I smell!

LegacyUser

I have a big problem in that I dont sweat a lot, but the small amount that I do sweat has a very strong, potent odour. I've tried a few different deodrants but none really beat the problem. Does anyone have suggestions?

Victor

Drink more water? Tea, coffee, alcohol don't count.

If you think its a particular problem, mention it to your GP the next time you are there.

BaZmO*

By using deodorants do you use an anti-persperant like Sure or smellies like Lynx?

If it's the latter use the former and if it's the former go to your GP.

Ruu_Old

Drinking more water is probably best unless you are doing so already, cut out the caffeine as it makes the sweat glands more active.

LegacyUser

I agree that if you feel you have a problem you should speak to your GP. As a heavy-duty anti-perspirant I use Unperfumed Mitchum, get in chemists. It is a 48 hour anti-perspirant and used to have the tag line ... so good you can even skip a day not that I do or anything. good luck.

aidan24326

If it's especially pungent do talk to a GP as there could be an underlying cause be it medical/lifestyle/diet related or whatever. In the meantime use the best anti-perspirant money can buy and plenty of it!

Oh, and do drink plenty of water!

Reku

I'd have to agree with the rest as regards water anyway, as sweat is a way of your body expelling waste, drinking more water will allow a greater amount of the body's wastes to be filtered out and expelled as urine instead. Might also be worth looking at your diet too, are there any particularly pungent foods you tend to eat a lot of? As these odours can then linger on you as you sweat out some of the broken down parts of the food (same as with when people can smell you've been out drinking the night before).
If that's not it then short of seeing a GP you're not going to be able to readily figure it out or deal with it.
It may even be due to an intolerance to a food.

Marksie

farohar wrote:

as sweat is a way of your body expelling waste

Just to clarify:

Purpose of sweat.The body is like an engine that never stops running and like all engines, it produces heat. The more the muscles contract (like during exercise), the more heat is produced. Your body needs to be efficient at keeping you cool or you would rapidly overheat and collapse within 15 to 20 minutes. The reason this doesn’t happen is that your body has several ways of cooling you down. Sweat is one method


What is sweat made out of?Sweat is composed mostly of water and trace substances like sodium chloride (salt), potassium, lactic acid and ammonia. Sodium and potassium are minerals that act as electrolytes to regulate blood pressure and water balance.

There are two types of sweat glands: apocrine and eccrine.

The apocrine glands are actually scent glands that are located in the navel, armpits and groin. They produce a sticky kind of sweat that is odorless but is rich in fatty acids that bacteria present in the skin feed upon to produce the familiar B.O. smell.

The eccrine sweat glands, meanwhile, are found all over the body and produce a watery sweat that helps to regulate body temperature.


Eat less fatty foods, avoid stress.
How old are you OP?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrine_glands

If in any doubt visit your GP

miles teg

Some advice from Charlton Heston about stinking:

"I don't know one actor worth his salt that didn't say at one time or another, "God, I stink!" Hell, I just did a scene out there, first take, I stunk the place up. But, the important thing you must remember, no matter how badly you think you might stink, you must never, ever bust into my dressing room and use my shower! Do you understand me?!"

The smell is produced by bacteria on your skin as opposed to the sweat itself. Get into a routine of cleaning just your armpits regularly with a facecloth. It'll keep the bacteria levels down and you won't have to shower every 2 minutes either.

botvot

Hi OP

I sweat a lot as well, since teen days... There is a type of anti-perspirant you can buy in pharmacies called Driclor...it is heavily alcohol based and can cause quite a burn in the beginning. At first you use it every night, but later, as the sweating gets less, you only use it a few times a week. Worth looking into. That combined with Mitchum Dri-stick in the day, I found working best for me.

hanni1234

Mitch_um wrote:

I agree that if you feel you have a problem you should speak to your GP. As a heavy-duty anti-perspirant I use Unperfumed Mitchum, get in chemists. It is a 48 hour anti-perspirant and used to have the tag line ... so good you can even skip a day not that I do or anything. good luck.

Can you get that in most chemists?

McGinty

I have a big problem in that I dont sweat a lot, but the small amount that I do sweat has a very strong, potent odour.

It is possible that the lack of sweating could cause the problem, I know lots of people who sweat a lot (either heat or exercise) but it doesn't smell bad, just the natural scent of sweat so maybe there could be blockages in the pores of your skin so that any sweat that does get out has fermented and caused a bad smell (this is just one of my crack pot theories that sound logical) I would check it out though just to eliminate it. When you exercise do you sweat much? What about your diet? Also do you regularely go to the toilet (both types), all of these could be linked, I think if a person is aware of their smell and use persperents they tend to be hygiene conscious so I won't bother saying about washing, you probably do all that. Personally I never use persperents as I don't like them but I do use natural oils or perfumes as scents so you could try those, you could visit a local health shop and they can give you wonderful advice, would you consider eating more organic foods (start slowly first) I did and find that my skin is softer more clear and I have very little B.O. Also I tend to take baths that detoxify the body, basically I get a tub of epsom salts (they are very cheap in the chemist, about 3 euro for a small tub) scrub the skin with a body brush, throw in a handful of epsom salts, if you have some lavender oil that is good, or even throw in a few stalks of lavender bush into the bath, soak for twenty minutes and that is good for clearing, detoxifying and opening the pores of the body, plus you will smell great and sleep fantastic.

padi89

OP in the long run its really worth having a look at your diet,cutting out processed foods etc and eating more fresh foods and plenty of water can have a huge effect.
In the meantime if its something that really bothers you i think its worth a visit to your GP.

LegacyUser

Thanks for all the advice everyone! My diet could be a partial factor, the last few months have been stressful & healthy food hasnt been high on my priority lists! However, it's always been a bit of a problem really, so that cant take all the blame.

I've written a list of the main points you've all given me & I'll try them out! If not I will go to my doctor.

And "farohar" perhaps you could be right about a possible food intolerance. I'd never thought of it before but my sister feels the effects of a lot of foods badly so perhaps it has something to do with that.

And "McGinty" I do tend to sweat a lot when I excercise, & then it smells normal. It's when Im just doing ordinary things that wouldnt cause you to sweat excessively that makes the unpleasant odour. And unfortunatly I dont have a bath! So that suggestion is out of the question for me!

Hermy

Hi OP,
A lot of the emphasis here is on deodorants and perfumes which only mask bad odours without addressing the cause of the odours. I would suggest the use of an anti-bacterial soap like Cusson's Carex before deciding on your favourite brand of deodorant.

LegacyUser

'

hanni1234 wrote:

Can you get that in most chemists?

Mitchum anti-persirant isn't too common, and when you are fussy about it being unperfumed (after all I DON'T want to smell! at all!) it can be hard to find. When I find it I get a few. It's not too cheap but is very effective, I find. In fact I only use it when I really want to not sweat, otherwise I rely on daily showers and clean shirt every day. If you have to just ask if you have anything for "problem perspiration". I've read don't.have.a's last post and he seems to have a right idea!'