“She Landed In The Hospital”: 57 Smells That Seem Out Of The Ordinary But Are Actually A Sign Of Danger

The smell of Axe Body Spray in a room with no ventilation. It doesn't mean danger is coming; it means danger is already here, it’s 19 years old, it hasn't done laundry in three weeks, and it wants to explain crypto to you.

If you’re out in the woods and you randomly smell bananas; back away as carefully and quietly as you can… angry bees release a “fight” pheromone that smells like bananas to us.

Also not a good idea to eat bananas near a swarm for the same reason.

I experience a weird smell like I’ve just sucked a bunch of pool water up my nose before fainting spells and other medical episodes. Hard to describe but kind of chlorine-y or metallic or just… sterile? with a strange sensation in the sinuses. So if that smell hits you, lay down!

niccheersk:

I used to smell this all of the time to the point my family thought I was crazy for searching for spilled cleaner everywhere. It was so strong it made me nauseous. Turns out, my spinal fluid was leaking out of my skull and into my nose. I had a constant running nose that I kept being told was just allergies and headaches so bad I could barely function, and they kept telling me it was just migraines.

If you are ever hiking near a river or a canyon after a rain storm and suddenly is smells really strongly like trees and earth get to high ground immediately. Flash flood is coming.

Rotting potatoes.

It is the most noxious smell you'll ever come across and if there are enough decomposing potatoes in a confined space it can be fatal.

Glittering-Brick-942:

I worked at a farm stand and getting to the middle of a box and finding 4 liquid potatoes is one of the worst things. Id rather change diapers with my eyelids than have to sort potatoes again,

The smell of blood. Unmistakable, and if you can smell it that means that there is a lot of blood around, as you won't smell just a drop.

atowncalledfinger:
Smells like old pennies.

Sour apple juice. If your urine smells like this, and you are not purposefully dieting, it could be diabetes. Have your blood sugar checked immediately. Most pharmacies can help.

PlsKpopMe:

Hey so thank you for this... I just got up to pee in the middle of the night and it smelled so bad like sour apple juice It woke my son up for him to tell me "mom your pee stinks so bad it woke me out of my sleep from my room"... I will make an appt tomorrow.

If you’re outside and smell cucumber all of the sudden, you may be near a venomous Copperhead snake. They let off a musk that smells similar to cucumber when they’re threatened.

Fishy smell in your house with no fish. That usually means an electrical fire is starting like wires melting/burning. Turn off the main breaker and call an electrician immediately.

SignNotInUse:
Melting wiring doesn't always smell obviously fishy. Sometimes it smells more like nail varnish remover with a hint of hot metal. I ignored a mystery chemical smell caused by a light switch slowly melting itself because it didn't smell obviously fishy.

Swayerst:

One day my hallway smelled unmistakably of fish and I thought I was losing it. Best theory I had was that my kiddo had something weird in her pockets in the dryer. I finally googled "Why does my hallway smell like fish" as a hail mary... Turns out the dryer plug was halfway melted.

A combination of a horse stall/petting zoo and coffee grounds. 

That’s male bear urine.

Breath that smells like nail polish remover. I had a student once who walked up to me and told me she didn’t feel well. I had noticed she kept putting her head down on her desk. When she started talking to me her breath smelled just like nail polish remover. Called mom who took her right to the dr and they tested her sugar. Juvenile diabetes. She landed in the hospital for several days.

If your phone smells like super glue, that's a lithium leak, get the battery replaced or get a new phone ASAP.

Maple syrup. Two different jobs trained me for that smell. The first was a corrugated steel pipe factory. If you smelled maple syrup, that meant that oil was burning on the weld and you were going to have a bad time. The second being a truck driver. If you smell maple syrup, that means your oil is burning or leaking somewhere and also, you're going to have a bad time.

If someone's breath smells like they're decaying from the inside out, tell them to go get checked. I don't mean bad breath, I mean, like literal rotting meat mixed with eggs, almonds, and something sweet. I first smelled it on my dad's breath. My brain instantly knew what it was, but I didn’t believe it. Turns out he had cancer and was too far gone. He passed a month later.
I have since smelled that same smell on a few people with cancer since, and it gives me this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

If you’re outdoors and smell a strong cooking potatoes or rotten potatoes smell - and no one is cooking potatoes - it’s a sign of a cobra nest nearby.

My husband's sweat gets a weird smell right before he has a seizure. So I recognize that as danger. Apparently I'm the only one who can smell it. I guess the dogs too.

If you smell cilantro (coriander) when you are near the bed in your hotel room.... that indicates bed bugs.

west211:

I've always thought that cilantro smells like dirty sheets, now I know why! How can people eat that!?

Ammonia. Rotting meat releases ammonia which gives it that distinctive smell, warning us not to eat it. But in my line of work (warehouse/food distribution) the refrigerator systems use anhydrous ammonia. If you smell it, you pull the fire alarm and get everyone out. Even a little direct exposure to those vapors can blind you, or [end] you.

Ketones on someone's breath.

If they aren't doing a Keto diet and intentionally triggering this, it's a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis and could be life-threatening.

I recognized this on my husband and told him that he needed to see a doctor; he was diagnosed with diabetes a week later.

Nassi_:
My wife noticed it on me in October of 2024. I was actively going into diabetic shock. My A1C was 19 and my blood sugar was in the 700’s. It was then that I was diagnosed with being a type 2 diabetic. I spent a week in the hospital. She said I smelled of syrup and slightly of mildew. I was hours from death, my wife literally saved my life that day.

E. coli bacteria.

Had a friend who worked in a research lab with E. Coli bacteria in college. A group of us went out to eat one day to try an all you can eat sushi place, and as soon as we walked in the door our friend said the place a strong E. Coli smell to it. While waiting for a table he convinced us to bail. We looked it up later and some people had left reviews online saying they got sick there.

I guess he was just hyper sensitive to the smell from being in the lab. So, my answer is E. Coli.

ElevatorEquivalent41:

As someone who also works with e. coli in a lab: it smells like straight up colon mixed with wet dog. it’s pretty gross.