Have You Been Sweating Lately? Here is What You Need to Know About Body Odor Treatment

By May/June, the climate will be hotter than ever before. Thanks to lockdown that the days are cooler this year. But we can’t deny one thing, that during summers one thing which is inevitable is the body odor.

Before we tell you about the various ways of body odor treatment, let’s first clear off the basics. It’s not all of a sudden that your shirt starts to sink or the cream color top you choose to wear during outings is loaded with blots of your sweat. Here is a slight sneak-peek on the stinky smell and why does it occur!

What is Body Odor?

If you have smelly armpits, sweaty legs, or if your clothes ooze out stinking smell after its first or second use then its nothing else but body odor. Put simply, when a body gives off a scent others may find it unpleasant (and in some cases you too) then its body odor!

It usually becomes evident if measures are not taken when we reach puberty. Obese people, or those who regularly munch spicy food, and individuals with certain medications have issues with body odors.

Body odor is most likely to occur in the following places –

• Armpits
• Genitals
• Public hair
• Belly button
• Feet
• Anus
• Behind the ears
• Groin (the area between your hip between your stomach and thigh)

What Causes Bad Smell?

Body odor is caused by bacteria breaking down sweat and is largely linked to apocrine glands. There are 2 kinds of sweat glands – apocrine and eccrine. Eccrine glands cover much of your body and open directly on the skin’s surface.

Apocrine glands occur in areas that contain a lot of hair follicles like groin and armpit. So next time if you’re stuck with a smelly armpit, it’s the apocrine gland that is giving away the bad odor.

When your body heats up, eccrine glands release sweat the cools your body. It is usually odorless but the bacteria complicates the problem. Apocrine glands work under stress and release the fluid and when this fluid comes in contact with the bacteria, that’s the time we start to sweat and smell bad!

What Have You Been Eating Lately Can Be the Reason for the Bad Odor –

Many people experience a sudden, strong smell from their urine after having asparagus. The smell will go away once the food is metabolized. There are certain foods that produce more gas and may lead to belching or flatulence.

Food which give smelly gas include –

• Asparagus.
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower

Your overall diet can also affect body odor. Meals that are rich in fruits and veggies have better-smelling ingredients, irrespective of how much a person sweat. As mentioned earlier, if you’re having spicy food too much, then you’re more likely to sweat and smell bad.

Stress and anxiety is another reason for you to sweat more. If you have hyperhidrosis disorder (a condition that results in excessive seating. Even if the weather is cool, you might find yourself sweating). Some people develop this disorder due to genetics or while taking certain medications.

And the list doesn’t end here! There are humongous reasons on why we have body odor, but we thought of putting forwards only the most common and curable ones.

Possible Body Odor Treatment –

Now that we know what is this all about, here we are taking you through some of the body odor treatments. You might not have to do everything that we communicate, but doing one thing at a time is the best suggestion.

Shower with Antibacterial Soap –

Don’t pick up soaps that commit to give you a pleasant smell. Rather pick up soaps that are anti-bacterial. As mentioned above, it’s not the sweat that is smelly, bacteria make the hell out of it. Now that you know what is the root cause, go ahead and kill it with antibacterial soaps.

Use Antiperspirants and/or Deodorants –

Antiperspirants help in reducing the production of sweat with their active ingredient – aluminum salts which dissolve into the moisture on the skin’s surface. This forms a gel that temporarily sits on top of the sweat gland, reducing the amount of sweat released.

Another common body odor treatment is using deodorants/perfumes. While they don’t cure the coming of sweat, they temporarily give you a sweet and pleasant smell, hopefully till the time you are able to eliminate the body odor.

Wear Breathable Fabrics –

Fabrics like cotton, silk, and wool allow the air to enter your clothes and keep sweat away from building up. For workout clothes, moisture-wicking, synthetic material are the best as they keep the sweat off your skin.

Do Keep a Check on Your Diet –

Onions and garlic contain an aroma that can come out through your pores when you sweat. Caffeinated beverages and alcohol usually cause you to sweat more. We shouldn’t keep on reminding you to maintain a proper diet, that should be natural and already understood.

Marinating a proper diet not only helps you stay fit and away from sickness, but it also helps you in keeping hydrated and odorless.

How Frequently You’re Washing Your Clothes?

Bacteria can easily breed on used clothes and unpleasant odors can be sniffed when they are not washed properly. Be very sure that you’re regularly washing your clothes. During summertime, you shouldn’t wear cloth more than twice.

Keep Yourself Clean –

Perhaps the best body odor treatment is this! Shower at least twice a day. Don’t forget to have a quickie before you sleep. Remember one thing, sweat itself is odorless. But when bacteria that live on your skin comes in contact with it, that’s the time when things go wrong.

Why give bacteria a chance to dig out all the odds for you? Wash it off daily, before it flushes away your personality due to body odor.

Towel Off Well –

Sometimes we don’t realize how small-small things can add up to the overall hygiene. When we are in a hurry, we usually wear anything that appears first in our wardrobe and dry ourselves as casually as possible. Which is wrong! We might be in a hurry, but we should also pay close attention to areas where we sweat and take some time to dry them up.

Consult a Doctor –

If you find that after doing all the stuff, things are just not working out, then you shouldn’t feel shy about consulting a doctor. You might have hyperhidrosis. There are a few body odor treatment options available for those with more severe sweating. 

Summing Up –

It’s always necessary to know the root cause of any problem and the root cause of body odor is nothing but the bacteria lingering in your body. Doctors and treatments are always there for any kind of problem, but make sure to cure it by yourself and then seek professional help.