We all know that our body gives off smells, but did you know these odours can also reveal a lot about your health? Scientists say certain diseases can actually change the way our body smell, sometimes years before symptoms appear.
A famous example is of Joy Mile, a woman from Scotland who discovered that her husband smelled different years before he was diagnosed with Parkison’s disease.
Later, she realized other Parkison’s patients had the same musky smell. Doctors tested her ability, and she correctly identified patients just by sniffing their T-shirts. In one case, she even predicted the illness before doctors confirmed it.
This showed that diseases can release special chemicals through our skin, sweat, or breath. Experts call them volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are tiny molecules produced when our body breaks down food for energy. If something wrong inside the body, these molecules change and so does our smell.
For example:
- People with diabetes can have a fruity or “rotten apples” smell because of chemicals called ketones.
- Liver disease can cause a sulphur like or musty odour.
- Kidney problem may give breath a “fishy or ammonia like smell.
- Infections like tuberculosis or cholera also have their own distinct odours.
Dogs, with their powerful noses, can detect cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s and even malaria. Scientists are now trying to build machines that can do the same job, simple tests that could catch illnesses early without painful or costly procedures.
Researchers in the UK are already developing a skin swab test to spot Parkinson’s disease in its early stages. Others are studying how odours can help diagnose cancers, brain injuries, and infections.
This could be life changing, instead of waiting years for symptoms to appear, doctors might one day identify diseases through a quick smell-based test.