FAYSAL BASHIR: She usually smells sort of
quite oniony. It’s quite a strong smell. For some reason I thought it was called ‘fishiyatitus.’
COMM: Radiographer Kelly Fidoe-White has an
unusual metabolic condition with a rather unpleasant symptom.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: The main scientific name
for it is Trimethylaminuria. It’s also known as Fish Odour Syndrome.
COMM: The condition affects her on a daily
basis and it first become apparent when she was at school.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: There was more than one
occasion where I would say “Oh, I’ve had fish paste sandwiches for my lunch.” When
kids would say, “Oh, you smell of fish”. That was quite difficult to deal with as a teenager.
SANDRA FIDOE: The fact that she was bullied
about it made it ten times worse, I think, for her and certainly for me, it bothered me.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: I was spending a stupid
amount of time in the shower. Red hot water, scrubbing until my skin was bright red.
COMM: Kelly’s condition, shorten to TMAU,
isn’t caused by poor hygiene. Her body is unable to break down a compound found in food
that contains a substance called Choline, meaning a lot of ingredients are off the menu.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: One of the things that
they say to you is, “If it smells going in, it’s going to smell coming out.” So,
things like fish, seafood are all triggers.
COMM: The body disposes of the compound in
sweat, breadth and urine, emitting a pungent odour that can resemble rotten fish, onion
and faecal matter.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: As far as I know, this
condition affects between 300 and 600 people worldwide. It’s not a very well known condition
at all. A lot of GPs have never even heard of it.
COMM: In fact, Kelly diagnosed herself.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: From watching documentaries
about it, things just started to fall into place. It was like, “That sounds like it
could be me”, and ultimately I ended up being tested and it came back positive. There
is no magic pill that you can take to make it better. I personally take a cocktail of medications.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: That’s the pills that
I take. We don’t know whether they work or not, but I try and keep on top of it as best as I can.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: There is very few other
symptoms at all, but of course you've got the side effects of anxiety, social isolation, it's hard.
COMM: To limit the amount of people she is
exposed to, Kelly took a job working nights, but it’s not been easy.
FAYSAL BASHIR: You could trace Kelly’s smell up the corridor.
ASHA FEROZ: Certain people had made comments.
What was upsetting was how people were dealing with it and at that point she was, she wasn’t herself.
FAYSAL BASHIR: I have had many complaints
about Kelly’s smell to me form variety of staff within the department. It’s hard when
you get these complaints as Kelly is a good friend.
COMM: Finding love gave her a much needed confidence boost.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: Michael has helped me to
cope by making me see the funny side of the condition.
MICHAEL FIDOE-WHITE: I didn’t really noticed
her smell straight away, when we first started seeing each other. I don’t believe she tried
to hide it. Kelly’s confidence has definitely improved over the years. She still doubts
herself a little bit now and again, you know. I think the best way of me helping Kelly with
the condition is to be supportive about the condition.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: I’m sure he won’t mind
me saying this but he is, you know, he produces his own smells anyway.
COMM: Kelly is now open with friends, colleagues and patients.
KELLY FIDOE-WHITE: I’m more chilled out
about it now. I can’t say that if somebody complained tomorrow, I wouldn’t still find
it a little bit cutting. But I deal with it by educating that person now.
COMM: Feeling confident enough to speak out
about her condition, Kelly hopes she will inspire others to feel comfortable in their own skin.
SANDRA FIDOE: She is compassionate, she is
hardworking, she is innovative really in her job and her home life, I think.
MICHAEL FIDOE-WHITE: I’m very proud in the
way she copes with her condition. I’m very proud of her as a person, full stop.