What is Body Odour
Body odour is the foul smell that oozes out of the body when sweat mixes with bacteria on the skin. As trivial as it may sound, body odour can affect a person’s quality of life and personality. Under certain conditions like hormonal change, food, lifestyle, infection, medications, or underlying conditions, body odour may change. In this guide, you’ll find tips on getting rid of body odour.
Is Body Odour Gender Sensitive?
Although some people may want to debate this, our simple answer is that men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB) have more body odour than women and people assigned women at birth. This is simply because men have more apocrine glands, which become active during puberty.
Possible Causes of Body Odour
Body odour occurs when sweat mixes with certain types of bacteria on the skin. However, hormonal changes, food, lifestyle, infection, or medications can cause body odour.
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1. Sweating
Sweat is one of the most typical causes of body odour. It is the secretion of fluids by sweat glands onto your skin’s surface. The body has two kinds of sweat glands: the apocrine and the eccrine. Of these two, it is the apocrine gland that is responsible for producing body odour. Eccrine glands generate sweat to cool the skin and regulate body temperature, but apocrine glands produce foul-smelling sweat and don’t work until puberty. Apocrine glands are found in the armpits and the groins. You now understand the cause of your underarm odour. Eccrine glands, on the other hand, cover the majority of your body, including the palms and soles.
2. Diseases
Apart from sweat, several medical problems can also cause body odour. Some of such medical conditions include:
Diabetes.
Gout.
Menopause
thyroid disease.
liver illness.
kidney illness
Virus-based illnesses.
3. Eating Habit
Sulfur-rich foods like garlic, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, etc. can cause body odour, especially when secreted from sweat. Minimizing the consumption of these foods may help reduce body odour.
4. Medication
Drugs can alter body odour, increase sweat production, and trigger hot flashes. Such drugs include adrenaline, amphetamines, pseudoephedrine, tramadol, the antidepressants fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine, pregabalin, gabapentin, codeine, and omeprazole.
Prevention
1. Keep Yourself Clean
Showering at least once a day to wash away sweat and get rid of bacteria that can cause body odour is one important preventive measure for body odour. Mostly, wash thoroughly the areas like your armpit where you tend to sweat more frequently.
2, Towel Off Well
Showering and cleaning up with a dirty towel does no good. After showering, endeavour to towel off with a clean and dry towel. If you use a dirty and wet towel to clean up after showering, it is possible that you’ll be exposing yourself to the bacteria that have bred on the towel and this could further aggravate the body odour.
3. Shave Regularly
Having hair in areas such as the armpits can slow down the evaporation of sweat, giving bacteria more time to break down proteins and create unpleasant smells. Shaving the armpits can help reduce body odour, with reusable razors available online.
4. Eat Well
Certain foods affect body odour. To prevent body odour, avoid foods like hot peppers that tend to make you sweat a lot. Also, Sulfur-rich foods like garlic, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, etc. can cause body odour, especially when secreted from sweat. Minimizing the consumption of these foods may help reduce body odour.
Care and Treatment
1. Use deodorant
Sweating, both literally and figuratively, stinks and no guy wants to go a day without worrying if he is emitting body odour. Deodorants work by masking body odour with a more pleasant-smelling fragrance and finding the right deodorant can be frustrating because of your biochemistry. You can find some of the best deodorants and antiperspirants here especially if you are a heavy sweater.
2. Use Antiperspirant
After washing or bathing and before going to bed, use antiperspirants to reduce perspiration and odour. These antiperspirants contain aluminium chloride, a substance that helps prevent sweating. Apart from preventing sweating, antiperspirants also alter the activity of odour-causing bacteria.
3. Use Antibacterial Soap
Using antibacterial soaps and cleaners may help get rid of the bad bacteria that mix with the sweat on your skin to produce a foul smell. Antibacterial soaps and cleansers containing benzoyl peroxide can help reduce bacteria on the skin.
4. Use Medications
Prescription medicines that prevent sweating may be useful for treating body odour. There are some extreme conditions that may require surgery or antibiotics which can reduce the bacteria in the skin.
How to Get Rid of Body Odour Naturally
There are some natural ways to get rid of body odour and this can be achieved by using ingredients readily available in your kitchen.
1. Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar has antimicrobial properties and can help prevent the accumulation of bacteria in the underarms by lowering the pH and reducing sweat production.
2. Use Lemon
Being an acidic ingredient, lemon helps exfoliate the skin, remove dead cells, and lighten dark underarms, thereby eliminating the foul odour. To use it, dilute lemon juice with water and rub it on your underarms using a cotton pad. Make sure to moisturise after 10 minutes, as it can leave the skin dry and irritated.
3. Use Green Tea
Green teas have rich antioxidant and detoxifying properties, which can be used to treat smelly underarm odours. Tannins present in the tea help keep the skin dry and prevent sweat formation thus reducing the chances of body odour. Dip tea bags in warm water and once completely soaked, press them against the underarms. Wait for five minutes and rinse off.
4. Use Tomatoes
Rubbing a slice of tomatoes or extract on your skin can help remove body odour completely. Tomatoes are natural antioxidants and antiseptics that can destroy bacteria and exfoliate the skin, tighten pores and remove dead cells.
5. Use Baking Soda
Baking soda helps neutralise underarm odour by absorbing sweat, balancing pH levels and suppressing bacterial growth. Pat it on your underarms and dust off the excess. Make a semi-solid paste and apply it to your underarms. Once dried, wash it off with lukewarm water.
FAQs
Does Sweating too much cause body odour?
No, too much sweating does not cause body odour.
Does Sweat itself cause body odour?
No. Sweat alone does not cause body odour. Body odour occurs when the sweat mixes with bacteria on the skin.
Can Certain Foods Cause Bad Odour?
Yes, sulfur-rich foods like garlic, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, etc. can cause body odour, especially when secreted from sweat. Minimizing the consumption of these foods may help reduce body odour.
Summary
Although sweating is a normal process, body odour is a common occurrence and can be managed at home by washing, using antiperspirants, and shaving. Also, body odour and excessive sweating may be indicators of an underlying health condition, so it is important to consult a medical professional immediately.
