Help! My co-worker has an bad odor how do you tell her without offending her?

Question

She is a lesbian can't find no one and doesn't know why, she has a bad body odor that offends everyone you can smell her ten feet away!

Answer 1

As another user said, I also have a friend with this disorder. You never said what the oder smells like??

And it has nothing to with any amount of perfume you give her or how many times you tell her to take a shower. It is a genetic condition called TMAU or Trimethylaminuria.

Excessive production of TMA is linked to the intake of a variety of choline rich foods, (such as eggs, certain legumes, fish and organ-meats). Basically her body breaks down this vitamin incorrectly. (Its a B vitamin)

Symptoms may include foul body odors, halitosis and/or dysguesia, which can produce social embarrassment and can be temporarily relieved by normal hygiene procedures. Further, the unpleasant symptoms are often sporadic in occurrence and seemingly subjective, and when coupled with a lack of knowledge of the disease and its etiology among health professionals, may lead to diagnosis of poor hygiene, psychiatric problems, and/or referrals to other specialists. The latter has been financially draining many patients.


She may not have been diganosed yet. As you have read the lack of knowledge of this rare diesease.

I would refer her to do some research on this condition.

And don't mak fun of her. Im sure her life is hard enough.

Answer 2

The most effective, straightforward thing to do is to pull her aside, as politely as possible and tell her that she has a bad odor. Maybe she will appreciate someone telling her. But if you are not that close to her, then I would recommend you give her a perfume of Christmas. Maybe she will get the hint. But if you do not want to buy something and think that will not be effective, the best thing to do is let her know. You can even say "Hey, what's that smell??" And hopefully she will pick on, do it in a joking, many fun kind of way if you are close to her like that and she will not find offense. It all depends on the person. Some people are more sensitive than others, But that is not your problem, you just need to get her to shower more and use deodorant, or perfume, since it is your space and bad smells STINK!! (sorry there really isn't a way of not offending someone, just be as kind as possible)

Answer 3

You can always say "Hey, I got this awesome lotion/body wash/deoderant for Christmas and I think it smells wonderful." If she likes it, you can offer her a sample or say "I have an extra bottle. Want one?"

Does she have a friend or someone close to her at work? It might be best for that person to mention to her that she may need to change soaps or deoderant. After a time, sometimes our bodies get used to the either product that's being used and it becomes less effective.

There is an actual disorder in which people's bodies cannot break down certain enzymes, and the build up of such leads to body odor. She may have that and not realize it.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Just buy her a bottle of Hanae Mori perfume for $90,
put a Renuzit under her desk where she can't see it,
and a bowl of vinegar nearby that will scent the air.
Or buy a sachet of potporri.

All very affordable depending on your pocket.

Your Bio: "Looking for the right woman someday Meetint to many with too much baggage!"

Answer 5

Okay, the lesbian factor is not important here.

I say take her aside privately and point-blank tell her in neutral terms. Don't accuse, just tell her you're sure she's doing something but it's not working. Ask her if she can make a change. Suggest a low-cost brand name.

Heck, it's almost Christmas. Buy her some.

Answer 6

Bring in a perfume you like and act like someone just gave it to you and see if she likes it, and if she doesn't just spray her by 'accident' and then if she hates it enough she may feel compelled enough to bathe. When I was younger and someone around me smelled bad I would always spray them obviously with whatever good smelling perfume/body splash I had on me or just tell them outright that they smelled bad and needed to clean themselves or their clothes more often. Mind you, I didn't do that very rudely in public or anything, I would just pull them off to the side. ^_^

Answer 7

I had a schoolmate years ago who had the exact same problem. It was a tough situation as he sat right in front of me during math class. I eventually printed off an anonymous note which read, "Please use deodorant" and left it in his locker. Word to the wise: always type or print off these notes, preferably away from school/the workplace. If you handwrite them or use company/ school computers, they could be traced.

Answer 8

If you are a man, don't even go there, dude. It is none of your business and not your problem. IF you try to help show her how offensive she really is, you are opening up yourself for sexual harassment charges. When you get accused of something like that, you are guilty. Doesn't matter what you said, how you said it, or what your purpose was for saying it, you are just fired. PERIOD.

Ad P.S. Vinnymacho as the right idea! THAT is how you handle a lesbian. But you cant do that on the job, unfortunately

Lesbians, categorically, are man haters to begin with. Although she is being friendly to you now, there is something deep down in her saying, "All men are jerks." She will not be loyal to you.

Be polite to her and tolerant of her sexuality. But dude, DONT GET PERSONAL WITH A LESBIAN ON THE JOB.

Answer 9

Wow, does everyone else agree with you? 10ft away. Hmm maybe . if you were brave enough when no one else was there you could say" ____(insert name), I think you are great, but you honestly smell horrible" she'll say like what? then again be honest and polite."I'm only trying to be a good honest friend here, really looking out for you" I think that should work.Good Luck.

Answer 10

With a huge smile on your face tell her "You smell like urine that has been baked in the sun mixed in with a little bit of pig droppings!" She may think you're kidding, she may not....either way...She will get the point.