Training & Nutrition - Getting a "Bleachy" smell at the end of a ride...

I dont smell like bleach ... but when I inhale through my nose I smell bleach. I used to get it when I was in the shower, but now as soon as I get off the bike it happens. I thought that my sinuses were wide open and that I was smelling the bleach in the water.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Do you ever smell bleach during the day? Maybe an olfactory hallucination... do you ever get migraines?

I get that smell sometimes after running when i get in the shower, are we doomed? :(

I have had the same after a hard ride. It goes away but I have not worried about it.

It could be ammonia from ketosis. If so, you may need to eat more before or during the ride.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ammonia.htm

maybe its your bib/jersey. Sometimes when i sweat alot it releases a odor from the cleaner in my bib/chamois(spelling), and smells a little like bleach. or maybe your a freak and sweat bleach =)

Sounds like ammonia. I get this after training too. It doesn't seem to matter if I eat carbs before or not either.... I still get it!

Probably unrelated, but...
I sometimes get a smell/taste-in-my-mouth when doing very hard intervals. Like blood in my mouth.
Always thought it was due to momentarily low blood pH or something like that.

It could be ammonia from ketosis. If so, you may need to eat more before or during the ride.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ammonia.htm

+1

This would be my guess as well.

I get the bloody/metallic taste as well, especially after high intensity workouts. I didn't notice it until I started taking flonase for a chronic allergy condition, though. I do know it irritates my throat some but it's better than the daily attacks that I used to get.

It could be ammonia from ketosis. If so, you may need to eat more before or during the ride.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ammonia.htm

Another +1. This happens to me all the time when I am limiting my caloric intake. Eat a small carb-loaded snack before and during your ride.

I dont smell like bleach ... but when I inhale through my nose I smell bleach. I used to get it when I was in the shower, but now as soon as I get off the bike it happens. I thought that my sinuses were wide open and that I was smelling the bleach in the water.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

The "bleachy" smell when in the shower is from chlorine which IS a common bleach. If this is the exact same smell when you get off the bike now then I wouldn't put it down to ammonia from kertosis because that's a different smell. I'm guessing that you live in an area which heavily chlorinates its public water and your smelling it in your clothes.

By the way I have read that when you shower in chlorinated water your actually getting MORE chlorine into your system because you are breathing in the chlorine vapors from the warm shower water. It may be time to look into water filters for your whole house.

Anthony

I get the bloody/metallic taste as well, especially after high intensity workouts. I didn't notice it until I started taking flonase for a chronic allergy condition, though. I do know it irritates my throat some but it's better than the daily attacks that I used to get.

That metallic taste during exercise is, apparently, quite common. If you google it, you get a lot of people asking questions about this, but not many plausible explanations. My thought is that it's from an ion shift in the saliva from increased sympathetic nervous system tone during exercise. The ion shift is documented, but I'm not sure it's the cause. I am pretty sure it's benign, though.

I've also heard something about high blood pressure causing some plasma leakage from capillaries in the throat or mouth. I can't disprove that, but it's just more speculation.

That metallic taste during exercise is, apparently, quite common. If you google it, you get a lot of people asking questions about this, but not many plausible explanations. My thought is that it's from an ion shift in the saliva from increased sympathetic nervous system tone during exercise. The ion shift is documented, but I'm not sure it's the cause. I am pretty sure it's benign, though.

I've also heard something about high blood pressure causing some plasma leakage from capillaries in the throat or mouth. I can't disprove that, but it's just more speculation.

I feel like i'm on the USS enterprise with all this talk about ion shifts and plasma leakage... :lol:

Can anyone else smell the ammonia or "bleachy" smell or is it just you? After hard rides I get an ammonia smell while showering that my wife cannot smell. It isn't on my clothing, and it seems like it is only in my nostrils. Weird but I think that smell is related to the ketosis explanation.

That metallic taste during exercise is, apparently, quite common. If you google it, you get a lot of people asking questions about this, but not many plausible explanations. My thought is that it's from an ion shift in the saliva from increased sympathetic nervous system tone during exercise. The ion shift is documented, but I'm not sure it's the cause. I am pretty sure it's benign, though.

I've also heard something about high blood pressure causing some plasma leakage from capillaries in the throat or mouth. I can't disprove that, but it's just more speculation.

Tadawy

I do have a slight elevation in my blood pressure always had it since I was a kid. Dr put me on medication, hopefully my weight loss will eliminate me having to take any more in the near future. I will talk w/ the Dr next time I go.

I had this to today, it my be mind of matter because I just read this thread yesterday, ahhh it's nasty...

Can anyone else smell the ammonia or "bleachy" smell or is it just you? After hard rides I get an ammonia smell while showering that my wife cannot smell. It isn't on my clothing, and it seems like it is only in my nostrils. Weird but I think that smell is related to the ketosis explanation.

I've been in groups of cyclists on some of my ultradistance rides and have on occasion been able to detect that smell in that group of cyclists over there, or someone in the line over here, or wherever.

I feel like i'm on the USS enterprise with all this talk about ion shifts and plasma leakage... :lol:

So we need to season our foods with dilithium crystals instead of salt?

So we need to season our foods with dilithium crystals instead of salt?

Failing that we will have to investigate for inter-dimensional beings as the source of these emissions. If the rider was travelling fast enough he may have torn the space-time continuum which allowed these entities to enter our dimension and consume our cellular peptides.

Or something... ;)

Might have to do with cold weather? When I got it, it was really cold and windy out, and my nose was running.

It could be ammonia from ketosis. If so, you may need to eat more before or during the ride.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ammonia.htm

+2
I get this from hard rides, especially during the summer where the hot weather probably reduces my on-bike caloric intake.

I also vote for the ketosis/ammonia theory.

I don't want to alarm anyone, but when I mentioned this to my physician a few years ago, he wanted me to do a glucose test for diabetes. I am a clydesdale, so I should be on the lookout for the tell tale signs of the disease, but I also wanted to pass that along to everyone else. I don't think the ammonia smell by itself is a "classic" sign, but if your bmi is like mine, and you have a family history of the disease, you might want to schedule an appointment to make sure it is nothing serious.

Just my two cents...

A little more background info. I have taken the glucose tolerance test and dropped down to 8 (worst feeling i have ever experienced) and was diagnosed w/ hypoglycemia and would be considered a clyde. Ive gone form 248 down to 198 in 14 months, but I always had the bleachy scent in my nose after a ride. Prior to putting the weight on or losing it.

Thanks for all the input.

I first noticed the smell of ammonia when I was in my teens while playing hockey. My hockey equipment would have that odour from sweat. I started cycling more seriously about three years ago and I do smell bleach/ammonia again after hard interval workouts. I have a book called Maximum Performance for Cyclists and there it states while outlining some of the workouts starting out on empty stomach " If you smell ammonia on your breath at any time, stop and eat immediately". My conclusion on this is that if you are not fueled properly, there is a chance of your body releasing a bleachy smell.

Wow!
This is my first time stumbling into this forum and I am amazed to discover this thread.
I get this smell every time I do an intense ride or workout. Ride/run.
It doesn't fail, I asked around and nobody ever seemed to get the same smell, so I just assumed it was just me. It is a deep smell that is deep inside your nasal cavity, like its coming from inside; I describe it as being similar to the smell after a rainfall.

I worry about the comments about ammonia from ketoacidosis, diabetes runs in the family. However, I just tested myself less than 2mos. ago, but I have recently lost 17lbs in 1 1/2 mos. I hope this doesn't have adverse effects on my glucose levels.

I think it's just unavoidable due to muscle breakdown when you ride hard. I've tried carbs before training, no carbs, eating on the bike... none of which made any difference, I still get the smell. I guess that's just part of training - you breakdown your body then allow it to rebuild/repair afterwards by rest and giving it quality nutrition.

I smell it also....but for me it is the helmet pads getting soaked in sweat day after day, and then some times the sweat runs down my forehead...yuk...so I just need to remove the pads, clean them, and let them dry in the sun. On the other hand I did a 60 mile club ride today on one bottle of water and one Cliff bar...so maybe I've got that low carb issue as well