Conditions
Fish Odour Syndrome
Getting funny looks in the street? Colleagues fighting over who has to sit by you at work? Tramps gagging as you walk past them, insisting that you don’t spare them any change, even offering their own day’s takings so that you can go straight to the shop and buy a bar of soap? You may be suffering from TMAU, or Trimethylaminuria, an unusual metabolic condition which means you have difficulty breaking down and digesting certain compounds found in food. Most people’s bodies don’t have a problem breaking down timethylamine (TMA) and turning it into timethylamine oxide (TMAO) but for those that do the Trimethylamine is instead disposed through your sweat, breath and urine giving off a pungent fishy aroma. Yes that gut wrenching fishy stench that you presumed was the local harbour has actually been coming from you. All of a sudden the alarm bells start ringing and one gigantic penny drops. Sadly we’re not talking salt-baked Sea bass with a Sorrel Hollandaise here either; this is the rotten, decaying variety – think Captain Birdseye’s jockstrap after 6 hard months at sea. Unsurprisingly it can be a tad distracting and more than a little embarrassing and additionally for the lucky ladies the smell tends to get worse around menstruation. However, there is help at hand for sufferers with a variety of antibiotics and probiotics available that can help ease the condition. Eating a diet low in choline also helps though can be tricky; choline is found in high amounts in eggs, wheat germ and certain meats but a doctor should be able to provide you with further information.
Comments and Questions
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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
hi im 30 male and have a bad smell of faeces cannot smell it myself but everyone around me can please can help me find out what this is or is causing it
I'm 24 and i smell horrible since i've hit puberty, i cant smell it but every one around me can. I have been tested fot TMAU but it came back negative. I took charcoal and clorphyl pills and even adopted a vegan diet for 2 years, dont think it helped much. Can anybody please help me ?
hi i'm 20 i've been with my boyfriend for over 1 year, and these last 6 months my wee and vagina have a very fishy smell coming all through the day and i always smell of fish when i wash it's still there, the smell comes though my clothes too I shower regualary and even when I am washing the smell is very pungent. Can you suggest a treatment? as iv been checked and have no infecton
I have a very fishy smell coming from my vagina, I shower regualary and even when I am washing the smell is very pungent. I use carbolic soap and that doesn't seem to help. Can you suggest a better treatment?
I don't know if this is linked, but I have found that I smell of a variety of things like rotten meat, poo and something that reminds me of grease. Its getting to the point where I am thinking of giving up work as everyone there is laughing and making comments about me behind my back. Can someone shed any light on this as I am clean, I have a shower in the morning and bath at night. Any advice would be helpful.
I suffer from severe redness and i get so embarassed, which makes me go even more red! I go red when an adult talks to me and even when someone that i don't know talks to me. I cant control it, i have tried relaxing but nothing seems to work :'(
i have a fish smell from my vagina. and it itchys after i have a shave. and there is a creamy sticky discharge any help
Im female, 72yrs old & 2 yrs ago I was diagnosed with Hiatus Hernia, Diverticulitis, Gallstones, Kidney Cysts & Duodinitis. Since then I have this awful fishy smell coming from my urine, belly button & poo. I can also smell it from my fingertips. Im sure its TMAU but my GP wont even do a test & wants me to have my gallbladder removed. I feel that there is some malabsorption going on in my gut since my diverticulitis diagnosis & am at my wits end now to know what I should/shouldnt eat for this disease.I hate going out in company now & so paranoid that I wash dozens of times a day with Femfresh but to no avail. Any advice would be appreciated.
cramberry jouce is great for fishy smells
penis smells fishy frequently, no pain or anything, urinating normally, rather distracting; the smell, what is this?
i sweat a lot under my arms even when sitting down and have to change my top at least 2 to 3 times a day? some times it just poors out iv tried diffrent sprays and bodywash but it still dont help
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