A distinctly different bad breath. Help identify?

[Mallignamius]

A distinctly different "bad breath." Help identify?

I have on rare occasion met people who had a most foul breath. I don't know how to describe it, but the odor was very similar, even exact, among every one of them. I can't personally tolerate it. This is the only kind of bad breath that smells so similar. No other bad breath is so similar across the board like this one.

I get the impression that it's an infection, that they are aware of it and would like to do something about it.

Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?

 

[z-component]

Those following a diet with low amounts of carbohydrates tend to experience ketosis. It's identifiable by its "distinctive fruity acetone odor." Perhaps this is what you're talking about?

 

[Mallignamius]

I don't know, but bad breath doesn't get much worse than this.

 

[Moonbear]

People with chronic post-nasal drip can have pretty bad breath from it. Periodontal disease could also be a culprit. Certain foods and diets can do it too.

 

[turbo]

Don't forget the people who have full-plate dentures with some anaerobic decay by-products wafting out.

 

[Flying Penguin]

Smokers? Drinkers? Combinations?

 

[brewnog]

Sufferers of diabetes, kidney failure, and intestinal parasitic infections also often present with halitosis, as well as the more obvious nasal/oral causes.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I vote for garlic breath. That is as bad as any and it is very distinctive.

 

[turbo]

I vote for garlic breath. That is as bad as any and it is very distinctive.

My aunt can knock you over with her breath (dentures). I would hate to be around her after a garlic-heavy meal, though come to think of it, the garlic might mask some of it and not be such a bad idea.

 

[chemisttree]

Cadaverdine, putrescine, hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, isovaleric acid and ,of course, skatole are all chemical components of bad breath that can arise from poor dental hygiene, infection (gum, lung or nasal) and anything that causes a reduction in the normal flow of saliva(dry mouth). These chemicals are all components of fecal odor, especially skatole, produced by bacteria in our gut and in our mouth. People taking medication that causes dry mouth (like chemotherapy patients) can have this breath.

There is also a disorder known as trimethylaminurea. People with this disorder do not process trimethylamine and excrete it from every pore, especially the breath. It smells like rotting garbage in low concentrations and like rotting fish in high concentration. I can't think of a more difficult obstacle to overcome than this...