The difference between body odor and sweat odor

The temperature in summer is very hot, and people will sweat all over just by walking outside. After people sweat a lot, their bodies will emit sweat odor, which many people find very annoying. Compared to sweat odor, body odor smells more unpleasant. However, many people do not have enough medical knowledge, so they cannot tell the difference between sweat odor and body odor. So what is the difference between body odor and sweat odor?

What is the difference between sweat odor and body odor?

1. Taste

There is a big difference in smell between body odor and sweat odor. For people who don’t have body odor, the smell of their armpits is the same as that of other parts of the body, but for people who have body odor, the smell of their armpits is very strong and irritating, which is easier to distinguish.

2. Reasons

Sweat odor is different from underarm odor. It is caused by the small sweat glands and only appears when there is a lot of sweat. Unlike underarm odor, the odor is not continuously emitted. The occurrence of axillary odor is mainly due to the abnormal secretion of the apocrine sweat glands under the human armpits. The secreted sweat is decomposed by bacteria on the body surface to produce an unpleasant odor.

3. Symptoms

The only symptom of body odor is the smell of sweat. Even if we don’t distinguish between body odor and sweat odor by smell, their symptoms are different. Because the symptom of underarm odor is a pungent odor in the armpits, but at the same time, underarm odor also has the following symptoms: white or yellowish secretions on the armpit hair; then the underarm underwear will also be dyed yellow by abnormal sweat; finally, people with underarm odor generally have symptoms of oily ears. These are generally not present in sweat odor, and can be distinguished from here.

How does sweat odor form?

The sweat glands that secrete sweat in the human body can be roughly divided into two types: eccrine sweat glands and apocrine sweat glands. Eccrine sweat glands are distributed throughout the body and excrete water containing only a small amount of salt, lactic acid, urea, etc.; apocrine sweat glands are sweat glands attached to hair and are distributed in the armpits, areola, and pubic area. Sweat is a thin fluid secreted by sweat glands, of which water accounts for 99%. Sweat itself has no odor, but when sweat mixes with bacteria on the surface of the skin, it produces a bad smell.

After exercise, sweat odor reaches its highest point. Because the body surface is hot and humid, it provides an ideal breeding environment for bacteria. The most common areas for sweat odor are the armpits, feet, groin, etc., where bacteria are easily accumulated, there are relatively more sweat glands, sweat is more difficult to evaporate, and the odor is relatively strong.

How is body odor formed?

Body odor is different from sweat odor which is widely distributed. Body odor refers to the odor of unsaturated fatty acids produced by the large sweat glands in the armpits that secrete a large amount of yellowish and thick fatty acids, which are produced by the action of bacteria on the body surface. The smell of body odor is very similar to the odor discharged from the anus, so it is called body odor.