A woman, Kelly Fidoe-White, who suffers an extremely rare
condition causing her to constantly smell like fish has revealed the
extraordinary lengths she goes to get through life. She has lived her entire
life with Trimethylaminuria, a disorder more commonly known as “fish-odour
syndrome”.
Kelly first became aware of her condition when she was in
school and kids always taunted her about smelling of fish. Kelly gave excuses,
saying that she ate a fish sandwich, however, when the smell never reduced and
she ran out of excuses, she became the object of extreme bullying.
To combat the smell, she began spending a lot of time in the
shower, scrubbing her body till it was red, soaking herself in deodorants and
perfumes, yet nothing worked and the bullying only worsened. Now, she copes by
taking a cocktail of medications, but is unsure if they have any effect or not.
Trimethylaminuria is a condition which causes one’s body to
be unable to break down a compound found in food that contains a substance
called Choline, meaning a lot of ingredients are off the menu.
People suffering from the condition regularly produce a
range of strong bodily odours including rotten fish, onion and faeces. Kelly
describes her own smell as ‘fishy-oniony’.
The condition is relatively unknown, even amongst doctors,
and affects between 300 – 600 people worldwide. This means that Kelly had to
research and diagnose herself and a test was done, confirming her diagnosis.
To limit the number of people she comes in contact with,
Kelly works a night job where colleagues say you can tell if she’s been in a
place and some of her co-workers make complaints about her smell. She has found
love now and she revealed that her husband’s acceptance of her condition has
helped boost her confidence.
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