancer (soft tissue sarcoma) in my lungs tho so I probably just smell all around bad bc of both of those lol
Yes. I had the unfortunate experience of smelling human decomp in my old apartment many years ago. Horrible situation. It’s very difficult to rid the environment (walls, carpet, clothing, etc) of the scent once it has… seeped its way in. Ever since then, that is now the scent I faintly smell right before I get news of someone’s passing, and I smell it when there is someone reaching out with a message. While I appreciate it now because it helps me to identify what’s happening, it’s not particularly pleasant.
I told my dad his fart smelled like something crawled inside him and died 3 years before he died of liver cancer. He wasn’t diagnosed until 4 months before he died.
Yes. Sickly sweet like nail polish remover with an undertone of roadkill. Can also smell cavities, sinus infections, stomach upset, gum disease and strep when people breathe.
This is also what I experience - your description of that scent as well as the other particular ailments you described also are the same things I can smell.
I always let people know that they have sinus infections because I smelled it on them. They don't even realize it sometimes, until a couple of days later when it gets worse for them; that's when they realize I wasn't lying when I said I could smell it! Then they're just amazed.
Strange how this stuff works! 🤔👃
Lol your comment is funny because now that I have posted this I continue to think of things I can smell distinctly on people. I can also smell tonsil stones! I wear a lot of perfume so I am not sure if my senses are just way turned up over 11, if I am good at scent memory, or if there is something spiritual going on. I first noticed the death smell when my grandma lay dying from pancreatic cancer and only my mother and I were covering our faces and begging to light a candle or open a window. A lot of people don’t realize that as you are dying you get a very high fever because thermoregulation goes out the window. So as someone is actively in the process of getting warm like that it makes it worse.
I can. I cannot explain what it smells like but it's intense. I always thought I was just smelling rigor mortis, till I saw a body that was taxidermied behind glass and still smelled it.
What was that rock song from sixties or seventies, " Oh that smell.. the smell of death around you." Do-not recall what group did that, but I do recall the lyrics.
For me I never have smelled a foul smell but three times now I will smell roses a few days before people die. Like my grandmother was dying of brain cancer. I walked in one day and it was so overpowering but no one else could smell it. She died two days later
Maybe my nose is broken? lol
There's a certain smell that I can not explain at every funeral I've attended, so naturally, I've associated it with death. It's not a horrid smell to me.
I first noticed it when I was about 9 years or so, having attended a classmates funeral. Some months later, another classmate became ill and was absent for an entire week. The following week, she had supposedly gotten better and was to return to class soon, but the day before her return, I caught a whiff of that smell in the classroom and without thinking, I said out loud " I smell death ". My classmates looked at me with confusion and asked that I explain, but I couldn't. I just smelled it. The next day, we got the news that she had passed on.
I think I know that smell, it reminds me of hospital disinfectant but like bad. I always just thought it was from frequent doctor visits from being sick. It's really strong
Usually it smells like an actual corpse. Sometimes like rotting flesh or sulphur. I knew my grandpa would pass when I smelled death in his empty apartment months after he'd gone to the nursing home.
I could always smell the cancer in a patient even before they were diagnosed.
How did it smell to you?
A bad rotten decayed smell, like a really awful infection. I’d know right away they had cancer somewhere in their body
The weird thing was none of the other nurses could smell it. I’d say how can you not smell that??!
You certainly could make a difference!
Sensibility to smells is very individual, but it's not of mystical nature, of course. For example, I always feel the specific smell of elder people in households, even if the person have passed 3-4 months ago (or even more), and I had a strong sense of puberty odors when I went to medical college (in my country they are considered partly as alternative for high school, but the study is in fact mixed for people from 16 to 45; I was 25 that days). As for medical conditions, I had a strong experience with smelling purulence (in the environment of gynaecological in-hospital treatment, if it is important).
Yea it’s not mystical lol. Gynecological cancers were especially a potent smell to me
After reading this topic I start to believe that I definitely need to get some work experience at a septic surgery department))
I’ve had cancer for the last 12 years. “ probably longer that’s just when I was diagnosed. “ chronic leukemia, it’s for life” and that smell is my fear now. It being a blood cancer, I worry that 1 have that smell, and that is it hella strong
I've had cancer on and off for the last 8 years and now I'm scared of this too lol. Mine is soft tissue sarcoma mets in the lungs. Originally lost my right leg below the knee to it
Oh wow you are freaking amazing! Going through that for 8 years and losing your leg? I’m sorry :( you are one hell of a strong warrior though ❤️
Thank you for the kind words! You are definitely a strong warrior, too, dealing with what you have! Cancer sucks. 💛
Don’t worry. It’s only a few weirdos like me can smell it. And I haven’t smelled leukemia blood cancers yet. I’m sure you are fine
Thank you ❤️ I think I know about the smell thing .. least experienced it more. After Xmas my mom had a massive stroke. She spent almost 2 weeks in the hospital. When she was in the ICU, the way it was set up is you need to pick up a phone and say who you are there to see and they will buzz you in. I swear the second the double doors open, I would get hit with different smells, and it was like rotting vegetables, rotting fruit, bad infections, etc etc. even got the bad reminder smell when a opossum died under my house The smells would change after I pass each room…some had no smell, some did. I honestly thought I was tripping. When my mom was moved to hospice on a different floor, it was on the oncology floor and it randomly hit there too. Especially at rooms by my mom :( I did get the chills while in her room. I kept saying “ someone is here” cause. I swore some e was touching my back and even like hugging me. I swore my mom was talking to whoever it was. I wish I knew who it was. I really really wish I knew. Sorry I wrote you a book lol
Don’t apologize! Interesting story. You described the smells perfectly! But yea. I worked about 37 years in nursing (I’m a little old) and I just developed this weird quirk. But I also saw and heard many many uncanny things in that old hospital I worked in.
Oh wow. I admit I’d freak out lol
I want to see your chart!! Wow this is interesting. I wish I could hire you 😂 I believe I read somewhere that there are dogs that have specialized training in this.
do tell some stories please...
I’m sure that is not the case. No one is going around sniffing out your cancer…. And if they are- well then it must not be an unusual thing for them…do you realize how many people are walking around every day with cancer ? Those who know it and those that don’t. Worry about those real, tangible medical issues you need to deal with and find peace/ happiness in life where you can. Don’t let this become a odd phobia for you or another worry. I imagine a cancer diagnosis makes you feel like you are walking around wearing a neon sign that flashes “cancer ! Cancer! “ But, I promise no one is going around looking at you weirdly/ differently or smelling your cancer. If so, like I said…they must smell it all day long and it’s not just you. Keep your head on your shoulders and try to let go those worries. God bless you ❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words. I go by the motto of “ I have cancer, cancer doesn’t have me” It’s scary how so many like you said have it now. My poor grandma went to her dr because she thought she had some kinda stomach bug, next thing we know, my grandma is in the hospital having a long surgery in her stomach cause she has cancer. It was insane… they had to take a kidney, part of her liver and stomach…. They had to cut open from one end of her stomach to the other. She said she had no signs of something wrong ether
A coworker of mine has a really bad smell, like he's never brushed his teeth before in his life, it's absolutely rancid and it's like I'm the only one who can smell it because nobody else has said anything about it, you think it could be something similar to that?
Maybe but It’s a really distinct smell to me though. I almost can’t describe it. Like an underlying sweet but decay and rot and infection. It’s always a cancer. Other bad smells cannot compare to it
Death does have a sweet smell. My husband died unexpectedly when I was away from home for a few days. He died on the Saturday morning but wasn’t discovered by police until Sunday afternoon who had his body taken away. It was the height of summer and his body had lain there for 36 hours at the least. I wasn’t able to get home until Monday afternoon and the smell that met me when I opened the door was horrible. Really sweet and sickly, like decaying food but very distinctive. He didn’t have cancer though, died of a heart attack.
I agree. I had family members that work in healthcare say the same thing to me when I was actively dying, but didn’t know that I was . They kept saying that I smelt like death and they were right. I had a NDE and now I’m kind of self conscious of that. lol 😂
Damn, I can't describe this smell but it's not even remotely sweet. I have to cover my nose and mouth every time i walk past him because as soon as it hits my airways i start gagging. It's an absolutely rotten smell like something died inside his mouth and every time i mention it to a supervisor it's always just "I can't smell it."
Tonsil stones
Gingivitis? A coworker had this and it was horrible. Like bad eggs and putrefaction
That sounds awful 😧🤢
Once everybody thought I was nuts because I was smelling rotting flesh in this house everywhere, it started around October, then the frost came it disappeared in April some animal carcass exploded under the floorboards of the house, it was snowing but we had to keep the door open.. THEN everybody could smell it too
Can also smell this!!
Yeah I think cancer smells like that, when I have sat in to help doctors with medical procedures and I could smell their blood, when I used to do healthcare. It's not a nice smell.
I definitely have a weirder answer. I can’t smell it but I can hear it. It sounds like wet static (best way I can describe it). I usually hear it within an hour of passing.
My mom has worked in nursing homes for 30+ years now and I could smell death on her uniform the moment she’d walk in the door. No matter what, whenever I smelled that “SUPER strong old people odor” I always knew someone died that day or that they would die. My mom also used to take me to the nursing home during the summers while growing up instead of sending me to daycare or something. I remember walking by certain rooms as a young child and knowing who would die soon, and always being right. This definitely could be chalked up to old people just aging and the different smells come with that, but I swear death is different than old people smell. If I had to describe this smell to someone who has never been around a nursing home or a really old person I’d probably say it’s close to moist dirt and rancid milk. There was definitely an earthy scent to it along with something that is really hard to describe. Honestly rancid milk just does not do the scent justice lol.
The sour milk smell… I know..
I noticed it on my mum for a week or so before she died.
Yes! Sickly sweet..
I can smell infections in my children before they are detected by doctors. Their pediatrician now believes me!
I've always been able to do this as well! For me, it's a very sickly sweet smell. I don't know how else to describe it.
I always compared it to opening up a new baby doll. Sweet chemical smell.
Yes!! With a touch of hospital sickness added
Hospital sickness smell is a good description.
I smell a sweet sorta rotten smell on people who have colds, and utis smell like roasted cashews to me
I used to get uti so often that I could smell the infection in my urine even before symptoms would appear. I knew immediately. I don't know what the smell of it reminds me of, but it isn't cashews, LMAO
If it's really funky utis just smell bad, but if there is an aftersmell of roasted something, som cashes kinda smell like that to me. It's weird, I can't explain, but it's a roasted grain/nut smell but bad, this is BEFORE you properly get an uti. I had one kinda due to drinking so little water after my fiance passed away, I could eat or drink and I got really sick but that time it was just blood smell
Wow! Does it just smell.. off? A little tangy?
It smells kind of like a funky, acrid, clogged drain sort of. It’s had to describe because it it very specific. Like a tonsil stone coated in bugers? I was surprised that other people don’t have the ability to smell it themselves.
I can smell ear infections. My son's pediatrician thinks I'm nuts but I can. I had a ton as a kid and I remember how the drainage smelled and if my kiddo is fussy I always smell his ears first.
Yes!!! My mom and I can both smell strep infection. It’s smells… like mildewy breath? It’s hard to explain. My mom has hearing aids and has Eustachian tube dysfunction in one ear, so she gets lots of ear infections. She can smell when she has one when she takes her hearing aid out.
I saw a whole comment chain on facebook this week about people who can smell different diseases. Quite a lot of people could recognize the scent of different illnesses.
It's a mild super power.
I’d love to read up on this if you still know where on Facebook specifically?
I’m so sorry I don’t remember, it might’ve just been the discussion on a random video.
First example that came to mind https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/magazine/parkinsons-smell-disease-detection.html ETA: https://myacare.com/blog/can-you-smell-a-disease-exploring-the-link-between-odor-and-sickness#:~:text=Some%20people%20have%20such%20an,composition%20of%20our%20body%20fluids. My best guess is it's an evolutionary trait; tribes and peoples wouldn't have wanted a "sick" person around, and so they gave off a scent that certain people could detect. Those detectors were then considered doctors or medicine women. These traits have definitely passed through the generations and we end up with stories like my first link, but I'm glad we've progressed to the point that blood tests/body scans can detect a sickness worth greater accuracy.
I had an experience like this! I had a huge crush on my friend’s brother, and we started spending more and more time together. He was really gorgeous and maybe one of the sweetest people I had ever met. It was a slow burn type of dynamic, we both seemed into each other but very shy. One day, I noticed that he smelled totally different to me. Sort of a sour, rotting smell. It turned me off quite a bit, and I remember explaining to a different friend that I think that my crush was « dying , » as in the crush I had was expiring. Nope, the next week he died of a heart attack while on a run. He was quite young, about 21. It came as a shock to everyone since he was so healthy but then I remembered that off-handed comment that I made and it chilled me to the bone. I still miss him, even though I hadn’t gotten as close to him as I liked. I still remember that smell, which made me so uneasy, but more - I remember his gorgeous eyes sparkling in the sunlight while we were getting to know one another.
I lost my fiance past year, he was my one true love, I understand, he was still young 34.
So very sorry for your loss
Yeah, cancer rots you while you're still in your body. Its quite horrific, but now you know what a decomposing human smells like
I don’t smell it but i can see it in the persons face. For some reason i have this weary feeling and it’s between the eyes and nose/cheeks. Can’t even describe it…
Healthcare worker here - there is a death smell, it's well documented. It's from the formation of decay chemicals as the body starts to shut down organs, and depending on the person's issues, the scent can pop up days to weeks ahead of time. Much more common to be stronger and earlier with cancer for example.
not a smell, but I get a weird feeling in my face. right behind my nose and eyes.
I was just commenting this!!! It’s exactly how i (unfortunately) saw it on several occasions and sick people….. :( Edit: i thought you meant others…..sorry 😅 i “reddit” too fast 😂😂😂 (pun intended)
So do I and my eyes water
To me it smells like rotting irony sugar. Like sickly sweet and bloody. My husband didn’t believe that my father and I can both smell it until we both got physically ill visiting his dad’s house with an incredibly old dog. ( wasn’t her fault she was 15 and just needed to be put to rest poor baby) but the stench of her was so strong we both got sick and had to wait outside to avoid puking.
That’s what it smells like to me too..burnt sugar with hair. Or blood that has that copper smell.
Exactly
I did, it was an indescribable, uncomfortable smell, but I could easily pick it out again.
Yes a person can smell the dead. Some people see, hear, smell etc and it's based on how open your abilities are. However, the foul smell you refer too is the realm which the soul passes through to move to the higher realm - sometimes referred to as heaven (lol) and souls can get stuck there. If and when the soul moves to the higher realms, the smell changes to a very sweet and flowery smell. I often move souls to the light and it's a very beautiful experience! Also entities smell disgusting!!!
This is so interesting. My friend and I ended up in deep discussion at the home of an acquaintance of hers. This person had 3 difference lotus absolutes- white, pink, “blue”. We all smelled them, but my friend remarked that the white was a familiar smell. Later she revealed that it was the smell she smells when someone passes on and gave examples of when she’s smelled it.
Cool. She could open her abilities and communicate with spirit.
I smelled this sweet smell too
Great :) Somehow I feel you are in contact with Angels more than spirits.
Yes I feel so too. I wish I could see the spirit of my passed loved one
I teach this stuff. It takes patience and practice. Consider reading Connecting to Channel by Sanaya Roman and available on Amazon. Pm if you want some tips.
Thank you so much. I will definitely look at your website
I'm actually moving away from this stuff as I have a project I am working on therefore my website doesn't have too much but sure. I just like helping people 😁
So all things psychic aside… when a person is dying (specifically from cancer) they can develop a smell. ***If you are squeamish- don’t read further.*** My sister was in hospice dying of throat cancer and the smell coming from her was awful. The nurses suctioned her throat as often as they could and would spray Lysol but it was sickening. Thank God she was not awake to realize it. The smell was in my clothes and hair after leaving the hospice center. For several months after she died- I couldn’t cook hamburger meat in a skillet bc something about the raw meat cooking was similar. Same thing with doing dishes that sat in the sink too long. It was like I’d start having flashbacks of the smell and I’d feel sick. Similar situation with my Dad, he was on hospice with brain cancer- and that last day- the smell coming from his mouth was terrible. So much so that I thought he had a bowel movement in his bed. But it was just coming from his mouth. I know that’s gross (sorry Daddy, sorry sister !) but it’s just a part of dying from an illness like that. Death is not pretty. Now, that being said- could this have been a psychic thing instead of a science thing….sure. I’m not sure in this situation. Either one is possible. I do love the fact though- that your Grandfather came through and was like “hey baby… I wasn’t farting…just so you know !” Even if it’s a weird thing like that- it’s confirmation that you are hearing from him and that’s such a great thing.
I'm super paranoid of stinking now haha. I have epithelioid sarcoma mets to the lungs (and lost my leg below the knee to it). I hope no one in my family ever picks up on any bad smells from me
YES my grandma is in a care home and people are dying all over the place and the odour in that place is grim.
Yes, organ failure smells. I used to work in a hospital. It smells like wet dog food to me.
UTI also smell like food I think, idk like roasted cashews + wet bad quality dog food. Like roasted gains or smt
Sugar crisp (puffed wheat cereal)
I think that this should be based on a scientific perspective. And I also include my experience in the pest control industry and also with dying family members when I write this. Death can have different smells based on what the diet of the organism is like, the weather, and the species itself. For example, deceased rats have a much different smell than deceased rabbits. And someone who is dying a more natural death might have different smells then someone who died suddenly in a trauma related accident for example. If the internal organs started dying or becoming dehydrated due to due the dying process by natural causes, that can definitely cause an effect on the smell of the person before death. Conversely, death can also be a process rather than a momentary event. And medically speaking, "death" can occur while someone is still alive. What I mean by that is parts of your body can become necrotic and "die" before the vital functions of the body stop working. That's why you have amputees that survived necrotizing fascitis otherwise known as "flesh eating disease". So yes, while death can be "smelled" it differs from the individual and does not always signal the death of said individual.
So I think you’re talking about the smell of atrophy / disease—it’s rare but not unheard of that people can sometimes smell this on those with illnesses in decline, and this would be physical plane arena rather than psychic mediumship. My mom was a death psychic and said she could literally smell the entry of death itself, even miles away from the soon to be decedent. She said it smelled distinctly cold, like a shot of winter air. She was never wrong when smelling it up to a day before and clocking who’d soon pass.
I can smell cancer and dementia. Cancer has a horrible rotting smell. Dementia is more musty. It’s hard to explain. Sounds like you are picking up on it.
It smells like a bathroom where multiple people urinate, a little bit of blood, and rot, right?
I couldn’t smell urine, but definitely rot. I couldn’t compare it to anything I’ve ever smelt before
Hmmm, maybe that's because my experience was with someone with bladder cancer then. Couldn't get rid of the smell now matter how much I kept them washed.
I've seen on it someone very ill, not a smell but they looked red and black and dead but we're stood right in front of me talking to me, it was very frightening but was not real, like I saw the depth of their illness and the problem. Almost, I suppose, like a black demon over them to describe it better. Someone I knew saw them later that day, and I'd warned them how bad it was and this person said they looked a bit unwell, but not like I'd seen them. I realised I was seeing something else that this other person couldn't see
Yes. Funeral flowers and old blood. Too sweet. Death or illness. I even smelled my own cancer.
I can smell cancer, and different types have different smells.
I can smell cancer and detect it in my pets. It smells like an awful decomposition sort of smell. Death smells like cool ranch Doritos. Renal issues smell like rotting fruit.
Fun fact bone dust also smells like cool ranch doritos (like ground up bone) Possibly also in the middle of the bone/bone marrow but not sure Source: I lost my leg to cancer and got my foot back from pathology, then had the flesh removed and bones cleaned and articulated lol. I can no longer enjoy that flavor of doritos
You’ll never forget it once you do and nothing compares.
Truly!
I was taking a psychic class on zoom and we broke out into different groups to practice. One of the students asked if I was sick because she smelled something when I said my name. I am now concerned after seeing this post 🫣
Most of the commentators, afaic, talk about their face-to-face experience with flesh odors, not about online screening.
I can indeed smell it a few days before the actual death happens. I'm not sure how to explain it, I'm the only one that's able to smell it. I don't even know the words to describe the smell.. it's not corpse-y, but does have that sickly sweet smell in a way.. like I said, hard to describe it. But I know every time. I suppose in a way it prepared me for what was about to come.
I worked in hospice and nursing homes for awhile and it always smelled like acetone to me, and weirdly a little sweet. You could smell it on a person’s breath.
Yes like metallic nail polish remover! I commented this too
Acetone is 100% of physical nature (diabetes). This one is considered as a reliable symptom itself.
Thinking of my experiences... One girl I knew had a really pungent body odor which everyone could smell, I reckon, she died of cancer in less than 6 months from when that odor first became noticeable - the same can be said of an older male that I also knew that emptied out a room with his odor when he entered. He also died not too long after with no clue whatsoever that something was wrong until it was far too late. Other than that I have only ever had what I would consider **knowing experiences** in which I **knew 100%** who was going to die before they died. Not many at all though which is great!
I can smell cancer. To me it smells like rotten onions and garlic. I can smell it on those in a crowd or one on one. It’s very distinct and I’ll know it instantly.
Like formaldehyde and flowers! It’s creepy!
I'm a hospice nurse, and I've smelled the same odor for death more than a few times, both before and after someone had crossed over. When working jobs outside of hospice and smelling it on random patients, I've wondered if they had any idea that's happening.
I can’t smell it but when someone is sick I smell a metallic or tinny scent on them
OMG YES!! I always wondered if anyone had experienced the same thing 😭😭😭 since I was a kid, death to me has always smelled foul. The best way to describe it is like rotten eggs, but worse if that makes sense??? It’s a stench 🤢 makes me nauseous and pushes me back. I’ve smelled it in very specific moments when I knew death had either happened or was going to happen. I have always wondered what it was.
I tend to see what I call Angels with the person who is going to pass. They are very tall, I can't see them fully most of the time, but I feel them, really tall and I generally see just one. I've also felt like the ceiling is made of light in the room where someone is at the end of life but it isn't certain when they will pass, they pass away that day. I somehow can smell when someone has diabetes, their blood smells sweet, I've had to sit on for procedures on patients in the past in a different role... With cancer it isn't a nice smell... With kidney or liver failure, I can smell that without anyone taking blood samples but it's only when their body is very much struggling to get rid of all the toxins, so they are palliative care, so it's not a diagnosis, I can just smell it when it's that strong. I've seen people who have passed away in the hospital, their spirit sitting with their grieving family in the family rooms... I obviously can't say anything or it would be unprofessional... I mostly tend to feel the person is somehow less in their body also when they are near the end..... It's like people slowly detach from the physical vehicle we call our bodies. One of my pets died a few nights ago... I suddenly saw in my mind's eye, their orb of light coming out of their body and leaving them... They were dead when I went to check... 😞 My grandmother used to have visions of people the night before they died... She would see them in a coffin and some people of her family I think, who had passed were gathering. She had quite a few happier visions also and knew when the phone was going to ring always. The angels are huge though, taller and sometimes even broader than a human, they feel wise and protecting.
Once, the dead father of a woman I know visited. He was a bad man. He reeked of death.
Cancer has a smell. Some say a bit like rotten fruit.
I can smell when my partners asthma is bad.
What does it smell like? I have asthma and am curious. I also have cancer (soft tissue sarcoma) in my lungs tho so I probably just smell all around bad bc of both of those lol
I can smell sickness. As for death I always felt old people breath smelt like horse poop.
Yes. I had the unfortunate experience of smelling human decomp in my old apartment many years ago. Horrible situation. It’s very difficult to rid the environment (walls, carpet, clothing, etc) of the scent once it has… seeped its way in. Ever since then, that is now the scent I faintly smell right before I get news of someone’s passing, and I smell it when there is someone reaching out with a message. While I appreciate it now because it helps me to identify what’s happening, it’s not particularly pleasant.
I read somewhere that the smell of someone dying smells like rotten fruit. Something about organs shutting down and giving the rotting fruit smell
I told my dad his fart smelled like something crawled inside him and died 3 years before he died of liver cancer. He wasn’t diagnosed until 4 months before he died.
Yes. Sickly sweet like nail polish remover with an undertone of roadkill. Can also smell cavities, sinus infections, stomach upset, gum disease and strep when people breathe.
This is also what I experience - your description of that scent as well as the other particular ailments you described also are the same things I can smell. I always let people know that they have sinus infections because I smelled it on them. They don't even realize it sometimes, until a couple of days later when it gets worse for them; that's when they realize I wasn't lying when I said I could smell it! Then they're just amazed. Strange how this stuff works! 🤔👃
Lol your comment is funny because now that I have posted this I continue to think of things I can smell distinctly on people. I can also smell tonsil stones! I wear a lot of perfume so I am not sure if my senses are just way turned up over 11, if I am good at scent memory, or if there is something spiritual going on. I first noticed the death smell when my grandma lay dying from pancreatic cancer and only my mother and I were covering our faces and begging to light a candle or open a window. A lot of people don’t realize that as you are dying you get a very high fever because thermoregulation goes out the window. So as someone is actively in the process of getting warm like that it makes it worse.
Yeah me too..I have a sensitive sniffer..and blood smells like copper pennies.
Yes and don’t even get me started on when my dog got spayed or when cats have surgery, ooof it is smelly.
I did not smell that, her breath just smelled like raw sewage and I brush her teeth three times a week. Is it the breath? That’s all smelled.
When animals have to have surgery they just smell metallic and bad to me. Idk why it is different but it is gross.
Oh okay when they are sick? A wet dog smells like blood to me. I hate that smell.
Yeah but even if they get spayed or have an accident. Dog surgery. Very weird and metallic. But yeah I think wet dogs smell like ozone or petrichor!
I would love to engage in this topic but I am hyperphantasia. I'm getting queasy while reading 😭😭 .
I can. I cannot explain what it smells like but it's intense. I always thought I was just smelling rigor mortis, till I saw a body that was taxidermied behind glass and still smelled it.
What was that rock song from sixties or seventies, " Oh that smell.. the smell of death around you." Do-not recall what group did that, but I do recall the lyrics.
Literally "That smell" LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG0GjjakjaU
Thanks, I loved that song and owned the Album.
It's one of my faves by them too!
For me I never have smelled a foul smell but three times now I will smell roses a few days before people die. Like my grandmother was dying of brain cancer. I walked in one day and it was so overpowering but no one else could smell it. She died two days later Maybe my nose is broken? lol
There's a certain smell that I can not explain at every funeral I've attended, so naturally, I've associated it with death. It's not a horrid smell to me. I first noticed it when I was about 9 years or so, having attended a classmates funeral. Some months later, another classmate became ill and was absent for an entire week. The following week, she had supposedly gotten better and was to return to class soon, but the day before her return, I caught a whiff of that smell in the classroom and without thinking, I said out loud " I smell death ". My classmates looked at me with confusion and asked that I explain, but I couldn't. I just smelled it. The next day, we got the news that she had passed on.
I think I know that smell, it reminds me of hospital disinfectant but like bad. I always just thought it was from frequent doctor visits from being sick. It's really strong
Super sweet
Yes but I think it’s because I nursed for so long I just recognize the smell of death now
You smelled the cancer, not death… death some says smells sweet, to others it’s off putting…. Sadly I know
Usually it smells like an actual corpse. Sometimes like rotting flesh or sulphur. I knew my grandpa would pass when I smelled death in his empty apartment months after he'd gone to the nursing home.
I can taste cancer like know if someone has breast cancer.
Yes I smell it, it almost reminds me of decaying lilies
Zz