Health
You can't get rid of some odors just like that with soap and deodorant.
What causes body odor? Heat and bacteria on the skin are some of the obvious causes of the smell, but they are not the only ones.
There are several unexpected sources of body odor, some of which may surprise you.
Read also: 10 signs that your sweating is dangerous to your health
Let's figure out where the strange smell comes from in the armpits, from the mouth or elsewhere, and how to fix this problem.
1. You use deodorant all the time
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This may seem contradictory, but deodorant can actually cause unpleasant odors, rather than protect against them.
More bacteria live on our armpits than there are people on Earth. But not all bacteria are the same. There are two main types of bacteria in the armpits: staphylococci, which do not produce strong odors, and corynebacteria, which convert fats and amino acids in our sweat into compounds that have specific characteristics , pungent smell.
This smell is masked with deodorant, or perspiration can be prevented with an antiperspirant containing aluminum. But how do these methods affect the bacteria themselves?
Scientists from Ghent University in Belgium tested 9 people for 28 days, collecting sweat samples before, during and after the trial period. It turned out that the ingredients in deodorants and antiperspirants contribute to an increase in the level of odorous bacteria on the skin, which can lead to a changed, more unpleasant underarm odor.
Tips:
Experts recommend using water more often to cleanse the armpits, or mixing lemon juice with water to kill bacteria.
You can also use talcum powder to keep the armpit area dry and prevent odors.
2. You experience stress and anxiety on a regular basis
Did you know that sweat from stress is chemically different from sweat that occurs when you're hot?
Sweating is a natural response to stress, but extreme stress often results in very smelly sweat.
When you're hot, sweat is secreted by eccrine sweat glands that extend to the surface of the skin and cover most of the body. This sweat consists of water, salt and potassium, and when moisture evaporates, the body cools down.
When our body reacts to emotions, anxiety, stress, or anxiety, sweat is released from the apocrine sweat glands. These glands produce thicker sweat, which is made up of fats and proteins.
The apocrine glands are mainly located in the armpits, in the genital area, and on the scalp. Although initially odourless, this sweat does not evaporate as quickly and becomes odorous when mixed with bacteria on the skin.
Tips:
Use antiperspirants with aluminum salts that effectively block perspiration. If you know you're going to have an important meeting, apply antiperspirant at night. Because we sweat more at night, aluminum salts are more easily absorbed, clogging the sweat glands.
If antiperspirants don't work for you, or you don't want to use them, learn simple breathing and relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, or just a relaxing bath.
Wash clothes more often, as this reduces the number of bacteria and, accordingly, the smell.
3. Your blood sugar level is constantly jumping
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Blood sugar fluctuations can interfere with normal sweating, which can cause you to sweat too much or too little.
This can lead to problems in hot weather, as the body is unable to regulate temperature effectively.
Excessive sweating for no reason on a cool day or with minimal activity may signal that it's time to see a doctor.
In diabetes and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), a person may develop a distinctive sweet smell.
The fact is that when there is a lack of insulin, which regulates metabolism, the body begins to break down fats for fuel. This causes an odor similar to that of rotting apples. Most often, this odor comes from the mouth, but can also be released by other parts of the body.
Read also: Food that makes the body smell bad
Tips:
See a doctor who can order blood and urine tests to check for possible disorders, such as diabetes.
Stick to your diet and don't skip meals.
Some foods cause more intense sweating in diabetics. Limit your consumption of cheeses, chocolate, pickles, alcohol, vinegar, salty foods, hot spices, and sugary sodas.
Drink plenty of water, natural juices, and herbal teas to help maintain moisture levels and control excessive sweating.
4. You've started taking some medications
Excessive sweating often occurs with certain diseases and disorders in the body. However, ironically, it can occur when taking certain medications.
This includes:
Antidepressants
Migraine drugs
Pain relievers
Diabetes medications
Asthma inhalers
Heartburn medications
Psychotropic drugs
Hormonal drugs, including birth control pills
Some antibiotics
Antihistamines
Many of them cause dry mouth, which leads to the accumulation of sulfur compounds. Sulfur has a distinctive smell of rotten eggs, which can cause bad breath.
Tips:
If medications cause excessive sweating, ask your doctor about reducing the dosage or replacing it with a similar medication.
To reduce dry mouth, try drinking more water or chewing sugar-free gum.
5. You are a spicy food lover
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Don't be surprised if you have a particularly strong body odor after eating spicy food.
Foods containing garlic, onion, curry, and other spices produce odorous substances such as sulfur during metabolism. These substances are released through the pores for several more hours after you eat.
Very spicy foods, such as hot peppers, contain capsaicin, which makes things worse by stimulating nerve receptors in your mouth, making your nervous system think you're hot and you you start to sweat a lot.
Tips:
To avoid bad body odor, plan to eat spicy foods at a specific time. For example, don't get carried away with Indian food before an important meeting or date.
If you've already eaten something spicy, drink plenty of water, take a shower, and apply an antiperspirant.
6. You are fond of alcoholic drinks
Many people know that alcohol has a strong physiological effect on our body.
Our body perceives alcohol as a toxic substance and tries to process and remove it as quickly as possible.
The body breaks down alcohol and it enters the bloodstream, and some of it comes out through breathing and perspiration. And this leads to a bad body odor.
Severe sweating can also be a symptom of a hangover. When a person drinks a lot and regularly, they may experience night sweats a few hours or days after their last drink.
People with alcohol intolerance may also experience a negative reaction to alcoholic beverages in the form of excessive sweating. This is due to a genetic predisposition, which is why their body cannot metabolize alcohol normally. In addition to sweating, redness of the face, digestive problems and other symptoms may occur.
Tips:
To avoid the smell of alcohol, drink at a slower pace with each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water or another soft drink.
After a wild party, change your clothes more often and take a shower to remove excess salt and sweat from your skin.
And quite obvious advice: limit or completely stop drinking alcohol.
7. Your stools are irregular
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Our body releases odors through sweat, urine, and breath. Bad body odor occurs when sweat mixes with bacteria.
However, if a person begins to smell excrement, this often indicates poor nutrition, intestinal problems, due to which decay products are not filtered and excreted properly in a way.
A problem like constipation affects your overall body odor. In chronic constipation, toxins enter the bloodstream and are released, causing an unpleasant odor.
Tips:
A poor diet, especially if it is deficient in fiber, can lead to stool problems and constipation. Eat approximately 25 grams of fiber per day, which is found in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and grains.
Drink plenty of water, as dehydration often leads to constipation. Research has shown that sparkling water (unsweetened) may be more effective in fighting constipation.
8. You don't have enough vitamins
We often underestimate the role of vitamins and minerals in maintaining our health.
A lack of zinc, magnesium and B vitamins often leads to bad body odor.
For example, magnesium plays an important role in most of our body's vital functions, including our memory and energy. Scientists have also found that magnesium can get rid of body odor by flushing out toxins that cause bad odors and affecting your intestinal flora. Thanks to magnesium, waste products lose their repellent odor.
One of the main functions of zinc is to break down carbohydrates and remove waste products from cells. When zinc is deficient, the process of neutralizing harmful substances is not so effective, and we have an unpleasant body odor.
Since B vitamins are involved in metabolism, they also affect the function of removing toxins from the body. By taking enough of these vitamins, you can reduce unpleasant secretions.
Read also: 9 secrets to get rid of the smell of sweat without deodorant
Tips:
Good sources of magnesium include dark chocolate, bran, coriander, raw nuts (almonds and cashews), flax, and sesame seeds.
The recommended daily intake of B vitamins is 50-150 mg per day. The sources are: whole grains, meat, eggs, legumes and seeds.
Foods such as seafood, seeds, eggs, and cheese are rich in zinc.
9. You rarely wash your clothes
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Many of us don't wash our bra often enough. Meanwhile, this part of your wardrobe often comes into contact with the places that are most prone to sweating: back, armpits and chest.
Moreover, bras are often not made from breathable material that repels moisture.
As a result, sweat lingers in the bra fibers, and moisture promotes the growth of fungi and bacteria, which leads to an unpleasant odor.
Tips:
Don't wear the same bra two days in a row. Prolonged wear accumulates fats and odors.
Choose bras made from natural, lightweight materials. Synthetic materials trap sweat and rub against the skin, which makes the smell last longer.
10. You're going to get sick soon
The disease actually has a smell. This conclusion was made by scientists from Karolinska University in Sweden. Moreover, people around you can feel when you are sick.
When we are sick, our body has a distinctive smell, and other people, even if they do not realize it, perceive it as unhealthy.
It is known that many diseases have a specific smell.
For example, the smell of ammonia when breathing can signal kidney failure, the smell of raw fish can signal liver problems, the smell of hydrogen sulfide (or rotten eggs) may indicate infections in the gums, and a sour smell often occurs in infectious mononucleosis.
Tips:
Call your doctor if you or someone close to you notice a suspicious smell from your mouth or body. By detecting signs of illness in time, you will be able to cope with it faster.