Body odor

Under Body odor one understands unpleasant smelling or even smelly body parts or vapors from the entire body. The causes are as diverse as the treatment options. Body odor can also be prevented.

What is body odor?

We usually refer to unpleasant-smelling vapors from the body as body odor. It occurs in various forms such as sweat and bad breath.

We usually refer to unpleasant-smelling vapors from the body as body odor. It occurs in different forms such as sweat and bad breath and the causes are correspondingly diverse.

Vapors arise through the body's own processes and can be completely natural. However, they can also be caused by a disease or infection.

causes

Body odor can have innumerable causes. As a rule, these are natural processes that cause the unpleasant vapors. Sweat, for example, occurs in everyone and is one of the main causes of body odor.

Bad breath also occurs in most people and can usually be avoided through good oral hygiene. However, illnesses can intensify the exhalations. In the case of bad breath, these are tonsil stones, which are caused by a damaged almond and leave an unpleasant odor in the oral cavity. Sweat that smells above normal levels is caused by poor diet. Garlic, in particular, promotes unpleasant exhalations under the armpits and on the feet.

In addition to these normal causes, body odor can also be promoted by illness. These include diabetes, pressure ulcers, diarrhea and diphtheria. Liver and kidney failure and an underactive thyroid are also associated with physical odors.

Fever and hormone fluctuations during puberty or menopause are also common causes of excessive sweating and unpleasant-smelling sweat. Finally, body odor can result from vaginal fluorine, penile secretions, urinary tract infections, athlete's foot, scurvy or typhoid fever. Even very overweight people tend to have strong body odor. This is mostly due to an enlarged skin surface and faster sweating.

You can find your medication here

➔ Drugs against sweating and sweating

Diseases with this symptom

• Diabetes mellitus
• Kidney weakness
• Urinary tract infection
• Athlete's foot

• Bedsores (bedsores)
• Liver failure
• Hyperhidrosis
• scurvy

• diphtheria
• Hypothyroidism
• Menopause
• typhus

Diagnosis & course

The actual body odor is usually diagnosed by the person affected or by a person close to them who draws attention to the fumes.

However, the actual cause can often only be found through precise control of one's own habits and living conditions. For this purpose, a doctor must be consulted, who examines the body for diseases after the body odor has been narrowed down to certain parts of the body. If, for example, it is body odor due to diseased tonsils, this can often be detected by looking into the oral cavity.

Other causes such as diabetes or kidney failure can be excluded by examining the organs and taking a blood count. The course of the complaints differs depending on the cause. Body odors that are caused by puberty should have completely disappeared by adulthood at the latest.

Even if the diet is responsible for the unpleasant smell of sweat, the problem usually resolves itself. The course of body odor caused by diseases such as cancer, typhoid fever or diphtheria is different. Here, the symptoms may worsen as the disease progresses, and appropriate remedies are usually prescribed.

Complications

An unpleasant body odor is usually associated with poor personal hygiene or profuse sweating, but it can also be due to serious illnesses. In addition to the physical complications, psychological consequences can also arise. Most people find unpleasant body odor annoying and the person can be socially excluded.

This can lead to a lack of self-esteem on the part of the person concerned, which can lead to severe depression. In addition to the perception of body odor by others, a delusional odor can develop. Affected people believe that they have an unpleasant body odor and are bothering other people with it. Here, too, the person concerned usually becomes socially isolated, which can also result in depression.

In addition to the psycho-social complications of body odor, an organic cause can also cause physical complications.A bacterial or fungal infection, for example, can also emit a body odor. Such infections can usually be treated well. If left untreated, the disease can spread throughout the organism and lead to life-threatening sepsis.

Diphtheria is the cause of bad breath. In the most severe cases of diphtheria, the airways narrow, the person can hardly breathe, and suffocation can occur. The toxin can rarely spread throughout the body and affect other organs such as the heart or the kidneys.

When should you go to the doctor?

Unpleasant body odor is not necessarily a reason to see a doctor. Usually, the odor can be reduced through regular personal hygiene and various care products. If the cause is known, some measures and home remedies can be used to counteract it. Medical advice is required if the body odor occurs suddenly or in spurts and is accompanied by symptoms such as excessive sweating, runny nose or skin irritation. Unpleasant smells in children and older people, during pregnancy, after a long illness or after a trip to the tropics should also be clarified.

An unpleasant smell of vinegar or acetone indicates a condition such as diabetes or hepatitis. Slight body odors can also have a serious cause and should be examined if they have not disappeared after a week or two at the latest. If you cannot remove the odor yourself, the complaints should be discussed with your family doctor. There may be a serious condition that needs treatment first. Depending on the suspected cause, a dermatologist, gynecologist or internist can then be called in to take over further treatment. As the illness is overcome, body odor should ultimately also decrease.

Doctors & therapists in your area

Treatment & Therapy

The treatment approaches for body odors are just as diverse as the causes. If it is just a strong, unpleasant smelling sweat odor, this can already be treated with increased cleanliness (e.g. showering or bathing). Regular washing in the armpit and lumbar area rinses off the bacteria and thus reduces the risk of unpleasant smells.

Deodorants or mouthwashes can also help to at least cover up the respective complaints. Finally, a change in diet also helps to get rid of body odor. If the body odor is caused by an illness, the causes must be eliminated. A wide variety of treatment options and therapies are of course provided for this.

Body odor resulting from bromhidrosis, i.e. excessive perspiration, can be contained with appropriate preparations. These are usually only available on prescription. If the body odors are caused by problems with the tonsils, gums or teeth, a dentist or an ENT must first be consulted. This diagnoses the exact disease and then initiates further steps such as an almond removal or a comprehensive teeth cleaning.

It is known that a reduced calorie intake and a lot of sport and exercise help with overweight and obesity.

Outlook & forecast

In most cases, body odor can be treated relatively easily and therefore does not need to be examined by a doctor. Usually the body odor can be completely eliminated after a few days. It mainly occurs when there is poor personal hygiene. Frequent washing of the body with soap and shampoo helps so that the body odor does not stay on the body permanently.

Too strong a smell can be unpleasant and repulsive to other people, which often leads to social exclusion. This sometimes results in depression and psychological disorders in the affected people.

As a rule, treatment by a doctor does not take place if the body odor is only caused by poor personal hygiene. In other cases, the doctor can help if the body odor is caused, for example, by abnormal sweating. Here the suction of the sweat glands on the body can help to reduce body odor.

You can find your medication here

➔ Drugs against sweating and sweating

prevention

Most of the means of treatment are also suitable for prevention. A healthy, balanced diet prevents unpleasant sweat odor and adequate personal hygiene prevents bacteria and thus exhalations from developing. In addition, there are various home remedies that prevent strong sweat odor from the outset. Lemons and ribwort fight sweat naturally and neutralize odors.

Body odor caused by diseases such as cancer is difficult to prevent. Regular visits to the doctor can, however, reduce the risk that the disease and thus the development of odor will continue to develop. Athlete's foot or scurvy can also be recognized early on and accordingly prevented.

Body odors cannot be completely avoided, especially during puberty and menopause. Here too, good hygiene, the use of a deodorant, a change in your own diet and regular clothing changes are necessary in order to keep the discomfort within limits.

You can do that yourself

Body odor is unpleasant and, depending on its severity, very embarrassing. Annoying body odor can occur even without sweating, for example in stressful situations or when an illness is on the horizon. The odor is not always due to a lack of hygiene. For example, coffee and alcohol promote body odor.

Often chronic infections or hyperhidrosis, abnormal sweating, are the reason for unusually heavy sweating. Showering alone doesn't always help when people are sweating profusely. Antiperspirant deodorants are necessary here. Antiperspirants narrow the pores of sweat, the fragrances in normal deodorants mask possible underarm odor.

Both sage tea and sage as a spice can help against sweating. Alcohol-free deodorants fortified with ribwort or licorice root extracts are also helpful. Clothing made from natural fibers supports healthy skin breathing, while synthetic textiles prevent the exchange of moisture and promote odor. Although the cosmetics industry is booming with deodorants, bath additives, toothpastes and mouthwashes, e.g. every fourth from bad breath.

On the other hand, in addition to brushing your teeth, thorough cleaning of the interdental spaces helps, because this is where bacteria tend to collect. Mouthwash ensures fresh breath, chewing gum containing xylitol without sugar stimulates the production of saliva. Curry and garlic also spread bad breath. If you eat a cup of yogurt every day, you can largely prevent the production of the hydrogen sulfide responsible for this. Peppermint and parsley also neutralize these foods.

↳ More information: 10 tips against sweating