I Can't Breathe

[catcul]

One of the worst calls as a technician was a house that had dogs and cats. The people were nice enough, but the stench inside the house was absolutely horrifying. The urine smell was so strong, my nose and throat were burning, my lungs were seizing up, my stomach was doing back flips, and my eyes were watering. The worst part of that was that I had to change the motherboard in their laptop, which is the most time consuming of all the replacements I did at the time. After 30 minutes of that, I was extremely relieved when I left and was able to breathe normally.

[Sapphire Silk]

I hear you. I have similar issues in hospice care.

I have patients with massive lung problems who continue to smoke like stacks; I have to Febreeze myself when I leave because the smell just seeps into my clothes and my bag.

I once had a home health case with a kid whose home was infested with cockroaches. I had been warned not to take a bag into the place because of that. The place had been fumigated, but there were still a lot of roaches.

The only tidy room in the house was the living room. You couldn't move in the kitchen: every surface was piled to the ceiling (and I mean this literally) with dirty pans and dishes.

The bathroom had a police scanner; big tipoff that the adult son (the kids father) was the local drug dealer.

I did that one shift and refused to go back.

[Argabarga]

Do people not realize how bad that smells? Or did they just get used to it?

[bhskittykatt]

Quite recently, there was a paranormal investigator who died after an investigation. The residence had lots of bat and rodent feces, and it's believed that she inhaled something from them that caused an infection in her lungs. She died at the hospital shortly after.

You always have to be careful in homes and buildings like that, because when conditions are that unsanitary it can cause health issues more serious than just an awful smell.

[Sapphire Silk]

Do people not realize how bad that smells? Or did they just get used to it?

I honestly am not sure. My parents were heavy smokers when I was growing up. But when I started driving, I come home one day and Mom says I smell like cigarettes.

I wasn't smoking; it was my best friend (who was smoking a pack a day by age 16). But it stuck to my clothes.

Maybe Mom picked up on it because my friend smoked a different brand than my folks.

[Cecily]

People get used to specific smells. My dad was a heavy smoker and none of us would actually detect the cigarette smoke. When I left home, going back was like walking into a fog of cigarette smell.

People with pets gets used to the urine/feces smell and at one point the brain associates it with "home". I'm talking here about people who are negligent about cleaning up after Fido's accident or cleaning Fluffy's litter box. All the pet owners I know are pretty good at cleaning up, some you would never guess they have pets if you just trust your nose.

[telecom_goddess]

People with pets gets used to the urine/feces smell and at one point the brain associates it with "home". I'm talking here about people who are negligent about cleaning up after Fido's accident or cleaning Fluffy's litter box. All the pet owners I know are pretty good at cleaning up, some you would never guess they have pets if you just trust your nose.

Why oh why would anyone be negligent about that stuff? I always keep the floors/litter box clean.

I just can't stand it when people let their house stink when it doesn't need to.

[An Haddock]

Do people not realize how bad that smells? Or did they just get used to it?

I've seen this happen with folks who hoard animals, especially cats. Their sense of smell is dulled by the high amount of ammonia in the air.

[Sapphire Silk]

Why oh why would anyone be negligent about that stuff? I always keep the floors/litter box clean.

I just can't stand it when people let their house stink when it doesn't need to.

Taz doesn't do a very good job of burying her waste. I think she was separated from her mother too young. So I can always tell when she's just used her box.

Fortunately, I have a self cleaning box that mixes the litter up, and pushes the stool into a container where the litter absorbs the moisture and odor.

But yeah, dirty litter boxes is one of the downsides of cat ownership and too many people would rather let their house stink than clean it regularly.

[BlaqueKatt]

Taz doesn't do a very good job of burying her waste. I think she was separated from her mother too young. So I can always tell when she's just used her box.

actually it's a dominance thing with cats, and perfectly normal.

[Shalom]

The worst part of that was that I had to change the motherboard in their laptop, which is the most time consuming of all the replacements I did at the time. After 30 minutes of that, I was extremely relieved when I left and was able to breathe normally.

I wonder if you couldn't have taken it out to the car to work on it, or maybe even back to the shop. Means two trips that way, but at least you're not sitting there trying not to inhale.

(Hope you checked the fans and CPU coolers... I have a sneaking suspicion that the thing died in the first place because it was full of fur.)

The bathroom had a police scanner; big tipoff that the adult son (the kids father) was the local drug dealer..

Why do drug dealers (the type without pharmacists' licenses, at least) keep their scanners in the bathroom, of all weird places? Mine was in the dining room, last I saw it. (Haven't used it much recently; I pulled it out during Sandy to get the weather station.)

Do people not realize how bad that smells? Or did they just get used to it?

The olfactory nerves tend to get paralyzed if the same smell is there continuously; this is why people don't smell their own stink. I once had a potato fall behind the kitchen cabinet and molder there, and I actually didn't realize how badly it stunk until the super came pounding on the door, because the neighbors were afraid I'd died in there.

Rotten potato smells exactly like the worst case of halitosis you've ever smelled, just FYI.

I've seen this happen with folks who hoard animals, especially cats. Their sense of smell is dulled by the high amount of ammonia in the air.

Back in the late '80s, when I worked in a locksmith shop, we had one repeat customer who hoarded cats. And she was on the tenth floor of a high-rise building, so she never opened the windows, as she was afraid the cats would fall out. Not only this, but every flat surface was covered with garbage, including the floor. The stench was indescribable, and you could start smelling it the moment you walked out of the elevator, clear down the other end of the hallway. My boss at the time had no sense of smell, and he said even he could smell that fug.

She was blind, or mostly, and I couldn't figure out how she managed to get around this apartment without tripping over something, like a cat. I counted no fewer than seven of them in the few minutes I was in the apartment, and I'll bet there were some I didn't see.

Her neighbors, understandably, wanted her to get the hell out, and kept putting glue in her door locks (she had the pushbutton type lock so she wouldn't have to fumble with keys). We came in, bashed the thing off the door as fast as possible, installed a new one and scram. Then that evening when I get home, my own cat comes sniffing around my trousers cuffs and looks up accusingly at me like I'm cheating on her. I think the city finally came and took her away, ha haaa (it was a city-owned building). Not sure what happened to the cats.

[Cooper]

As for not being able to smell smoke, I can attest to that. My parents both smoke, so I can't smell it. But when I put my foot down and asked them not to smoke around me anymore, I started being able to pick up the smoker smell again. Of course, the washer and dryer are in their room, so if I wash my clothes there, they come out smelling like smoke.

Of course, my body seemed so happy that I got away from the smoke, that any time someone smokes, (and I still have trouble smelling it, so I usually don't notice until its too late) and it's around me, I get a headache.

I do regularly smell the 'non-smoker smell' which is a pretty pleasant one.

[Seraph]

Do people not realize how bad that smells? Or did they just get used to it?

My father in law's house smells horrific, and he simply has no idea. First off, he's smoked for years, so he no longer can smell. This was evidenced by the fact that he didn't realize a steak had rotted away in his fridge, for MONTHS. He also has, in front of us, drank three month-past-date milk, that about knocked everyone over when he opened it.

He's both unable to really smell at this point, and what he DOES smell, he's used to. =/

[lobo65]

I am a Kinesiotherapist at a V.A. hospital who works in home-based primary care. I do home safety evaluations, and I could tell you good stories of some of the nasty houses I've visited. We have a patient with a living situation like the one you described. He is demented, and lives in a single-wide trailer with his wife, 5 dogs, and six cats. To make matters worse, they are both chain smokers.
I can't stand to go in there for more than a few minutes due to the ammonia smell. Not to mention that you can barely see the carpet from all of the pet dander.

Another patient had a neurogenic bladder problem, and couldn't tell when he had to go, so he would soil his pants without feeling it. He offered me a place to sit on his couch, and I sat right in the middle of his urine-soaked cushion. Now I stand at all times if possible when I go in homes. Another patient's puppy was so excited when I came to the door that he peed all over my shoes. I've been peed on, pooped on, snotted on, and puked on in my 15 year career thus far.

[Argabarga]

Why do drug dealers (the type without pharmacists' licenses, at least) keep their scanners in the bathroom, of all weird places?

Wierd innit? They all seem to have a phobia of being handcuffed while sitting on the john.... or they think that if the police kick in the door, they can just push down the handle for an easy escape...