Smells Like Teen Spirit (And Dead Fish)

The Inquirer has an article today about local chemist George Preti, who helps people smell better. He helps people smell better from a ridiculous disorder that makes people smell like fish or marijuana smoke.

And they can’t even help it! No matter how many times they wash, no matter how much deodorant they put on, they still smell like fish or smoke. It’s called trimethylaminuria, and it was something to do with the liver. To me, hearing about this disorder makes me think all day “oh-mi-God-do-I-smell” and the like. But it’s supposed to be very strong, so I suppose if nobody’s telling me to take a shower, I’m okay.

Pratti actually loses money by helping people; the tests he runs cost $3000 and he only charges $300. It’s a disorder nobody really knows how to fix except him; a friend says it’s a “labor of love” for him. Well, obviously. What’s more fun than smelling a bunch of people who stink all day?

Chemist helps folks whose body odor’s a bit fishy [Inquirer]