Women May Literally be Able to Sniff Out Men with STDs

December 13th, 2011 - By Brande Victorian

Some women pride themselves on being able to sniff out a liar in two seconds flat, but can they also sniff out a man who’s infected with a sexually transmitted disease?

Scientists say it’s possible. A small study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that women sniffing a potential partner’s scent could tell whether a guy had a sexually transmitted disease, as evidenced by the “putrid” smell the ladies reported when they came across men infected with gonorrhea.

“Our research revealed that infection disease reduces odor attractiveness in humans …” Mikhail Moshkin, lead author of the study and a professor at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, Russia, wrote.

Researchers obtained sweat samples from 13 men with gonorrhea, 16 who were healthy, and five who had the disease but were successfully treated by dressing them in tight-fitting T-shirts with cotton pads sewn into the armpits.

When 18 women smelled the samples, they said nearly 50% of the infected men’s sweat smelled “putrid.” They also said 30% of the sweat from healthy men, and less than 40% of sweat from treated men smelled putrid, but the unpleasant scent was significantly higher for the gonorrhea group.

The researchers concluded that “unpleasant body odor of infected persons can reduce the probability of a dangerous partnership,” but with those stats, ladies are much better off asking about sexual history and demanding test results. I can already see the “I just came from the gym” excuse winning over women 99% of the time—and how would you really know the difference?

What do you think about the idea of sniffing out a partner with an STD?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Hair-Flipper/100000456148568 Hair Flipper

    Some people with STD’s may not stink. Their immune system may be very strong to keep the viral/bacterial loads low but are capable to spread it.

  • Pingback: Did You Know…Women May Be Able to SMELL If A Man Has A STD? | Media MRS.

  • The

    MN. Ya’ll let THAT post but give others a hard time. Seriously? And don’t lie. We KNOW ya’ll moderate like a mug.

  • Girliusmaximus

    Interesting article… I don’t know about smelling disease but I do know that anyone who detects any kind of offensive odor should be suspect of the offender… Just sayin’. Proceed cautiously please.

  • Hurt

    wow and how do you sniff out women, I guess you go straight to the location. lol

    • LisaLuvless

      When girls are burning they can’t hide that stench. If you remove your chicks panties and you smell something assume she has something or doesn’t wipe her booty, cause disease free puthy don’t stink. : sideye : for anyone who says different.

      • N1

        You can not smell aids, or you can not detect crabs.

        • LisaLuvless

          They say aids patients report smelling fish. With crabs one assumes if you see certain products like nizoral or weird shampoos in their showers or cabinents or a lil too much itching in the nether regions they might have a problem.

          • N1

            Wow, informative. Type 1 syph is hard to detect and in some cases clap from women.

  • LisaLuvless

    What do you mean? “how could you tell the difference and 99% of woman would take ‘gym funk excuse’? Speak only for yourself. I don’t know what kind of dirty men you date..why would the person you’re in a relationship with or getting to know come to see you without freshening up,let alone try to f***? I know the difference between armpits,fish and just straight up booty crack- NONE of them get action. You need to re-evaluate what’s acceptable and stop being grateful for just anything.

    I do like the article though, I am extremely sensitive to smells so I know that wouldn’t get by me. Proudly one of the many who haven’t had STDs. :)