Before leaving PATM communities I want to share my story to hopefully help other sufferers.
I'm 28 now. At the age of ~10 I started having anxieties about body odor, especially bad breath. 2-3 years later I developed PATM. I had the impression people literally get sick around me. Sneezing, sniffling, runny nose etc. It got worse year after year. As a result I started living in isolation and barely left the house. Depression and all sorts of social anxieties followed. Going to school was a nightmare each day. I had serious thoughts about suicide at several occasions in my life.
I never talked to anyone about PATM. I never asked anyone if they feel differently around me. I never asked anyone if I smell. That changed about a year ago. And I had several people confirming they don't feel any different around me. When I kissed girls they didn't complain about any smell. All my fears got refuted. I also started psychotherapy more than half a year ago and it helped me tremendously. My life has changed a lot.
I have talked to many other PATM sufferers in the past and what all had in common was some sort of anxiety about body odor or bad breath. As a former sufferer I think PATM is solely a mental problem strongly connected to ORS (Olfactory Reference Syndrome).
At this point all of this will probably not help you. It wouldn't have helped me in my situation in the past either. Back then it felt like it's completely obvious I'm the reason for all the sneezing, runny noses etc. around me. I had zero doubts, it all just seemed way too obvious. So if there's anything I can advise then it is to talk about PATM or body odor directly to people around you and ask for feedback. For me there was no other way out of it than ask for direct feedback. Observing random people on the street won't help you. People will sneeze, cough, scratch their noses everywhere, anytime even when you're not around them.
Feel free to contact me via pm for comments or questions. I will still get notifications about pms via email.