Halitosis Bad Breath the Smell That Keeps on Giving
Have you ever run into someone who has really lousy breath and you couldn’t get away from him? What did you do about it? Telling someone they smell bad is harder than pointing out that they have spinach stuck in their teeth.
If you’re breathing you’ve had bad breath. Okay, here are some bad breaths I can live with. I can live with the onion breath or garlic breath because its a result of what I hope was a good meal that had certain foods in it, and I can live with that. And it usually is gone by the next day if the person has been flossing and brushing and doing all of those good oral hygiene habits.
I could also make a case for alcohol breath. It’s not too bad, but I teach maritime students who on occasion enjoy themselves a little too much in the evening. Where I draw the line is morning breath combined with alcohol breath. Usually these guys have been smoking, too. Ack…..
Here is my worst case scenario, and it actually happened just last month. I teach adult merchant mariners at a maritime graduate school and often teach in small work spaces that contain ship equipment such as radars, etc. One of my students had such bad breath it filled the room. I heard the other students commenting between themselves about it, and when the guys had to get together in teams of two, he was always the last one to get a partner. The students knew I had this bad breath website, so they hinted that I needed to tell this guy that he had a problem. Thanks, guys! Lucky me.
I managed to get him alone for a few minutes in a casual setting and I said that some people have a problem with bad breath. How subtle is that? He told me that he’d had problems with halitosis before. So I told this guy about my educational website, Bad Breath Remedy Guide, and that it takes more than just brushing teeth to get rid of bad breath. I found out that he was using a lot of alcohol based mouthwash, which was adding to the problem. I told him that alcohol, in mouthwash as well as in social drinks, dries out your mouth, encouraging the growth of the anaerobic bacteria on your tongue that produce that sulfurous odor that we all hate.
I gave him some more helpful tips and suggested he try Therabreath products, which we use ourselves. I can’t say that I got close enough to him before the end of the week to tell if he had entirely gotten rid of his problem. But the room smelled better and there was less chatter among the students. And he wasn’t the last one picked for teams at the end of the week.
So what experiences do you have to tell? Disastrous dates? Smelly clients? A boss you can’t look directly at when he speaks? Can you top this tale?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Bad breath can be very offensive on the part of the recipient, and yet it is still very hard to tell the person. I understand that we have all had our own bad breath at one time or another, but there are people that consistently have it and it is hard to be around them. I like your approach in commenting that ‘some people have had a problem with bad breath’ because it does not offend and you go on to offer help.
p.s. I don’t want to address alcohol breath because that can easily be avoided: moderation!
The are few things in life more repulsive than being near someone who has a extreme case of bad breath. Just reading the post brought back memories of similar incidents in my own life. You are correct that If you’re breathing you’ve had bad breath. But, it can be controlled, especially in public. Your post also strengthens my resolve NOT to be an offending host to someone’s bad memory. Thanks!
I don’t think I can top your tale, Mike, but I can tell you that it is no fun dancing with someone who has bad breath. There were these two guys in one of my dance classes who were really nice but were men I didn’t want to look directly at. You know how you look to the side, pretending that you’re looking around at other things? That was what I’d do with these two. One fellow believed that garlic would keep him healthy. I can believe that – no one would want to get near enough to him to give him any bad germs! The other man apparently either needed to relax after work or relax before a daunting dance class. He’d have a drink or two before coming to class. Having someone breathe alcohol at you from less than a foot away is really nasty! Good thing thing we rotated partners frequently! And, no, I didn’t mention it to either guy. I hoped one of the other follows in class would do it for me.
What a story! Bad breath is really a tough problem when it is so strong that it actually affects the conversation you might be having with the one having a bad breath. When it happens, trying to breath through your mouth helps, though.
Lorne
Hi five folks – I imagine bad breath starts from bad diets its hard for some folks to get in to a good diet habit especially with all the junk food around these days – again most folks don’t drink enough plain water and dry mouths probably is the start of bad breath and the biggest problem with bad breath is the owner usually is the last person to know – you done the right thing telling this young lad straight out he would be very grateful in the end we all need to be told if we smell in any form either way subtle hint or right between the lug-holes – as long as they’re clean enough to hear…
All my best to you and yours
Phillip Skinner
Wow, bringing back all my bad breath encounters. I agree with Phillip. A good diet and healthy living can have a positive impact on someone with bad breath. Also, regular checkups at the dentist wouldn’t hurt either.
Jose Martinez
This article was really informative. Much appreciated.You are correct that If you’re breathing you’ve had bad breath. But, it can be controlled, especially in public. Your post also strengthens my resolve NOT to be an offending host to someone’s bad memory.