Older Adults’ Body Odor: Research on Stereotypes Helps Children

Have you heard of "old people smell?" Stereotypes about older adults begin early in life, even as young as three years old. I saw this demonstrated at my school where I was principal. Our students completed pre and post surveys as part of their nursing home visits. We asked them what their expectations were about nursing homes and the residents who lived there. Fourth graders told us they thought residents would be boring, slow, grouchy, and trying to get into their "business."

At the nursing home, many residents made the students laugh and expressed how glad they were to see them. Students discovered that these older adults used to be young just like they were, and they were a lot like most people are. I remember several students being especially surprised to hear a woman in her eighties describe her basketball achievements in high school. Students were amazed at how their stereotypes about older adults changed when they did the same surveys after returning to school from their visits.

What concerns me most about these and other stereotypes about older adults is not only the negative impact they have on the self-esteem of the adults themselves, but also the negative impact they have on children. These negative biases can impact them through the years in ways that are damaging in how they treat older adults, perceive themselves, and in how they perceive aging. These youngsters may grow up to become the negative stereotypes they believe if they are not made aware that many stereotypes about older adults are myths.

With these thoughts in mind, I was encouraged that a common stereotype about older adults having bad body odor now has research to support that this stereotype is false. Many people, including some older adults, believe that a bad “old people smell” similar to mildew, tuna, mothballs, etc. naturally comes with aging. This NPR article published in the PLoS ONE Journal showcases research that not only refutes that theory, but also concludes that many older adults smell better than young people. Old people smell different, not worse.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homesis available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Caregiver-Patient Poems: Nursing Home, Long-Term Care Mealtime, Volunteer Appreciation

I fell in love with poetry at an early age. The rhythms, the messages, and the sheer creativity of finding the right words have always been fascinating to me. As a hospice volunteer in Detroit nursing homes for many years, I naturally began to record my experiences in poetic forms. These are two of my caregiver-patient poems that are published in online anthologies at other websites.  I’ve given you the first few lines. Click the two publication links below to read my complete poems and offerings by other writers.

Mealtimes in long-term care and other older adult facilitites mean nourishment for residents’ bodies and minds. They are wonderful opportunities for caregiver and patient to share time together, sometimes ending with a special treat.

Sweet Treat

By Frances Shani Parker

A wisp of a woman, she waits

eagerly for her dinner tray.

I hide her magic ice cream cup

that makes other foods invisible.

Each mouthful of nutrition

adds time to her aging clock.

“Is this my ice cream?” she asks
before I feed her meatloaf.
She chews slowly, searches
for the missing sweetness.

Read the complete poem at The Barefoot Review.

Volunteering with terminally ill patients in a nursing home comes with unique challenges, especially when the patient and volunteer have difficulty communicating. Solving problems, realizing personal growth, and enjoying patient appreciation make service a very rewarding experience.

Victory

By Frances Shani Parker

His weary, tucked-in body
lies in a nursing home bed.
A black Gandhi, he yearns for peace.
His days are chains of mountains
formed by pressures of frustration.

I approach him like a helpless child,
wonder how to lift his spirits.
Eyes that have seen ninety years
squint tightly as daggers of pain
pierce his cancerous form.

Read the complete poem at The Survivor's Review.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homesis available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog