BRISBANE - A woman who spent four decades puzzled by a pungent body odour "resembling rotting fish" has finally had the smell explained by Australian doctors.
The Perth woman has been diagnosed with an incurable genetic condition called trimethylaminuria, or fish malodour syndrome, which affects the smell ofsweat, breath and urine.
"The characteristic body odour resembling rotting fish can be intermittent, variable and influenced by diet, hormones and medications," say her doctors, writing in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.
Professor John Burnett, head of pharmacology at the University of Western Australia, said the unpleasant body odour was first noticed when the woman was just seven, but the path to diagnosis had been "extremely difficult".
"After experiencing ridicule, distress, shame, anxiety and low self esteem during her school years, she first consulted a doctor about the problem at the age of 17, then again two years later, followed by a further four doctors over the next 20 years," Prof Burnett said.
Part of doctors' examinations included "being sniffed", with all writing her off as a hypochondriac.
"She was repeatedly told that she had a hygiene neurosis," the specialist said.
The woman, now 41, has finally been diagnosed by a microbiologist with the condition, a genetic mutation which triggers excess excretion of trimethylamine, a compound found in fish.
"Now having a name for her condition she found an internet-based support foundation and referred herself for genetic counselling," Prof Burnett said.
The experience should be a warning to doctors to better recognise such rare conditions which, while benign, have severe psychological effects, he said.
"Affected individuals experience shame and embarrassment, fail to maintain relationships, avoid contact with people who comment on their condition and are obsessive about masking the odour with hygiene products and even smoking," he said.
