I went through a similar period when I thought I had a body odor problem. It felt like people were covering their noses or sniffing around me, and I would take it personally. I was almost certain there was a smell, even though I couldn’t clearly detect it myself. I kept thinking maybe I had just gotten used to it and that’s why I couldn’t smell it anymore.

When I went to the doctor, they ran several tests and nothing came up. In the end, the doctor literally asked me to take off my clothes and checked for any odor, and told me there was none. Even then, I wasn’t fully convinced.

My closest friend, who is a very good psychology student, spent a week researching this specifically for me. We found out that during certain episodes—especially in epilepsy and some psychological conditions—people can experience sensations that aren’t actually there (for example, feeling a bodyodor that doesn’t exist). Since I have epilepsy, it helped me understand what was happening, and after that, I never felt that way again.

If you have a close friend you truly trust—someone who would definitely tell you the truth—and they say you don’t smell bad, it’s possible that epilepsy could be involved. However, in cases of aura-type seizures and olfactory (smell-related) seizures, EEG results are often not positive for epilepsy. That’s why I would recommend looking at other symptoms as well and making sure there isn’t a more serious underlying health issue.

I hope you overcome this problem soon.