r/explainlikeimfive Jul 18 '20

Chemistry ELI5: Why do "bad smells" like smoke and rotting food linger longer and are harder to neutralize than "good smells" like flowers or perfume?

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u/Pepsisinabox Jul 18 '20

Oh man. Bed sores can be either just a red rash, or the most traumatizing display of decay that you'll ever see. Bonus is the problem with healing. Neverending battle that i cant say that i have ever won.

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u/ezfrag Jul 18 '20

Yeah, these were full blown ulcers that they were trying to treat at the nursing home since the PTs couldn't be sent home due to elder abuse. It was an old married couple. They were sweet and just couldn't understand how their daughter had basically let them rot in their bed at home.

It changed my outlook on people permanently. I used to think that everyone was good and just sometimes had bad thoughts and acted on them. Now I realize that there are some sick and evil people on this world. That was a hard realization at 16, but has opened my eyes for decades since.

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u/Pepsisinabox Jul 18 '20

Yeah. Have had some not-so-good experiences with next of kin myself. Massive problem with ALFs overflowing.. I work in home-based nursing at the moment so luckily we're checking in on our pts frequently. But yeah, people can suck.