Human body odor is known as "skin gases" and is composed of several volatile compounds emitted from the surface of the skin.Although it is usually perceived as a matter of comfort or discomfort by those around us, its potential adverse health effects have not been studied.
Recently, however, some people have complained through social media that their own body odor (skin gas) causes allergy-like symptoms in people around them, such as sneezing, runny nose, coughing, and itchy/bloodshot eyes.These symptoms are called "People Allergic To Me" (PATM). The actual situation is unknown, and it is said that it has not been clarified at all scientifically or medically.
Therefore, Professor Yoshika Sekine of the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokai University and a research group of AIREX Co., Ltd. measured and analyzed the skin gases of 20 patients complaining of PATM using a passive flux sampler and a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. , investigated the characteristics of skin gas composition.As a result, as a common feature in the PATM group, compared to the non-PATM group, it was found that more artificial chemicals such as toluene and xylene, sulfur compounds such as methyl mercaptan, and components such as hexanal, which has an anxiety effect, are released. I pinpointed it.At present, it is difficult to present the mechanism that explains the skin gas composition of the PATM group, but it is suggested that the ability to metabolize chemical substances and oxidative stress may be involved.
The results of this research were published in the international academic journal Scientific Reports (online) as the world's first original paper on the odorant of PATM, and were the first step in investigating the cause of PATM. Further research is needed with an interdisciplinary approach, including the possibility that PATM is an unexplained disease.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Human skin gas profile of individuals with the people allergic to me phenomenon
