Common Causes
Sweating and body odor
- Diagnosis. To diagnose a problem with sweating and body odor, your doctor will likely ask about your medical history and do an exam.
- Treatment. If you're concerned about sweating and body odor, the solution may be simple: an over-the-counter antiperspirant and deodorant.
- Lifestyle and home remedies. ...
- Preparing for your appointment. ...
Related Conditions
What Your Body Odor Reveals About Your Health
- Consistent bad breath. Nobody wants halitosis. ...
- Sweet breath. ...
- Sour or rancid sweat. ...
- Foot odor. ...
- Foul urine odor. ...
- Unusually foul-smelling flatulence. ...
- Bad odor "down there" Having some amount of discharge is normal, but when it's accompanied by a smell, it's time to go to the doctor.
- Fishy odor. ...
- Some body odor is normal. ...
What can I do about my strong body odor?
food allergies/sensitivities, milk/lactose intolerance, high protein diets, NIGHTSHADE allergy/sensitivity bowels/constipation… Those are the main ones… i smell like spoiled milk when i took certain antibiotics, when i ate milk products, when i ate anything with high levels of gluten, i have a VERY “iffy” liver.. too..
What your body odor reveals about your health?
Part 3 of 3: Dealing with Body Odor Download Article
- Wear an antiperspirant. Apply a strong antiperspirant to your armpits before leaving the house in the morning.
- Practice good oral hygiene. Bad breath is a prime contributor to overall body odor. ...
- Wash your clothes frequently. Do a load of laundry a minimum of once a week, or more if you’re physically active or have a downsized wardrobe.
- Change your diet. ...
Why does my body smell like sour milk?
What to know about body odor?
What causes a sweet smelling body odor?
High ketone levels cause your blood to become acidic and your body odor to be fruity. In the case of liver or kidney disease, your odor may give off a bleach-like smell due to toxin buildup in your body.
Why does my sweat smell almost sweet?
Fenugreek contains an extremely potent aromatic compound called solotone. Also present in lovage, some aged rums, and molasses, solotone passes through the body, and when consumed in heavy amounts, can prompt a sweet maple-y odor in sweat and urine.
What does diabetic sweat smell like?
A person living with a health condition such as diabetes or kidney disease may also have sweat that smells like ammonia. A person can try antiperspirants to reduce the amount they sweat, and deodorants to cover up any odors. A doctor can treat any underlying health conditions to help reduce the ammonia smell in sweat.
Why does my BO smell like syrup?
Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is a disorder in which the body cannot break down certain parts of proteins. The urine of people with this condition can smell like maple syrup.
Why do my armpits smell fruity?
A fruity smell could indicate diabetes due to having high levels of ketones in the bloodstream, while liver or kidney disease can often lead to a bleach- or ammonia-like smell due to a buildup of toxins in the body.
Does diabetes make you smell sweet?
A person with uncontrolled diabetes may have blood glucose levels that are dangerously high. The body tries to get rid of the extra glucose in the urine, and this can cause a sweet smell.
Can you smell high blood sugar?
The fat-burning process creates a buildup of acids in your blood called ketones, which leads to DKA if untreated. Fruity-smelling breath is a sign of high levels of ketones in someone who already has diabetes. It's also one of the first symptoms that doctors look for when they check for DKA.
What does ketoacidosis smell like?
A sweet, fruity odor can be a sign of ketoacidosis, an acute complication of diabetes. An odor of ammonia is associated with kidney disease. Similarly, a very foul, fruity odor may be a sign of anorexia nervosa.
Why does my body smell?
Body odor is actually the fault of the bacteria that live in sweaty areas of your body. Bacteria aren't the only odoriferous offenders though. It also depends on which sweat glands are doing the sweating. You have different types of sweat glands in your skin— eccrine glands and apocrine glands .
How to get rid of sweat odor?
Natural fibers breathe, allowing the sweat to evaporate away. Avoid fabrics that trap sweat against the skin. These allow for a better breeding ground for body odor to develop. When working out, opt for moisture-wicking fabrics. 5 .
Why does my armpit smell?
It's the sweat produced by apocrine glands that is responsible for body odor because it is high in protein that, when broken down by bacteria, causes a stink. Apocrine glands are found in select areas of the body, namely your armpits, groin, and pubic area. This explains why body odor mostly develops in your armpits and groin area, ...
What to do if you don't sweat?
If you don't sweat much but get body odor, deodorants are the way to go. If you're a sweater, make sure you get a product that is labeled both an antiperspirant and deodorant. If you get major B.O., look for a stronger product with higher percentages of active ingredients.
What to do if you don't notice body odor?
If you've done everything to help reduce body odor and aren't noticing improvement, give your doctor a call. You may have something different going on that needs addressing (a fungal infection, for example). Or, you just may need a stronger treatment to get body odor under control.
What does it mean when your body smells like bleach?
In some cases, an odd body odor can be a sign of something more serious. For example, a bleach-like or urine-like smell may mean kidney or liver problems. If you notice an odd change in your normal body odor or feel something is just not right, contact your doctor.
What to use to get rid of stinky skin?
If regular showers aren't doing the trick, use an anti-bacterial soap or body wash like Dial, or a benzoyl peroxide cleanser. These washes can help reduce the number of bacteria on your skin so there is less to turn sweat into stink.
Why does my body smell?
Changes to body odor may be due to puberty, excessive sweating, or poor hygiene. Sudden changes are typically caused by the environment, medications, or foods that you eat. However, body odor, especially sudden and persistent changes to your normal odor, can sometimes be a sign of an underlying condition.
Why does sweat make my body smell?
If you’ve been working out, excessive sweat may be the culprit. If you don’t wear antiperspirant or practice healthy hygiene habits, sweat can mix with bacteria, causing an unpleasant smell. If body odor is persistent and accompanied by other symptoms, it may be something else.
Why does my breath smell fruity?
Additionally, DKA causes your breath to have a fruity odor. Medical Emergency. If you have diabetes and experience a sudden fruity smell in your breath accompanied by frequent urination and a very high blood glucose level, see a doctor immediately. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a medical emergency.
What does sudden change in body odor mean?
Sudden change in body odor symptoms. A sudden change in body odor typically occurs in a specific area of the body. Common areas include the: You may also notice a sudden smell from your stool, urine, earwax, or genital discharge. No matter the location, the odor can vary.
Why does urine smell so strong?
A bacterial UTI occurs when bacteria enter your urinary tract and multiply. This type of infection can cause your urine to produce a strong odor, along with affecting the sensation, frequency, urgency, and appearance of your urine .
What causes a fishy smell in the vagina?
Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age and often produces a fishy odor. Its other symptoms are similar to those of a yeast infection. Trichomoniasis, a type of parasitic sexually transmitted infection, often has no symptoms but may change vaginal odor.
Why does my throat smell like beer?
This is a bacterial infection that occurs in the lungs, throat, and neck, causing breath to have a foul smell. Swelling in ulcerated lymph nodes may also produce a smell of stale beer. Toxin poisoning. If you ingest certain toxins, your body odor may be affected.
In This Article
Nobody likes stinky sweat or putrid-smelling pits. Still, if your perspiration produces a perfumey plume or a saccharine scent, you might be confused. And, perhaps, kind of delighted. A sweet bouquet of sweat is better than bad BO, right?
1. The Smell: Fruity
Fruity-scented sweat (or breath) could be a sign of a serious complication of diabetes called diabetic ketoacidosis
2. The Smell: Burnt Sugar (or Maple Syrup)
If your sweat, urine or earwax has an aroma of burnt sugar, you may be dealing with maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).
3. The Smell: Maple Syrup
When your sweat serves up a wafting scent of waffles and maple syrup, your diet may be the reason. Yep, what you put on your plate can produce a perfumey perspiration.
Why does sweat make you smell?
That's because one type of sweat that our bodies produce is rich in fat. Bacteria that is naturally found on our skin breaks down this fat-rich sweat and produces the range of smells we associate with body odor.".
Why does my breath smell sweet?
"For example, people with diabetes have trouble breaking down glucose in the body, so you may notice that diabetics' breath often smells sweet because of a build-up of glucose."
What to do if your body smells like it has changed?
If your body odor has suddenly changed and there's no clear reason why, you should schedule a doctor's appointment; it could be a sign of something more serious. MedExpress Near Location. your nearby centers. MedExpress Centers Card.
What is the name of the disorder that causes fishy odor?
A 2011 study found that up to a third of people with unexplained body odor might have a rare genetic disorder that fiddles with your metabolism, and is known as trimethylaminuria, or, charmingly enough, "the fishy-smelling syndrome".
What foods make your body smell?
The cruciferous veggies of the broccoli family, which also include cauliflower and cabbage, create sulfur build-up that's then excreted from the body in sweat form, but scientists recommend that you can actually reduce the odor after-effects by cooking them in water with salt.
Does stress make you sweat?
The Mayo Clinic has a good explanation for why stress does actually make us sweat in a specific way that can increase body odor. It turns out that we actually have two different types of sweat glands, the ecrrine and the apocrine. Eccrine glands excrete the sweat we use to cool down, which is mostly water.
Why does my sweat smell like bread dough?
A key ingredient for the delicious smell of baking bread is yeast, which is decidedly less appetising when it appears on your body.
Why does my sweat smell like vinegar?
A vinegary smell could be related to a few different health conditions.
Why does my sweat smell sweet?
If your sweat or your breath smells unusually sweet, this could be because of a higher count of ketones in your bloodstream.
How can I stop smelly sweat?
If you suspect there could be a medical reason behind your body odour, get that checked out first and foremost.
What does it mean when you smell sweat?
Changes in the smell of sweat and urine can indicate the presence of biomarkers for kidney disease as well as other conditions, such as cystic fibrosis and some forms of cancer.
How to get rid of sweat smell?
Bathe regularly. This may seem obvious, but the easiest way to address extra smelly sweat is to wash it off . Bathing daily (or more often if necessary) with an antibacterial soap may help reduce levels of bacteria on your skin that are reacting to sweat.
Why does my sweat smell like vinegar?
But bacteria on the skin, hormones, compounds in certain foods, and other factors — most of them harmless — can cause your sweat to smell like vinegar or something else that may seem disagreeable to your senses. In some cases, a pungent vinegar scent in your sweat may be due to an underlying health condition, such as diabetes or kidney disease.
Why do my feet sweat so much?
If your body and especially your feet sweat excessively, especially in conditions that shouldn’t trigger a lot of perspiration like quietly relaxing in cool weather, you may have hyperhidrosis. It’s a treatable medical disorder that sometimes accompanies menopause and thyroid disease but may exist on its own.
What is the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant?
Deodorant and antiperspirant are often discussed interchangeably, but they are two very different products: 1 Deodorants simply mask body odor with a different, hopefully stronger scent. 2 Antiperspirants actually block sweat pores from releasing sweat.
What foods make sweat smell?
Meat and dairy. Other foods, such as red meat, may also change the way your sweat smells. Dairy products, including milk and cheese, may do the same thing. In general, foods containing many types of volatile compounds can change the odor of perspiration.
What causes sweat to change?
Sweat is composed almost entirely of water but also contains: salts. sugars. urea. ammonia . Changes in sweat contents can cause sweat odor to change.
What does it mean when you have a sweet odor?
If you have Clostridioides difficile ( C. diff) infection (C DI), it can result in diarrhea that has an unusual odor that some might describe as sickeningly sweet. High risk factors for CDI include being over the age of 65, having recently been hospitalized, and having finished a course of antibiotics.
What causes a sweet smell in stool?
“Sweet smelling” is not often a description associated with human stool, although there is a bacterial infection that can result in a recognizable sickeningly sweet excrement: Clostridioides difficile infection.
Why does my stool smell so bad?
Also, consistently noxious stool could be an indication of an underlying medical condition such as: celiac disease. Crohn’s disease. infection. lactose intolerance. malabsorption. pancreatitis. ulcerative colitis. If your stool odor has become consistently more unpleasant, talk about it with your doctor.