dear jessica,
My best friend has bad breath. All the time. Like something crawled in the back of her throat and died. I'm not joking. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but someone has to tell her. How would you do it?
just wanting to breath in the northern hemisphere
*****
dear wanting to breath,
This is always a very hard situation to be in. I would first try to think about how you would want your best friend to tell you if the situation was reversed.
You asked how I would tell them? Well, what I would do is just be honest and upfront. That is what I would want done for me. Since they are your best friend, they should know that you are telling them because you are genuinely concerned.
Just pull her aside one day and tell her that you've noticed she's had some bad breath lately and thought she'd want to know. Maybe try to figure out what could be causing it... does she eat a lot of garlic? Some people are really susceptible to garlic breath. Does she need to increase the number of times per day she brushes her teeth? Does she see the dentist regularly. And honestly, some people have chronic bad breath and that could be the case too.
Whatever the reason, let her know that since you notice, other people probably do too. Make it fun and maybe ask her if she wants to make a special sign to let her know if she has bad breath and then she knows to pop in some gum or a mint. Be sure to let her know that you are not immune from bad breath either so the special sign works both ways!
I really think that if you approach this honestly, openly, and with good intentions she will be receptive.
Have a minty fresh day!
Jessica
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June 17, 2009
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3 comments:
very good and logic advice Jess---dear Abby will be beating your door soon with an envious hand!
you may also want to note that chronic bad breath can mean there is an underlying medical issue and should not be ignored...just an fyi
Barbara, that's true. In my early thirties, I had a friend with really nasty breath (I never told her) and at the age of only 35 she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Turns out her bad breath was caused from the cancer. So, to the questioner, you might want to not waste any time talking to your friend.
By the way, my friend is now 55 and even though she has a "bag", she is alive and otherwise well.
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