It is a very distant odor, and it is not uncommon -- I have read it described many ways but there is a commonality to them all. The scent has been part of him for decades (we've been married 30 years). He kept a very lot of what his mental health issues hidden, he is very good at that. There were recognizable mania episodes that I knew of, but I did not know what they were at the time. I only came to know the truth of his history after 26 years, when he completely lost the plot and everything from his youth came out in full, and only knew he'd written a journal during one episode which occurred early in our marriage. I did not know the truth of what was going on in his mind. It has been a pretty brutal awakening on a lot of fronts for me. There is answering questions of the universe, creating elaborate formulas and solutions, a lot of new words and thoughts that almost seem sound in their phrasing but it was all madness. There was paranoia, secret agents... and I was the enemy. I did not know, I just knew the smell changed when he changed.

He has been under care and monitoring of a psychiatrist and GP for 7 years with only the diagnosis of major depression though has been on very many different antipsychotic meds including lithium. He is very quiet, filled with deep shame and highly anxious. He comes across as the most gentle, sweet man (and he mostly is just that) so they have missed the depth of his suffering. It is only now he is opening up and has written out his history which is quite dark and full of 'events'. But, after his psychiatrist read it he minimalized any mania and discounted a diagnosis given in grade one (out of date, "not an accepted diagnosis" -- it was "conduct disorder with obstructionist temperament" and his mom only told me this when my world had blown to bits.) Until they understand my husband's illness they can not give him the care he needs, and we cannot find the support we both need. They are not inclined to change their opinion and I'm having to learn a lot about human nature and the limits of thinking along with implicit bias, etc. etc. etc. For all the sweet, gentle man my husband is, he also has demonstrated that he manipulates very easily and lies through omission -- for him it's been a matter of survival. I'm trying to navigate us both through a healthcare system that has failed us both. Sorry to add too much detail there, it's been a lot to carry and I've been alone in what's been really going on which has been traumatic and isolating. I'm taking it all one day at a time, one challenge at a time. Reaching out is hard and so is all the misunderstanding still being perpetuated even in this environment. It's not due to diet, or medication, or hygiene, it is a VOC byproduct of the changes that he is going through.

"Abstract
Hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from the human body, and the components of VOCs usually reflect the metabolic condition of an individual. Therefore, contracting an infectious or metabolic disease often results in a change in body odour. Recent progresses in analytical techniques allow rapid analyses of VOCs derived from breath, blood, skin and urine. Disease-specific VOCs can be used as diagnostic olfactory biomarkers of infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, genetic disorders and other kinds of diseases. Elucidation of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying production of disease-specific VOCs may provide novel insights into therapeutic approaches for treatments for various diseases. This review summarizes the current knowledge on chemical and clinical aspects of body-derived VOCs, and provides a brief outlook at the future of olfactory diagnosis."

(I can't post a link but you can find the above abstract at Oxford Academic's Journal of Biochemistry "The scent of disease: volatile organic compounds of the human body related to disease and disorder")

Anyway, to help anyone who comes across this and is experiencing the odors, here's what's helped with that part so far: We've recently switched to persimmon soap and tea tree oil shampoo which have both helped considerably. He is showering now every second day so the odor doesn't build up. We also switched to enzymatic wash detergent and his clothes are coming out clean now which is great because the scent thickly permeated the clothes. The heaviest odor has always emanated from his head and he keeps his hair closely groomed at about 1/2" length. I also read about the Nonenal issues that can arise with age (which is how I learned about the persimmon benefits).