The body odor tells much more than just poor hygiene. Moreover, sometimes you smell bad even after you take a shower. In such a situation, it is often difficult to determine why you stink and you start to have complexes. It becomes more difficult to interact with people so as not to inadvertently offend them. There are several main reasons for the appearance of unpleasant odors coming from you. Besides, it says a lot about the state of your health.
Table of Contents
What Causes Bad Body Odor?
In this section, we will tell you about the major health problems that lead to bad body odor. You need to identify them and treat them before it’s too late.
Stress
The stronger the stress, the more it reflects from your body odor. In a normal mood, the body mainly excretes water to cool the body. It evaporates and leaves almost no odor on the skin.
In case of stress, proteins, lipids, hormones, and other substances get released along with water. Taken together, it looks like a bacteria buffet. They eat nutrients and produce processed foods, which are the source of the stench.
Excess Weight
As you gain weight, your body temperature rises due to the thermal conductivity of fat and the larger area that your body needs to cool. This makes you sweat harder. Besides, the extra weight puts additional stress on the body, which makes it sweat even more for cooling. Both of these factors create an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
Alcohol Addiction
Another reason for the bad body odor can be your dependency on alcohol. Not many people know but excessive consumption of alcohol causes more stink-causing Diacetic acid. Therefore, when a person sweats, it is stinky.
You can avoid this either by replacing alcoholic drinks with some herbal teas or by getting alcoholism treatment. All you have to do is find free rehab facilities that can provide you with treatment services.
Bacterial and Fungal Infections
There are many skin problems that cause unpleasant odor. For example, a disease such as mycosis is accompanied by the formation of pink-red spots on the body.
In addition to itching and deformation of the skin, the bacteria produce a putrid odor as a result of their vital activity. And this is just one of the infections. Most often, they occur in places of high humidity, that is, in the armpit.
Diseases
Many people, feeling that they are stinking, begin to wash more often and splash more deodorant. But the problem may lie not in the fact that they sweat more, but in some diseases. For example, a rare genetic disorder called fish odor syndrome may be the cause of bad breath.
Due to the lack of an enzyme that breaks down trimethylamine, this substance accumulates and is released along with sweat. And by the name of the disease, it is clear how it will be borne from you. A more common problem is diabetes. Due to impaired glucose breakdown, you may smell acetone. In renal failure, urea gets released into the sweat.
If you sweat, you smell like you just pissed in your pants. If you smell like rotten cabbage, it could indicate liver failure. Hormonal disturbances can lead to excessive sweating with the release of lipids, proteins, and other substances.
Dirty Laundry
And it’s not about the dirtiest laundry, but about its contact with the skin. Sweat-soaked clothing, especially underwear, is a good breeding ground for fungi and bacteria. When you put on dirty clothes again, microorganisms from them quickly transfer to your skin.
Then they begin to eat the nutrients that were released along with sweat. It is a kind of accelerated way to get an unpleasant odor without physical exertion.
Incorrectly Selected Care Products
Your body has a natural acidity balance that can be slightly abnormal. Cheap or simply not suitable shampoos, shower gels, and other hygiene products can change the acidity of the skin.
And since pH creates a natural barrier, its violation can lead to the growth of microorganisms. This, in turn, begins to eat skin, sweat, and dirt, after which they release waste products and an unpleasant odor.
Medicines
Some drugs can cause chemical odors. These include an overabundance of omega-3-acids, intake of leuprolide acetate, and topiramate. Antidepressants like bupropion, clomipramine, duloxetine, and others can also cause odor. Medicines in this group cause increased sweating with the release of nutrients, which, as in stress, get actively eaten by microorganisms.
Food
For some people, certain foods can be difficult to digest due to impaired fermentation. Most often, an unpleasant odor arises from meat. Protein breakdown products enter the sweat and get excreted with it. Certain vegetables, such as the health-conscious broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus, can also produce unpleasant odors.
They release gases that can be absorbed into the blood, then into sweat, and it begins to smell like sulfur. And due to the excess of vitamin B4, which is present in oily fish, you yourself can start to smell like fish. Condiments such as cumin, curry, and caraway contain sulfur. Therefore, overdoing it with them, you can feel that an unpleasant sour smell comes from you.
Antiperspirant
Research shows that abruptly quitting an antiperspirant after using it for several years can make sweat even smellier than it was without it. It’s all about increasing the number of bacteria in the armpits, which give off an unpleasant odor.
So the reason people around you complain about the unbearable smell of sweat coming from you may be your switch from antiperspirant to regular deodorant.
Conclusion
It is evident from this article that our body odor says a lot more than just poor hygiene. You need to pay attention to the major causes of bad smell. Or you can visit a doctor for a check-up. Changing your bad habits or getting treatment from a specialist can help you overcome this problem.
