Shoo away Body Odor

Think of a situation when you have been traveling or standing in a queue and there comes a man with strong body odor and stands next to you. What will you do? Make faces, will let him know or won’t say anything as you don’t want to hurt his or her feelings. Most of them will go for the third option.

Here, let’s discuss what exactly body odor is and what are the measures to prevent it.

Body odor or Bromhidrosis is also called as bromidrosis, osmidrosis and ozochrotia. It is the smell caused by the breakdown of the sweat by the bacteria growing on a person’s body which many people find unpleasant.

As each person is unique so is the case with the body odor. Each one has their own specific odor which sometimes helps in identifying a person. It could be unpleasant for some and nice for some others (yes, you reading right some people really like others body smell….well fragrance for them.)

What are the causes for body odor?

Sweating is as natural as taking breath, everybody sweats. It is the phenomenon of the body to get back to the normal temperature in case of extreme hot weather. During this process the sweat on the skin is breaked down by the bacteria which in turn cause smell. The amazing thing is that sweat as such is odorless.

There are some parts of the body such as armpits, soles of the feet’s, palms and genitals which produce body odor than other parts of the body reason being it has different sweat glands.

Now the question arise is why some people have extreme body odor which can kill another person while others don’t. Is it because they don’t take bath daily or they don’t maintain proper hygiene?

There could be many reasons such as excessive precipitation, not maintaining proper hygiene, having some disease etc. Sometimes even after taking frequent baths the problem of body odor doesn’t go away.

Wwhat are the factors contributing to Body odor?

# Including onion, garlic, curry or other spices in the diet

# Occupation (chemist and doctors have that odor of medicine)

# Medication

# Age factor, as children don’t have body odor even after sweating a lot due to the fact that the glands which are secreting have not become active as yet.

# Having alcohol or smoking, as alcohol and nicotine are said to raise the level of perspiration.

# Mood variations like high anxiety level or stress

These factors lead to more precipitation which in turn will produce strong pungent body odor.

How is it diagnosed?

That’s quite simple to know; even a child can differentiate between a body odor and fragrance. But the poor person who has the body odor can’t sense it, may be due to the reason that his or her nostrils get accustomed to their body odor and thus become insensitive.

So, be aware whether you are giving nightmares to people. It’s been seen some people don’t even know that they smell like a pig. Rather than rebuking such person or making faces let them know in a sympathetic way so that they can at least be aware of their problem.

What should I do to make sure I don’t smell bad?

* Maintaining personal hygiene is quiet easy. All one has to do is to be just a bit more careful and the problem could be solved.

* The real problem is sweating so take frequent baths and use mild soap especially in the areas which are more prone to sweat glands. If you sweat a lot than take bath for at least three to four times a day.

* Some people have habit of wearing same old clothes after taking bath. That’s wrong; change into fresh clothes after every bath otherwise the pungent smell and sweat sticking to your old clothes will again make you smell like a pig.

* Clothes such as undergarments, hanker chiefs, socks, shirts should be washed in warm, soapy water, daily. Don’t wear same clothes next day, not even if you have worn them for just an hour or so.

* Use deodorants, antiperspirant and powders.

* Essential oils such as rosemary, thyme, lavender etc could be used under arms, behind earlobes, on feet’s etc.

* Wearing cotton clothes is best in hot and humid climate. It not only soaks sweat but is quiet light on skin surface letting it breath.

* Bad breath problem could be solved by using mouthwash, chewing gums etc.

* Feet should be washed regularly and always wear fresh cotton socks. Don’t keep on wearing shoes for whole day but take them out often so that your feet could breathe.

Is body odor also an indication to some serious illness?

Sometimes a typical body odor could tell about the serious illness one is suffering from like if one is having a smell of ammonia than it may be possible that he is suffering from liver infection, than a fishy smell could mean having a metabolic disorder.

So, its always recommended to see a dermatologist if you have tried every method but still suffering from body odor, may be it is symptom of some serious illness and if not than the doctor could suggest some medicine or could even remove the excessive sweat glands surgically.

Botox treatment could be taken if you have excessive sweating glands in armpit but it is not helpful regarding the problem of sweaty feet or palms.