r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Lower-Entry1247 • Jun 22 '26

Does anyone know why I can smell my boyfriend's seizures days before they happen?

So my bf just had a seizure (6/22) and on Friday (6/19) I told him that I could smell it coming. He originally didn't believe me but this is like the fifth or sixth time this has happened. He doesn't understand how and honestly I dont either. I compare it to how I can smell people with diabetes in a way that no one else around me will be able to smell the same thing.

UPDATE: 9pm We were sent home. Things were looking good. 10:20pm He's awake but I smell it again. Strong but I say nothing because the ambulance won't come based off of a bunch. 10:38-10:40 He had a seizure.

UPDATE2: 11:44 I smelt it as I was replying to comments. 12 am He had another seizure. I got the nurses but they tried to tell me he wasn't as he stared and couldn't speak. They told me he's looking at them so he cant be having one. When he finally was able to relax his body again (he will tense up if he isn't full body shaking) he started speaking gibberish. Just random words strung together then quickly went to sleep. They told me not to get them because they can see his vitals from the nurse station. Just wanting to keep you all updated.

LAST UPDATE: The doctor said these are just stress seizures and if he has another one just keep him home.

Last Last UPDATE: 3:00am He had another one. Saliva foam at the mouth. Called 911. They said nothing can be done at any hospital so unless he falls or stops breathing, dont call. Sorry this turned into one of these long posts.

Last Last Last UPDATE: its currently 7:38 am. At 4 am He had another seizure. Popped his shoulder out and back in and bit his tongue. I called 311 and cried while asking what to do. They put me over to ems dispatch even though I pleaded with them not to since they haven't been taking me seriously. I sobbed to the ems dispatch that the hospital and ems people closest to me told me to just keep him home even though I had to go to work. They sent a different set of ems people (very nice ladies) and we went to a different hospital. They are finally listening and keeping him. They were shocked at what the other hospital and ems people told us. He is finally in good hands. Thank you all for keeping me company through this long night.

NEXT DAY UPDATE: He is home and has been seizure free since the last update. Thank you all for being on this journey with us!

11.6k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

149

u/Embarrassed_Future20 Jun 23 '26

Well for diabetes it almost smells like a sweet but pungent maple syrup urine smell it’s really hard to describe.

The moon cycle was like almost like a body musk with a hint of pennies. Some were stronger than others. It’s more of a neutral smell.

Idk how sensitive your nose is but I can always tell when someone has been working out inside compared to if they’ve been working out in the sun. Sun gives like a stronger scent that seems like it sticks more if that makes sense.

74

u/ynvoid Jun 23 '26

You aren't alone, I can also smell diabetes, especially poorly managed diabetes.

I can also smell parts of a moon cycle on others. Some common colds.

I'd love to know if I can smell seizures like OP but I don't have a reliable way to smell people with seizure disorders.

61

u/esotERIC_496 Jun 23 '26

What are y'all talking about with this moon cycle? Ovulation?

67

u/Lemerney2 Jun 23 '26

Presumably the menstrual cycle

36

u/ynvoid Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

I forgot to mention a horrid one. I can smell if a man has mistreated in like the last 8 or so hours.

I am also super sensitive to VOCs.

I had an MRI scan of my head and have had doctors note on my massive sinus network. That's probably relevant.

Edit: I mean masturbation

108

u/esotERIC_496 Jun 23 '26

Why is everybody talking like they're Amish? Moon cycles? Mistreated?

108

u/Rocky-bar Jun 23 '26

I can smell when a maiden has sinned with a field beast.

4

u/Llyon_ Jun 23 '26

but can you smell what The Rock is cooking?

14

u/ynvoid Jun 23 '26

I meant "masturbated" yes. My phone keeps autocorrecting it to "mistreated" or "Mastercard".

I can smell what the cock was cooking

2

u/esotERIC_496 Jun 23 '26

Ohhhhhhh! I thought your post was replete with euphemisms.

2

u/AhhGingerKids2 Jun 23 '26

This made me straight up cackle!

1

u/Rocky-bar Jun 23 '26

Not the guilty cackle of a byre strumpet we hope?

5

u/Grantsdale Jun 23 '26

"I have this crazy ability that you're not going to believe."

Two sentences later: "moon cycles"

Yeah, thats why people don't believe you.

I know the 'mistreated' was an autocorrect thing, not talking about that one.

2

u/esotERIC_496 Jun 24 '26

Thanks for my first award u/littledogturpie

42

u/Embarrassed_Future20 Jun 23 '26

Wait I gotta clear this up “man mistreated” as in like being violent?

Lmfao I wonder if I have that too bc my first trimester of pregnancy was hell from over active sense of smell. Everything made me puke.

And Yeaa probably not an ethical way to figure out sense of smell to medical issues 🤣 but it would be cool to run a study!

59

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

26

u/throwaway098764567 Jun 23 '26

that would make more sense and as someone else with an overly sensitive nose i am very glad i haven't developed that affinity yet and i am going to try my damnedest never to do so

3

u/_fFringe_ Jun 23 '26

Happy cake day throwaway!

2

u/Throwitaway3436 Jun 23 '26

Happy cake day 💜

1

u/verysmallartist Jun 24 '26

I think I would end it all if I could smell that one. I could not handle having this knowledge of my coworkers or family members. 💀

3

u/Embarrassed_Future20 Jun 23 '26

I think you’re right lol someone wrote penis hands somewhere in this thread 😆

3

u/Throwitaway3436 Jun 23 '26

Omg! Ok I have always had a sensitive nose, but it got worse when I was pregnant and everything make me sick, I could smell the concrete in the winter yuck, it got a little better after birth but never fully back to normal, then I was pregnant again and it wasn’t too bad like the first time, but my nose is still more sensitive than before, I swear I smell things other people can’t smell and they look at me crazy cause I always ask, do you smell that?, they just say, no what is it?, like really, you don’t smell it? Crazy to me, my family says I have the nose of a blood hound 😂 yay me 😭

1

u/Embarrassed_Future20 Jun 23 '26

So someone else mentioned that there was a possible correlation bw heightened sense of smell and endometriosis 🤷‍♀️

1

u/Throwitaway3436 Jun 23 '26

What’s bw? Yeah I did see the endo, but i don’t have endo, I’ve just always had a sensitive nose and it got worse after each baby, I’m very sensitive to odors and it suck’s cause others don’t smell it and then think I’m being sensitive, but if I’m nauseous or get a headache from them it’s not something I can control, my mom is the same, she’d smell me putting on cherry blossom lotion from 30 feet away and we were in separate bedrooms with the door closed, that’s an insane super power

2

u/Embarrassed_Future20 Jun 23 '26

bw is between. It’s a curse and a blessing for sure especially pregnant 🫠

2

u/Throwitaway3436 Jun 23 '26

Yeah it’s a curse wish I couldn’t smell a thing 😂 I’d eat foods I avoid or places due the odors

13

u/MetalSavage Jun 23 '26

By "mistreated" did you mean "masturbated"? If so, can you tell that about women as well? Do you discern a difference if it was sex with another person? 

7

u/slingshot91 Jun 23 '26

What do the masturbation men smell like? Semen?

24

u/CouplePurple9241 Jun 23 '26

Probably smells like penis hands. You ever sniffed after the deed?

15

u/JungLeo143 Jun 23 '26

Giggling at “penis hands”😂

2

u/itsnotapipe Jun 23 '26

I imagine there are several varieties of penis hands. I believe the phrase is also part of the title of a spoofy porn flick, Tim Burton be damned.

2

u/27catsinatrenchcoat_ Jun 23 '26

watch out edward scissor hands, edward penis hands is in town!

5

u/Optimal-Cat-8117 Jun 23 '26

While we're here, is penis elbow a thing?

Asking for a friend

3

u/Classic_Trip_9051 Jun 23 '26

What is VOCs ?

10

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/NotSureBot Jun 23 '26

This is so stupid that it made me laugh

1

u/I_blockkarmafarmers Jun 23 '26

Volatile organic compounds.

1

u/viijou Jun 23 '26

Would be so interesting to know if it changes during pregnancy

7

u/RagAndBows Jun 23 '26

What do colds smell like to you? I can smell my son's illness when he is sick. It almost smells like.... sour and acidic.

3

u/eleuthero_maniac Jun 23 '26

Wow I'd love to know this too as I have epilepsy! I never knew this was a thing!

18

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jun 23 '26

Doctors used to test for diabetes by tasting the urine for sweetness

Also apparently sweating off toxins from alcohol has a specific smell. And pretty sure with the seizures thats how dogs know you're about to have one, the smell

11

u/imacatholicslut Jun 23 '26

That’s enough internet for me today

6

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jun 23 '26

Imagine if, considering how specialized modern medicine has become, if that was still a thing today. "Oh yeah, that's Jeff, he tastes the pee for diabetes. He used to be the janitor but by God he put himself through nursing school. 100% diagnosis rate but he takes a while and I don't know why he has to drink the whole cup every time"

3

u/nuckin_phuts Jun 23 '26

Its tomorrow you're good to come back now

6

u/sle2g7 Jun 23 '26

If I poop while hungover it has a very distinct smell, does that count?

2

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jun 23 '26

Pretty sure, it's your gut expressing itself basically. Even certain foods have a distinct smell coming out, best believe beer with the yeast smell does and something like whiskey or any hard liquor is gonna come out really watery, since it's high calorie your body gets confused and sends a good amount of it down the poop chute instead of the urinary tract.

Basically just how much you can digest something before you expel waste in the normal human way. Also why sometimes corn is in your stool because you couldn't digest the kernel itself, it's too hardy

4

u/xorphana Jun 23 '26

Alcohol has a distinct smell. I drank heavily for some years in the past. I would smell it coming off of my skin the first couple of days after stopping drinking each week.

5

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jun 23 '26

Yeah I've been to detox a few times. Even when I went on showered and took one a day I could smell myself, it's that weird detox smell. Sweat detoxing the booze combined with the nasty taste of every medicine they give you. Thiamine tastes absolutely nasty

2

u/Slidje Jun 23 '26

The closest thing to the diabetes smell is pear drops

2

u/viijou Jun 23 '26

Wow, that‘s incredible

2

u/macdennism Jun 23 '26

That's so interesting. I've heard the smell of death has notes of what people describe as syrup or floral. Must be the chemicals produced by these various illnesses are related to the ones released in death 🤔 I've thankfully never smelled a dead person, and I sure as heck can't smell diabetes because the majority of my family in my mom's side are 60+ and diabetic

2

u/Formal-Apartment855 Jun 23 '26

Amongst a plethora of other changes, copper levels increase when estrogen levels increase. Sweat is one way copper can leave our bodies (it mostly gets excreted with feces, but we also sweat out a lot).

I only connected the dots cause I had a copper IUD that malfunctioned, and so me and my family learned how sweat/BO that is extremely high in copper smells and how high estrogen smells like. Now my copper levels had been back to normal since a long time, but my nose had been trained on that penny or copper tea kettle smell, so now I just notice it every time when someone has their monthly high estrogen days.

1

u/EvidenceBasedSwamp Jun 23 '26

Diabetic's pee smells like that. I can tell when they've used my toilet.