Hygiene issues-- Am I really that disgusting?

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I'd rather people tell me they don't like taking baths rather than lying about those. It's OK to not tell people these, or "omit certain truth", but lying is not OK. People can tell if you're not as clean as you told them, then they won't trust you on other things you say either. To me it's not worth it to lose people's trust over something as small as these.

Some people may lie because they are ashamed and even though they know better, it's their only face saving option at that point. Been there, done that in the past.

It's pretty obvious if you haven't bathed in a few days.

I'm saying that if you do; it's not really necessarily to point it out to everyone.

I too have had hygiene problems. But mine is a bit different, and probably AS-related. I don't like taking baths/showers because I HATE the way the water feels on my dry skin when I first get in. Weird, I know. But it is what it is. Once I DO get in and get wet all over, I'm fine with it and enjoy the water. But then I don't want to get out because I don't like the way it feels to be wet, cold and naked.

I'm not very active, and have a pretty sedentary job. So I'm not working up a sweat the vast majority of the time. However, I do live in Texas where it is VERY hot in the summer (sometimes in the winter too). So I sweat even just sitting around. So I'm sure I get to smelling after a couple of days. But even then, I tried fooling myself into thinking that I didn't smell bad..and this was after as long as two weeks without ANY kind of washing at all. I started noticing people making comments about people smelling and how bad it was, and how nice showers are, etc. They never mentioned me directly, but I'm pretty sure the comments were directed at me.

I used to be MUCH worse than this. When I was in high school, I'd go a month or longer. Could be at least one explanation for why I was so unpopular, although no one ever said anything. And I believe that one of my boyfriends probably cheated on me and eventually dumped me because of it.

I finally figured out the concept of other people can smell me before I can. By the time I can smell myself, I've already waited too long. I'm getting much better now, and am trying to get better still. Hopefully I can move past the sensory issues, i.e. the icky feel of the water on me and equally icky feel of being cold and wet.

One thing I DON'T let go -- my teeth. I brush my teeth every day, and not just a quick going over, but a thorough minute and 1/2 brushing. They just don't feel clean otherwise. And I floss sometimes -- not every day, but enough to make a difference. I can't stand to look at funky, nasty teeth, and I'm not going to have any of my own.

I'll admit it, that I'm a bit lax on my hygiene. My bf says that I tend to be pretty sweet-smelling by nature (I have the dryer softer skin type btw, bf has to bathe near daily, especially if he does karate he sweats buckets). But I'm still not very motivated for the whole daily bathing grind. Maybe if I threw my bf in the shower I will follow him in there. But that might result in a higher than intended water bill. And the funny thing is, when I do shower, there's just something about the water sign in me that doesn't make me want to leave the shower either, and I end up staying there for about an hour if I don't set a timer because I can't stop thinking about stuff when there's water running down my body.

It has been mentioned about the dislike of being cold and wet. I hate that too. I also hate just being partially wet too. This is why I always have hated doing the dishes as well.

With that said, there are some things on my hygiene that I don't like to skimp on. I do use the towelette wipes on myself because I do not like getting infections down there anytime I do anything sexual. And I change my panties daily, clothes near-daily. And I don't forget to reapply deoderant. Probably the number one thing that looks nasty on me unbathed though is my hair because I have very fine naturally blonde hair. But most of the time I keep it back in a bun anyway.

When it comes to doing laundry, I slack on that as well. But, I have the proper excuse of owning way too many clothes. I will basically let my hamper stack to the top before I do laundry again, then do 3 or 4 loads in one day.

I also know that I should be doing more with my dental hygiene. I get ratted out by my brother-in-law and my sister all the time because he's my dentist and she's his hygienist. See the thing though is, I have to be distracted with something though because I hate the sensory issues dealing with brushing and flossing. And too, the best of the best when it comes to toothbrushes, the sonicare, drives me crazy because it vibrates my head and sinuses in a funny way. I have found that the unit works good for other "kinds" of stimulation (ha!), but I just hate the way it feels on my gums. I do use it for brushing, but I am just tolerating it at this point though.

I hate those kind of products, everything from air freshener, to douche, to strong perfume and things like that. Such a pointless unnatural allergy fest.

Wow, some of us really are disgusting. LOL

Anyway, minotaur, my hygiene is so-so these days. I was raised to brush, floss, deodorize and shower EVERY day. make the bed, every day.

Now...not sure if I've gotten lazy, or tired, or rebellious. I shower every couple of days or so. (If my hair feels greasy--yeah, it's PAST time for a shower.) I'm finding that baths are easier--they're soothing, they don't wear me out and I think it's easier for those with sensory issues (no jolt of water hitting you).
Sometimes I forget to brush my teeth--maybe I need to do what my hygienist suggested, and put up a note asking myself if I brushed my teeth today. I hate the sensation of toothpaste dribbling down my chin too (but I don't want another giant dental bill either).
Deodorant--I put that on daily. Takes five seconds.
I brush my hair daily. Have to, cause I shed like a dog.

Now, if I'm on vacation with family, or I'm dating--I absolutely make myself conform to the cleaning/grooming standards of our culture whether or not I like it. It's non-negotiable. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

These days, there's a quote I remember reading in a book that I tell myself if I'm tempted not to bathe when I need to:
"If you can smell you today, someone already smelled you yesterday." LOL

Just a thought - your own nose is probably not the best judge of how good or bad you might smell. If people are backing away and saying "I gotta' go... seeya!" you may smell bad. Extreme smells like heavy perfume or BO is highly repulsive!

Fuzzy yellow teeth with stuff stuck in it (or rotting black spots like a few people I know) is also really, REALLY gruesome!

Would you put a food item that's spoiled and rotting anywhere near your mouth? Same deal.

was in nasty traffic accident last thurs. haven't bathed since then, i'm reallly disgusting now.

I'm training a new guy today... he's dirty and smells like sour milk and cigarette butts.... I want to go home and cry. YUCK!! !

I feel your pain! I absolutely get ill when I have to smell somebody's BO. That is why I didn't last long in the healthcare field.

When I used to ride the bus to work, there was a guy that I called the BO Sniper. He looked really nice -- he worked in an office so wore a suit every day. His hair was wet like he had washed it, and his skin looked clean. But God forbid he sat next to you. I don't know if he never had his suits clean or if he had some weird skin condition, but he REEKED! So badly I could barely breathe. I discovered that if I sucked on an Altoid mint, I couldn't smell him for the time the mint was in my mouth. I'd go through 3 or 4 of them during the 45 minute downtown.

It really depends on the person though how bad it smells. I had an EXTREMELY strange experience on the bus one afternoon. It was a tyipcal hot humid summer day in Houston, so everyone was sweating. A guy got on the bus to go home a couple of stops past mine so I saw him get on. He wasn't much to look at -- a "George Constanza" looking guy kinda sloppily dressed, although in business attire. He sat down in the seat in front of me, and rather than being repulsed by his sweaty smell, I was INTOXICATED. Maybe it was pheromones or something, but his body odor was driving me crazy -- in a good way. All I could think of all the way home was sex with him. I've never had another experience like it.

I'm not a terribly sweaty person nor do I smell all that much. However, even if I partake in limited physical activity then after 2 days of not showering I feel as if I need to regardless of smell. Particularly my genitalia and ass feel as if they need to be cleaned.

I don't mean to be unpleasant but bottom line is that once a week isn't enough. If you MUST only shower once a week then you should try to at least daily wash your armpits, genitalia and face and brush your teeth because those parts will get smelly inside 2 days (obviously not face but you don't want a shiny, grimy face from not washing either). It's preferable to change your underwear daily but as a minimum standard please don't wear it for more than two days. If you're not maintaining a standard of about that level than even if you can't smell yourself I promise we can. No amount of deodorant covers it up and even if it did the smell of buckets of deodorant is almost as bad as the smell of unwashed body. I'm not some hygiene freak - I usually shower every 2 days so please don't think I'm trying to impose some crazy standard.

There is a guy I know who doesn't clean himself nearly frequently enough. He's been told about it but doesn't make much effort to keep on top of it. Nobody wants to sit next to him because, and I am sorry for the crudeness here but it's true, his crotch smells rancid. I don't think he wears clean underwear for days at a time either. He even laughs about it? I don't understand that.

Normally, if I can't shower or don't really need to shower that night, I'll do a "PTA bath". It's just a sponge bath type thing and it's called that because it's "pits, tits, and ass". Those are the places where girls will get stinky from first.

Right now, because we have no hot water and I can't shower in cold, I do a sponge bath every day. It gets you just as clean as a shower or bath, but it just doesn't seem like it in my head for some reason. What I do is I get three wash cloths and two towels. I stand on one towel and then turn the water on in the bathroom sink. Use running water, not water ran into the sink with a stopper. I wet one washcloth and get it soapy and then wash my arms and then use the other two wet ones to rinse them with. Then I dry them. Then I take off my pants or skirt and leave my underwear on and do my legs and feet, one at a time. I rinse the soapy cloth out between each use and resoap it. Then I take my shirt off and do my chest and belly, then my back. Then I take my underwear off and do my bottom. Of course I do my face and neck first before anything, with Noxema on my face and throat and soap on my neck.

It does get me clean, probably cleaner than a shower because in the shower I just rub the bar of soap all over myself and rinse. But for some reason in my mind, it doesn't feel like it.

^^^ You might enjoy a sink of warm/hot water from a kettle.

It's pretty hot where I live (Alabama) so right now, washing off in the sink with cold water doesn't bother me, but I can't do the tub full or shower in cold. Years ago right after we were first married, our water heater broke and it was about three weeks before we could get another one. We didn't have a shower in that house, only a tub. I would boil four big pots of water at a time on the stove and dump the boiling water into the tub. It was still very hot after doing that five times (20 pots) and full enough for me to run the cold water into it to get it to the right temp and then I'd take a bath in it.

I really could do that here, but I've just been doing it this way. I actually should do that this weekend. Treat myself to a hot bath.

I can't do a sponge bath if the water is in the sink and it's stoppered. I have to have running water or I'll feel like I'm not clean. That's strange, I know, because sitting in a tub of water is no different.