Picture this: You’ve just stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed and confident in your squeaky-clean skin. You reach for your favourite deodorant, apply it generously and put on freshly laundered clothes. Yet, despite your efforts, an unpleasant odour begins to emanate from your body within some time, leaving you puzzled and frustrated. And you wonder how it is possible to still smell unpleasant even after practising good personal hygiene. The answer to this perplexing conundrum lies in the intricate interplay of factors that contribute to body odour. While good hygiene is undoubtedly essential, it’s crucial to recognise that the science behind odours goes far beyond the mere act of cleanliness.
Why do people smell bad even with good hygiene?
Dr Sudheendra G Udbalker, consultant dermatologist, Fortis Hospital, Bengaluru, helps decode the mystery. According to him, body odour or bromhidrosis is the result of multiple factors like body metabolism, hormonal imbalance and obesity. Interestingly it is beyond our control most of the time.
He says the human body has 3 types of sweat glands — apocrine, eccrine and sebaceous. Body odour is primarily caused by apocrine sweat glands that get activated during puberty. These sweat glands develop in hairy regions like the armpits, genitals and scalp, where they secrete an oily fluid (sweat) made up of proteins, lipids and steroids. Contrary to popular belief, sweat is naturally odourless. It is only when the bacteria on the skin react with the fluid, that they produce by-products, which cause body odour.
“Although there are three major types of bacteria that are responsible for body odour, their combination and location on the body varies from person to person. These bacteria produce ‘goat-like’, ‘cumin-like’ or cheesy smelling odours,” adds Dr Udbalker.
What diseases can cause body odour?
The Harvard Medical School states that people who suffer from hyperhidrosis (a condition when people sweat more than usual) usually have to deal with body odour as the bacteria on the skin have more fluid to react with. Primary hyperhidrosis is a relatively rare condition that happens without a specific cause, but secondary hyperhidrosis is related to medical problems. These are hot flashes due to menopause, infections or an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism). Stress, medications and alcohol use can also cause people to sweat more than usual.
Dr Udbalker doesn’t rule out hormonal balances like polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) and certain genetic conditions like amino acid disorders and chronic renal failure for causing body odour. But he assures that these are severe and rare cases, and one shouldn’t worry much about it.
What can one do to reduce body odour?
Dr Soumita Biswas, chief nutritionist, Aster RV Hospital Bangalore, brings in the quintessential food angle. She says that body odour can be exacerbated by a poor diet; certain foods contain foul-smelling compounds that are excreted through the sweat glands and they can give an unpleasant odour. These include ingredients like chilli, garlic and onion. “A protein-rich diet is also believed to be a cause of body odour,” says Dr Biswas.
“There is only one major factor that affects body odour and that is the quantity of plain water that a person consumes,” says Lisa Sarah John, a Bangalore-based diet counsellor and nutritionist. Water is required to flush out all the waste products produced by the body and to keep the motility of the digestive tract efficient, says the nutritionist who adds that most adults require 2.5 to 3 litres of water daily. “If the required amount is not consumed, then saliva, perspiration and urine become concentrated, resulting in an overall unpleasant body odour,” points out John.
Treatment of body odour
Dr Udbalker says that body odour is like a fingerprint – it is unique and one can never determine its exact cause as each body is different. However, maintaining good personal hygiene can reduce bacterial colonisation on the skin and decrease sweat production which in turn can diminish the odour. “Shedding some weight also prevents the accumulation of sweat in the skin folds,” he suggests.
In some cases, mild anti-bacterial lotions are prescribed for a few weeks which can reduce bacteria. Antiperspirants can limit the amount of sweat. But it is also important to keep the area dry with powders to curb the overgrowth of bacteria that thrive in moisture, says Dr Udbalker
The possibility of a microbial transplant that replaces the entire set of flora in a human body that causes body odour is being researched, but the dermatologist says it’s better not to mess with nature as one can never know how the new bacteria will react with the body.
‘Keep it simple and manage it,’ is Dr Udbalker’s advice.
