My mother has body odor, "fox stench"

[ssh123]

Hi,

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to tell my mother that she has body odor, aka "fox stench"? I'm an ABC, but my parents are from China and Taiwan. It seems like there are so many rules for respecting your elders and being tactful in Chinese culture, and I really don't know the appropriate way for informing her of this problem.

I don't think my mother smells because of a medical condition or anything like that. When she comes to visit, she showers maybe once every three days and wears the same thing day after day, so I know she doesn't wash her clothes as often as she should. She also doesn't wear deodorant, saying "I hate deodorant".

It's already bad enough that body odor is such a sensitive issue that can hurt people's feelings. I don't want her to "lose face", but I honestly don't know what to do! The odor is so bad and overwhelming, I start gagging. The only other person in my family whom I feel comfortable with talking about this is my sister, who completely agrees with me. My dad, strangely enough, doesn't seem to notice. Maybe if you live with someone, you tend to get used to these things. She works in an office and I can't imagine that her coworkers don't notice the odor. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!