What makes me smell so bad? It’s not that long when I took my shower. I already have my deodorant on, and I sprayed my expensive perfume all over, as well. My friends are coming, and I do not want them to get the wrong idea. I always make sure I smell nice! I always make sure I look fine! But I’m not quite sure if that makes me clean too on the inside. What could have been wrong? Why do I smell?
We thought that fragrance comes after cleanliness, but that’s not the case for everyone. Some people are experiencing medical conditions that cause them unwanted odor, and those medical conditions include Apocrine Bromhidrosis, Eccrine Bromhidrosis, Hyperhidrosis, Diabetes, Thyroid Conditions, Trimethylaminuria, and Hormones. There are different ways to treat these conditions other than spraying a perfume. Read to find out!
List of Medical Conditions Related to Armpit Body Odor
1. Bromhidrosis
Bromhidrosis, also known as osmidrosis or ozochrotia, is a chronic medical condition that causes unwanted body odor. These are the two types of Bromhidrosis:
• Apocrine Bromhidrosis occurs when your apocrine gland, one of your scent glands, combines with your skin bacteria that produce onions, sulfur, and raw meat scent. Apocrine sweat is odorless and is not active during the pre-pubertal stage, and that is why children do not have body odor problems even after playing under the scorching sun for hours.
• Eccrine Bromhidrosis, the least popular type of Bromhidrosis, occurs when your sweat from the eccrine gland weakens the skin’s keratin, making it produce an awful body odor.
Treatment for Bromhidrosis
The treatment depends on the severity of the condition. You should consult your dermatologist first before conducting any of the treatments mentioned below to avoid serious complications.
• Liposuction- You probably have heard this treatment already! Liposuction is a surgical procedure of removing excess fat from the body. This procedure removes sweat glands that prevent a person from excessive sweating.
• Botox- If you wished to stop sweat release from your apocrine and eccrine gland to heal from your Bromhidrosis, then try botox!
• Surgery- If you’re not afraid of surgeries, then you might as well get one to end your Bromhidrosis. This treatment is effective for five to ten years. This treatment removes the sweat gland, as well, like Liposuction.
• Home Remedies- This will never be out of the list! If you would like to have a budget-friendly medication for your condition, you can try home remedies as an alternative treatment. Watch your hygiene routine first and ask yourself this question: Why do we take a bath? Was it to only smell nice? Look at the products you usually use, as well. Use antiseptic soaps. Always watch your hygiene and diet!
2. Hyperhidrosis
If you’re excessively sweating without doing anything, and it’s not even hot to where you are right now, you are probably suffering from this condition without your knowledge. Hyperhidrosis does not cause you an awful odor, but due to excessive sweating mixed with your skin’s bacteria, it gives you an unwanted one. Do you want to get rid of it? Beware of its severity first!
• Primary Hyperhidrosis is a medical condition in one body area that is usually genetic.
• Secondary Hyperhidrosis, on the other hand, is a medical condition caused by the previous medication.
*Medications that have excessive sweating side effects include antidepressants, pilocarpine, and zinc and iron supplements.
Treatment for Hyperhidrosis
The treatment depends on the severity of the condition. Your doctor might ask for a medical history, as well.
• Antiperspirant- They are our front-liners! It’s a must to try them first before proceeding to other treatments below. If you’re unfamiliar with antiperspirants, they are similar to deodorants. The only difference is that antiperspirants are for sweating, while deodorants are for body odor.
• Iontophoresis- This is a device used when clinical strength antiperspirant won’t work. Hire a coach to guide you when performing one to yourself. Always consult your doctor, as well, when using one because they know better.
• miraDry- This is a newly discovered treatment for Hyperhidrosis. MiraDry is not yet safe to treat excessive sweating for hands or feet other than armpits.
• OnabotulinumtoxinA Injections (Botox)- If you have a severe type of Hyperhidrosis, this one’s for you.
• Lasers- It destroys the sweat gland in the body.
3. Diabetes
What do you usually eat? How’s your diet? Monitor your food intake! It’s essential to cleanse our insides as well to avoid Diabetes. Let’s not just focus on our outer appearance. If you think you smell awful, then maybe you should stop eating unhealthy food for a while. Let’s live a healthy lifestyle to avoid health complications. Take good care of your health. Don’t just take a bath. Drink water, as well, to cleanse your insides. Let’s smell nice in and out!
4. Trimethylaminuria
It smells fishy! This condition causes the body to produce a fishy odor from sweat, urine, breath, and reproductive fluids. This condition smells like my monthly visitor! If you have Trimethylaminuria, treat it immediately to avoid psychological problems. Consider the following treatments below:
Treatment for Trimethylaminuria
• Diet Modification
• Vitamin B12
• Antibiotic Treatment
• Probiotics
5. Hormones
Body odor caused by excessive sweating due to hot flashes and night sweats is every woman’s nightmare. As a teenage girl, I do experience this a lot. I used to smell awful even after taking a bath, and not to mention that it’s uncomfortable!
Treatment for Hormonal Body Odor
• Watch your hygiene.
• Do not wear the same clothes for days.
• Choose what you eat.
• Apply antiperspirant at night to control excessive sweating.
• Apply a deodorant to mask body odor.
6. Thyroid Conditions
Thyroid glands control our sweat response. If you have thyroid conditions, that only means one thing: Your thyroid gland might have a hard time regulating your sweat response resulting in excessive sweating, and that excessive sweating will soon lead to body odor if mixed with skin’s bacteria. Take note that if your body is producing too much thyroid hormone, that’s called hyperthyroidism. It’s called hypothyroidism if vice versa.
Treatment for Hyperthyroidism
• Anti-thyroid drugs- This stops your thyroid from producing more hormones.
• Radioactive (Iodine)- This damages your thyroid’s cells to prevent it from making many thyroid hormones.
• Beta Blockers- This controls your symptoms.
• Surgery- This is a permanent treatment that may surgically remove your thyroid to stop the creation of hormones.
• Thyroid Replacement Medication- This is your only treatment option. Levothyroxine is the most common type of this drug.
Final Thoughts
We care about how we smell. We are even willing to spend money on expensive perfumes in hopes of masking the awful odor. Yet, most of the time, we focus more on the outer cleanliness that we forget to check on our health, as well. Why do we smell immediately a minute after our shower? Ask yourself next what probable medical condition might it be. Check your family’s medical history. Consult a doctor and watch your diet. In that way, you’re not just trying to eliminate the smell on you, but trying to live a healthy life, as well, to ease the complication.
If you have any of the mentioned conditions above, your smell sure could go wrong even despite your hour of skincare routine. It’s essential to cleanse the insides, as well. Do not let your body odor hinders you from achieving things in life. Consult a doctor and live a healthy lifestyle!