Over the past few years, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of smelly people out and about. In particular, it seems like there’s been a sharp increase in the number of people unable to clean themselves properly after going to the toilet.

This increase has been since at least lockdowns ended. It used to be that maybe once in a while there’d be the odd person you’d turn away from or maybe one regular grumpy post office customer who always stank but now it seems like every time I go out there’s a minimum of one random person who is utterly offensive and either doesn’t realise or doesn’t care.

It makes sense to me that people who live alone would become more lax in their personal hygiene during lockdown. Perhaps it was always this way and I’m being retro-romantic about pre-lockdown times. Perhaps it’s because I shop at Asda, I don’t know.

Has anyone else noticed an increase in smelly people in the past few years?

Edit: bewildered by the downvotes.

  • voracitude@lemmy.world
    8·
    7 months ago

    Could be a symptom of long COVID going unnoticed - if it severely impacts or eliminates the sense of smell in some, there’s a good chance it’s merely damaging the sense in others, and some mildly enough that they don’t notice at all.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝@feddit.ukEnglish
    42·
    7 months ago

    In particular, it seems like there’s been a sharp increase in the number of people unable to clean themselves properly after going to the toilet.

    How close are you getting to people that you can smell their bungholes?

    Perhaps it’s because I shop at Asda

    People in Waitrose also stink but it is of money that they wipe their arses with. Although since notes went plastic, this must be like the old grease proof paper they used to use in school toilets.

    It makes sense to me that people who live alone would become more lax in their personal hygiene during lockdown.

    Or you/we emerged from lockdown not used to being around the odours of other people…

    I tend to be fairly nose blind but I know a few people who are reportedly stinky (I try not to smell them) and they are both single older guys living on their own and the issue seems to be them from them not changing their clothes often enough. I imagine some might have got into a similar routine during lockdown when all sorts of grooming went out of the window.

    I will ask in the pub on Friday once the stinky guy leaves.