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MacDougalTheLazy OP t1_j3ys28j wrote

When i took the dog out this morning i was wondering what that smell was. Smelled foul like an odd burnt pork. Turns out it was one of my neighbors disposing of this unfortunate person's body. I can't get it out of my senses now. Three showers and a candle later and i still can't get it out of my senses.

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aethersnores t1_j3z2ltc wrote

Try vicks vapor rub or a mint balm above your lip. Worked with dead bodies before, and that always seemed to help with the smell of decay somewhat.

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Ness51 t1_j3zaydh wrote

Totally agree. When I was a new grad I worked at a burn center and we would rub Tiger Balm in our mask during admissions and dressing changes... game changer. Unforgettable smell

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acer34p3r t1_j3zs9cb wrote

We switch between vicks, tiger balm, and peppermint oil depending on what is closest at hand in the emergency department I work in. Gangrenous tissue is... unforgettably revolting.

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mr_oof t1_j3zwnii wrote

Don’t think about Degobah… don’t think about Degobah… don’t think about Degobah…

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MarchionessofMayhem t1_j41c8tu wrote

Oh, lord. The Swamps of Dagobah. shudder

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Autumn1881 t1_j438kga wrote

It’s the first thing I think about when someone mentions peppermint oil. Which is thankfully not too often….

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onlycatshere t1_j413jg7 wrote

I usually use a drop of peppermint oil above my lip or inside my mask, but after working a post-mortem apartment unit turnover (unattended death), gotta say the best way to cut the death smell is a respirator with the right cans.

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CALsHero09 t1_j41p2kh wrote

For dead bodies find a spray called ozium. Kill bacteria in the air, and smells like lemons. Works pretty good. Used it in the mortuary i worked at.

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aethersnores t1_j41shez wrote

I've heard of ozium but mostly in the context of other dank smells lol but I wish I would have known about that several years ago. We had to exhume a body that was three years in the ground for one of those mesothelioma autopsies and even though there was a concrete vault water still got into the casket. The body was GREEN. Like a darker shade of Hulk green. And the lining of the casket was caked with mold. When we opened it, whatever we were spraying was not working. The only thing that helped was some mint stuff to put under our masks. I have never smelled a worse smell in my life ten years later and like with the OP, it was a smell that just lingered in my senses for days.

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CALsHero09 t1_j41trsc wrote

I got lucky with the one that i did. It was interred in a wall for like 20 something years. Husband wanted her cremated, at her time of death the family wouldnt allow it and it was her dying wish. So we had to remove all the metal from the casket, huge wooden casket, while she was in there. Pretty crazy, pretty cool. You could see the crack in her skull that killed her. Everything was so desicated there wasnt really any smell at all.

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beigs t1_j3z9n91 wrote

It takes a bit to get that stuff out and you won’t forget the smell… but it isn’t so bad the next time if ever you have to deal with it again.

I got rid of my clothes the first time I dealt with the smell of death. A clarifying shampoo would also help your hair, and if your house smells, ozone machine / air purifier.

Remember to try and get rid of the smell, not mask it with perfume.

That really sucks, I’m sorry.

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Ontheout t1_j3zk22f wrote

Eating curry was advised by a friend of my sister who studied embalming.

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_yogi_mogli_ t1_j408ucs wrote

What? What is the reasoning? This is a weird comment without elaboration.

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Mikeymona t1_j40d3hd wrote

I would presume that it’s because curries tend to have very strong and lingering smells.

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Ontheout t1_j43ugdl wrote

It's something about how the peppers linger , if I recall correctly.

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rewdea t1_j3zlic6 wrote

Your story begs the question.

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beigs t1_j3zpxrq wrote

It was a long time ago when I was in grad school involving anthropology and archaeology. Some things stopped bugging me after basically living with bones for a few months on some sites, but the first time you’re faced with one that is gooey… I’m fine when they’re clean, but I could never do what the forensic anthropologists do.

I felt like lady Macbeth with my hair.

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Millenniauld t1_j3yzyf9 wrote

So I have the dumbest effective thing to suggest. Safeguard makes a "notes of coconut" liquid hand soap. This fucking thing's notes are like the 1812 overture played by Beethoven trying to hear the music. It is OVERPOWERING. We have a kid in diapers.... Someone washes their hands in the next room and ALL YOU SMELL IS COCONUT.

I imagine part of your senses is your brain playing tricks on you. If that's the case, death by coconut might actually be helpful, because you will have a new trauma, and that shit is "notes" of coconut.

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LilSpermCould t1_j3z0ox6 wrote

Jesus fuck, that's awful. Absolutely everything about this is so horrific.

Reading this I'm getting the feeling someone else might have been involved.

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Ds093 t1_j3yw956 wrote

It’s gonna take time for your senses to return. I know it’s not a great time. Give it a few days, it’ll eventually be forgotten.

Note: have experienced the smell when trying to get someone out a vehicle after a collision before it caught fire.

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prettyfarts t1_j3zf5pz wrote

sorry friend; my mom used to clean nursing homes and they used Ozium spray after someone passed and the smell lingered.

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acer34p3r t1_j3zsiub wrote

The vanilla Ozium was my air cleaner of choice back in my Uber driver days.

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[deleted] t1_j420o47 wrote

[deleted]

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acer34p3r t1_j423ayz wrote

Ha, I live near enough to a major university that home football game days were great for making money, but bad for the occasional puker.

Edit: typo

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flaccidcolon t1_j425i21 wrote

It's kind if late but play some tetris asap. It's been proven to help with trauma and make things better for your brain.

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kenwanepento t1_j40bcs5 wrote

I wonder if my neighbors feel the same when I smoke a pork shoulder

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CALsHero09 t1_j41orw1 wrote

Nah, you dont forget that smell. That smell will be forever burned into your senses. I was a fire fighter and some bozo committed suicide by flooring it in his pickup, in the rain, into a metal telephone pole. We know because there were tire marks in the road, it ended at a T and the pole was dead ahead. No tire rracks in the dirt which means he jumped that T into the pole. Fully engulfed. Had to pull the crispy critter out. Everything is soaked in rain, mud, and this guys fluids. Crazy day. Think the carry all we used to move him is still hanging in the engine bay. That was 4 years ago.

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Fancykiddens t1_j4d4p38 wrote

I used to help clean out homes where people had died. Coffee is how you get the smell out. The very best is burnt decaf coffee.

Cinnamon/cinnamol, strong mints like Mentos or Altoids, Frankincense, clove and rosemary are also helpful.

Please consider attending a grief support group or speaking with a therapist if what has happened to you begins to affect your attention, work, sleep, etc. ❤️

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CharToll t1_j409xd3 wrote

The cops will never forget that either… finding the body still smoldering??? Dude.

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