We were headed to an appointment with my husband’s neurologist yesterday when I finally found the courage to mention that I had noticed a new odor on him lately. It’s not overwhelming and only happens when he has been sweating heavily, but it reminded me of the CarePartner in the United Kingdom who swears she can recognize PD by the way a person smells. What I realized in that moment is that there may be physical changes brought about by this disease that my husband doesn’t even recognize. If I don’t mention it to the doctor, who will? And, what if it isn’t related to his PD diagnosis?

When I brought the subject up my husband admitted that he too had been noticing a more distinct odor. After our talk, he was the one who mentioned it to the doctor and had me chime in. What I was afraid would be an awkward conversation went okay. His neurologist shared that she has heard of this happening and that it usually has to do with the changes in the microbiome of the skin. The  sebaceous glands secrete more sebum which is where the PD smell originates. She did suggest that we mention it to his PCP as well just in case she might want to look into other causes but really felt it probably was one of those lesser talked about symptoms of PD.

When I see something new or different happening in my husband’s body, I need to stop worrying about whether it would embarrass him and speak up. It is important to discuss everything I notice, no matter how small, first with him and then with his Neurologist and PCP. Changes are going to happen and we need to be on the same page if we want to understand the causes and work to minimize the impacts. We can’t address a challenge unless we both are aware of it. If I make sure to let everyone on the team know I’m seeing something new, then we can face it together.

To read more about this study visit Musky Smell and Parkinson’s Disease | Psychology Today.