http://io9.com/5846231/the-man-who-cut-his-finger-on-a-chicken-and-smelled-awful-for-five-years Any thoughts on what might of happened to this man?
Probably a bacterial infection. Most bacteria can not be isolated and cultured and we have trillions of bacteria on and in our bodies.
That site doesn't look very much like it can be trusted so I'm not going to give to much credibility to that "story". The original stinky finger... http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...ppmcAw&usg=AFQjCNEFjlUiRs7Q2Ya6Jzfjv9tTTEpRtw
The Guardian article doesn't accurately report the case. From the Lancet paper, A man who pricked his finger and smelled putrid for 5 years: A skin biopsy sample was normal but culture of the sample yielded a Clostridium novyi type B-like organism which could not be eradicated by prolonged courses of antibiotic therapy (despite exquisite sensitivities in vitro) or by hyperbaric oxygen treatment (RAF Hospital Wroughton) over a 2-month period. Biopsy specimens taken from several sites along his arm as far up as his chest yielded the C novyi type B-like organism on culture, and two further clostridial species, C cochlearium and C malenominatum, were isolated from these sites and on his other limbs. Extensive investigation revealed no detectable immunosuppression, and a precipitating antibody (IgM) was detected in the patient’s serum to the C novyi type B-like organism. ... The initial isolate was a gram-variable bacillus producing oval subterminal spores and large grey, non-haemolytic rhizoidal colonies. Carbohydrate fermentation reactions did not match any listed for Clostridium species. They were similar to those for C novyi type B but distinct in the failure of this isolate to produce indole, propionic acid, or lipase and a dissimilar carbohydrate fermentation reaction with sucrose. ... Air extraction techniques and gas liquid chromatography have established that the organisms are responsible for his odour. ... All organisms isolated from our patient have been exquisitely sensitive in vitro to antibiotics that failed to eradicate any of the species in vivo, and antibiotic sensitivities have remained unchanged throughout. Our patient may have an immunological “blind spot” in some way specific to clearance of spore-forming organisms to account for colonisation with three unusual organisms from the same bacterial family. We ask assistance from colleagues who may have encountered a similar case or for suggestions to relieve this patient’s odour even if the organism cannot be eradicated.
Interesting. I had a girlfriend who's belly button smelled weird. I didn't go around smelling it, but she pointed it out to me one day... said it had always been like that.
i have a cyst that exudes some rank smelling stuff. i can scrub this thing with soap, water, and a toothbrush until i am raw to no avail. the funny thing is that it isn't always like that. this implies the foods i eat.
If your car exudes peculiar stuff, you take it to a mechanic. If your body exudes peculiar stuff, you take it to a doctor.
