What Your Body Odor Says About Your Health

What Your Body Odor Says About Your Health
What Your Body Odor Says About Your Health

No matter how much you bathe or treat various body odors, sometimes you still stink. While today’s societal norms frown upon bodily stench, an occasional case of repugnant body odor or foul-smelling breath isn’t unusual.

However, sometimes the way you smell can actually say something about your health. Highly offensive odors that are new to you, or long-lasting smells accompanied by other symptoms may be a sign something is wrong.

While it could be a minor issue simply cured with an over-the-counter (OTC) solution, it could be much more serious.

Rotten Egg Smell

Some birth control prescriptions have stinky side effects. Your pregnancy prevention pills may be causing dry mouth, resulting in a build-up of Sulphur. This means your breath could smell just like rotten eggs and you should consider changing brands.

Excessively Rancid Body Odor

While sweat doesn’t usually smell pleasant, if your sweat is particularly rancid, it could be a sign of a magnesium deficiency. Many foods you regularly consume are high in magnesium, but some actually deplete magnesium levels. Low levels may cause atrocious smelling sweat, so increase your green vegetables or take a supplement to help smell normal again.

Yeasty Odor Down Below

When your private parts smell like you’re baking bread down there, it’s often a sign of vaginal yeast infection. While these infections are common, they’re embarrassing and uncomfortable. If the smell is accompanied by a white discharge and extreme itching, better head to pharmacy for an OTC anti-fungal remedy, potentially followed by a more powerful prescription.

Foul Smelling Breath

If you practice impeccable oral hygiene, but still find your breath smelling foul, it could be a sign of sinusitis due to allergies or a bacterial or viral infection. The infected mucus draining down the back of your throat can make your breath smell horrible. Sinusitis often clears up on its own, but may require OTC or prescription medications in extreme cases.

Smelling Sweet Isn’t Always Good

While sweet smelling breath sounds like a good thing, an intense fruit-like smell can be quite offensive and a potential sign of diabetes. Breath that smells sweet isn’t natural, even if you consume excessive amounts of fruit-flavored candy. This smell could be caused by proteins and fats being burned away instead of glucose, a problem seen in diabetics. Sweet smelling urine is also a bad sign that your body is getting rid of sugar through your bladder. Talk to your doctor immediately, if you notice sweet smells from either location.

Something Smells Fishy

If your nether region literally smells like fish, it’s usually a sign you have infection that may require a round of antibiotics to clear up. A more unusual occurrence is fishy breath. This can be a distinct sign something is wrong with your liver, so visit your doctor immediately.

Rare Diseases

Although scientists aren’t completely sure how certain diseases affect your scent, some diseases seem to alter the way you smell. Trimethylaminuria is a rare, metabolic disease that’s characterized by your body’s inability to properly process trimethylamine. This condition causes your body to smell like rotting fish or garbage. Although the disease is incurable, sufferers typically live normal, healthy lives with added dietary measures to decrease bad body odors.

While proper hygiene usually takes care of most unpleasant body odors, ingredients in some deodorants, antiperspirants, lotions, body washes or sprays can actually make your body odor worse. Although it may sound like a crazy idea, sometimes just changing the brands of your odor control products can make you smell much better.