Fishy Smelling Odor Caused By Trimethylaminuria (TMAU)
Author: Anonymous
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Whoa, I just saw a feature on the Discovery Health Channel about a woman with bromhidrosis who had a fishy smelling odor caused by a genetic disease, TMAU or “Trimethylaminuria”.
Read about the disease here on Wikipedia.
It can be controlled somewhat by diet by eliminating, fish, legumes and eggs.
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Wow, I’m just learning about this so this is really interesting for me. Apparently TMAU is also called “fish odor syndrome” or “fish malodor syndrome” and it explains the fishy smell that a lot of people complain about.
Apparently it’s a metabolic disease (you see this concept of the metabolism coming up over-and-over) that causes abnormalities in the production of certain enzymes.
It was initially and formally discovered around 1970 but Shakespeare referred to it many hundreds of years ago in some of his plays.
It seems to effect more women than it does men and the actual smell can differ slightly based on the foods you eat, drinks you drink, other stuff you ingest, and the way other things around you smell.
There are things you can do to prevent fishy smelling odor.
Avoiding certain foods that are high in Nitrogen, Sulfur, Choline or Carnitine (eggs, legumes, certain meats and fishes).
Taking small amounts of antibiotics to reduce the bacteria levels internally (speak with a doctor).
Using detergents that have slightly higher levels of acidity.
UPDATE: New tests have shown that the fishy smelling odor caused by TMAU can now be reduced by up to 85% by taking charcoal and/or copper chlorophyllin daily. Details are still being gathered, but according to Wikipedia:
*85% of people tested completely lost their “fishy” odor
*10% partially lost their odor
*5% kept the scent
That’s great news for Bromhidrosis sufferers who have that fishy smell they can’t get rid of.
Stay tuned for more.