body odor

[Bez]

I have a friend who used to get called 'dog [censored] breath' when he was at school. He now eats mints all the time. Insulting people helps them (if it's valid criticism).

[mwilli31]

Wait for a holiday or birthday and give them some deodorant in wrapping paper and tell them not to open it until they get home.

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Is it ever acceptable to let someone know they have bad body odor? In such a circumstance what do you say without being too overbearing or rude? Is it possible the person really believes they dont smell bad? What if they tell you deodorant is against their personal beliefs...How do you handle being in confined areas with this person

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Yes. I faced this exact problem from a friend and was forced to tell him to either clean his ass up or get the [censored] out of my house. He stunk that bad..lingering stench on my furniture when he left. Either you tell them or talk behind there backs...which is more honorable? You decide.

[Benal]

Most people that have bad BO know they do, and most dont care.

[bosoxfan]

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How can deodorant be against someone's personal beliefs?

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thread

[Blarg]

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How can deodorant be against someone's personal beliefs? That's quite possibly the most retarded thing I've ever heard. I guess they could be French, but still...

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I once had a Belgian roommate who admired all things French, including bathing the "French way," which is not bathing at all for days on end, just trying to cover the stink with cologne.

She tried to tell guys that the way to not go bald or even get your hair back was to be "natural" by not washing your hair and losing the "natural" oils. Just let it grease up, and wear a cap!

I've known a number of Europeans who seem to not feel quite the "French" way about it, but just not realize how much they stink and how much it offends everyone. Growing up in the tropics where it's so hot and humid, it takes almost no time to work up quite a stink, and showering more than once a day isn't uncommon just so you don't reek all the time. Me and my brothers and family and friends have had single or multiple--person "sitdowns" with foreign friends who just don't seem to "get it" about their stink, and they all seem to realize when it was more than one person telling them that it wasn't just that one day that was a problem, or one sensitive person or person with a bad attitude -- it was real. And then they adopted more typically American standards of cleanliness.

They even told us they were surprised, because nobody in middle or northern Europe bathed as often as we do, so it was a big adjustment for them. Especially in winter, they said, people normally go for days on end without showering. But when we reminded them that it wasn't snowing in the tropics and that you can get used to your own smell and not realize it's their, they eventually all agreed and came around.

[Blarg]

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Most people that have bad BO know they do, and most dont care.

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Agreed to a certain extent, but I think there are also many who know they stink and relish it, making it a passive-aggressive type thing. It's a way of asserting themselves that they can enjoy often without a direct confrontation. Sometimes it's probably completely subconscious, but since everyone knows stinking sucks, most people are probably pretty aware of it except on a bad day.