the smell
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 38
the smell
So I know husband is an alcoholic I can normally smell it on his breathe. Tonight I didn't he took a shower like normal. But I can smell it in his skin,
anyone one else experience this? Is this a sign is getting worse meaning liver problems?
anyone one else experience this? Is this a sign is getting worse meaning liver problems?
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
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Hi ashamed2day
I can tell you the more and the longer you drink, the longer that smell sticks around.
I'm not sure if it signifies anything serious, or whether relates to the liver though.
I haven't got that medical knowledge.
D
I can tell you the more and the longer you drink, the longer that smell sticks around.
I'm not sure if it signifies anything serious, or whether relates to the liver though.
I haven't got that medical knowledge.
D
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 38
He came over to discuss expenses and give me $$ to cover.
It got to late so he is spending the night. As I put the cover over him I could smell it coming out of his skin.
im sorry but this is gross. i feel sad for him this is not normal but I can't live on a hope he will change.
It got to late so he is spending the night. As I put the cover over him I could smell it coming out of his skin.
im sorry but this is gross. i feel sad for him this is not normal but I can't live on a hope he will change.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 976
My Ah will sleep on the soda if he's drunk, and when I get up in the morning my whole living room wreaks of vodka. I read somewhere that when alcohol is processed it's expelled through the lungs which is why you can smell it on their breath. Not sure what it means when you can smell it on their skin though. Such a gross smell.
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,582
I read an article a while back that said the weird metallic/acidic/sour smell from alcoholics skin is due to their kidneys and livers not able to process all the toxins they ingest so some of the waste comes out of their skin. Ick.
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 256
Yes, it comes out through their pores. My AH was drinking so heavily/often I would always smell this type of "sweet" smell on him but could never pinpoint what it was. Thought it was a mixture of his aftershave, deodorant, soap. I was not aware how much he was drinking b/c he would do it before he got home, hide it in the house, car. etc. After he went to rehab and relapsed I realized the smell was the vodka that he had been drinking. Now I have a very keen sense of it.
My AH also have liver damage, so it takes his body ALOT longer to process alcohol than it would a non-alcoholic. So they may not be drunk anymore, but their body may not have been done processing the alcohol through their body yet either.
My AH also have liver damage, so it takes his body ALOT longer to process alcohol than it would a non-alcoholic. So they may not be drunk anymore, but their body may not have been done processing the alcohol through their body yet either.
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 113
My ah got his liver and kidney checked while in the hospital detoxing. He tells everyone they are miraculously fine but I talked to the doctor and his liver was literally shutting down. He is lying about what the doc said. My ah has convinced himself he's fine when he was actually not that far from death.
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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My ex drank beer and he'd reek of alcohol in that alcohol way. Anyone that over drinks will smell that way the next day and if you drink every day well....
He also had this sickly sweet smell about him that last year. I saw him last month and he is sober and that smell is gone.
That smell is such a trigger for me. I can smell it in grocery store check outs, in restaurants - wherever someone is next to me and has that smell. To me it is the smell of alcoholism and the death of my dreams and in an instant it can take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes. It is such a sad sad smell.
He also had this sickly sweet smell about him that last year. I saw him last month and he is sober and that smell is gone.
That smell is such a trigger for me. I can smell it in grocery store check outs, in restaurants - wherever someone is next to me and has that smell. To me it is the smell of alcoholism and the death of my dreams and in an instant it can take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes. It is such a sad sad smell.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,388
Hate that smell too. I remember the first time I smelled it. There was this man, my parents' buddy. I was too little to figure out why he smelled that way. But it was that fruity, sweet smell, and he was soaked in it. Yet, not a pleasant smell. I did not like being held by him because of that smell. And he talked loud, and argued a lot. I think my parents cut the ties with him and his wife at one point. They stopped visiting.
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: My Happy Place
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Google-ing and endless web searching will drive you crazy! That is not the way to seek medical advice. If he had the tests on his liver and such done and he said they were all fine that doesn't make it true either.
Alcoholics just have that odor (maybe not all, I don't know, mine did)
I just chalked it up to the quantity of booze he drank. It only made sense that smell would seep from his pores and be on his breath constantly. He is still alive and kickin 4 years later so who knows.
Alcoholics just have that odor (maybe not all, I don't know, mine did)
I just chalked it up to the quantity of booze he drank. It only made sense that smell would seep from his pores and be on his breath constantly. He is still alive and kickin 4 years later so who knows.
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Canada.
Posts: 795
Thumper, i can smell it a mile away too. Makes me sick to my stomach and i want to cry.
Strangely Ah will smell the same if he drinks anything with aspartame. Maybe because he will drink a 2L bottle of diet soda in a couple hours? Or maybe his liver and kidneys aren't as good as he said they were
Strangely Ah will smell the same if he drinks anything with aspartame. Maybe because he will drink a 2L bottle of diet soda in a couple hours? Or maybe his liver and kidneys aren't as good as he said they were
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Join Date: Aug 2014
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We had a talk and I explained that I only want the best for him whether we are together or not but strongly suggest he thinks about getting a check up and tests. He said he would and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I thought that was very sweet of him.
We had a nice talk and I explained he needs to take care of his health now because as we age things change. I know he isn't thinking of his future health but I feel good knowing I mentioned it to him.
I take things one day at a time. I have my moments of complete melt downs and why me but I also have a surreal calmness as well.
I don't think I will every understand why he chooses to live like this. I can tell he is making changes but I also know they are superficial changes and nothing ever really does. I've done the same song and dance for to long and I can see the situation for what it really is. It's like I am a third party looking into a movie at this point.
We had a nice talk and I explained he needs to take care of his health now because as we age things change. I know he isn't thinking of his future health but I feel good knowing I mentioned it to him.
I take things one day at a time. I have my moments of complete melt downs and why me but I also have a surreal calmness as well.
I don't think I will every understand why he chooses to live like this. I can tell he is making changes but I also know they are superficial changes and nothing ever really does. I've done the same song and dance for to long and I can see the situation for what it really is. It's like I am a third party looking into a movie at this point.
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: UK
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Just as a point of information, our skin is as much of an excretory organ as our kidneys and anything being excreted will come out through our skin, too. If it's something with a distinctive aroma, such as garlic or curry spices, that will too.
I'd also be sceptical about an alcoholic saying that his liver and kidneys are fine. My diabetic, alcoholic ex-partner also used to tell me that drinking large amounts of alcohol is beneficial when you're diabetic! (Though, to be fair, it probably is beneficial to the bank balance of whoever's selling the booze
)
I'd also be sceptical about an alcoholic saying that his liver and kidneys are fine. My diabetic, alcoholic ex-partner also used to tell me that drinking large amounts of alcohol is beneficial when you're diabetic! (Though, to be fair, it probably is beneficial to the bank balance of whoever's selling the booze
)
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Join Date: Jan 2012
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Ugg that smell. .. on occasion I sleep in the guest room to avoid being violently woken up in the middle of the night by a flailing drunk. When I do, and come into our room the next morning, the smell is so pungent that it makes my eyes water and triggers my gag reflex. I don't know how either of us live with it. I think they truly just pickle themselves.
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