Why does sweat stink?

Generally speaking, sweat from the human body has no odor. But some people will have a sweaty smell after sweating. Sweat odor usually appears in the armpits, areola or wet perineum. This situation may be related to family heredity or may be caused by contact with irritating objects. There are certain folk remedies for treating body odor. Below are the causes, treatment remedies and precautions for people with rare body odor.

1. Causes of sweat odor

Large amounts of smelly sweat on human skin are often caused by abnormal sweat secretion from the apocrine sweat glands. It is mainly distributed in the armpits, areola, perineum, and external auditory canal, and is more common in women. The apocrine glands are affected by endocrine system, starting in childhood, gradually intensifying, and then gradually decreasing or disappearing in old age. Clinically, some patients have a family history, which may be related to genetics. There are many foreigners suffering from bromhidrosis and the condition is severe. The sweat of people who use some substances such as curry, onions, wine, and arsenic may have a special odor.

The sweat secreted by normal eccrine sweat glands is often odorless, but in the case of excessive sweating, the sweat is broken down by surface bacteria, releasing fatty acids and forming an odor. This is why topical antibiotics are effective. Rare bromhidrosis can occur when the mental or nervous system is damaged. Systemic bromhidrosis is often a physiological change, usually related to nerves, and only a few are pathological. Patients with bromhidrosis often have excessive sweating. Some statistics show that 86 out of 100 cases of bromhidrosis are accompanied by excessive sweating.

2. Treatment remedies for sweat odor

1. Chili iodine method: Soak 50 grams of fresh chili powder in 300 ml of iodine for 15 days. Wipe off the sweat stains every morning and evening, then apply this liquid to the affected area and you will see the effect.

2. Place a large snail in clean water until its lid opens. Immediately use a needle to put a grain of croton into the snail's cavity and then place it in a cup. After about 1 hour, the snails will turn into water. Apply this water to both armpits several times to eliminate body odor.

3. After frying the salt, put it into a gauze bag, tie it up while it is still hot, and rub both armpits repeatedly for about 5 minutes, once a day, for 5 consecutive days.

4. Dry and rub 20 grams of moxa leaves into fine powder, add 20 grams of alum (ground into powder), and 200 grams of salt. Mix the above ingredients evenly and heat them in a pot. Take them out, wrap them in a cloth and hold them under the armpits, making sure not to burn the skin. There will be no odor after 5 minutes. This recipe can be used once and last for more than 1 month.

3. Precautions for sweat odor

1. Develop good personal hygiene habits to eliminate bacteria more thoroughly. Make a habit of bathing with antiseptic soap once a day, and clean thoroughly in the armpits and groin areas where odors occur.

2. Change and wash your clothes every day and don’t accumulate too many dirty clothes. When washing clothes, be careful to remove sweat stains from them.

3. Regulate your emotions. Your body is most likely to produce bad odor when you are angry, irritable, or anxious. Stay relaxed and try to get enough sleep every night.

4. Eating certain foods and condiments can sometimes cause you to emit an unpleasant odor. For example, seafood, onions, garlic, pepper, fennel and curry. These foods will produce protein and fat decomposition products, which will seep out of the body through the pores. If you have a strong sweat odor, you should try to eat less food here.

5. Generally speaking, people with liver heat have high body temperature, so bacteria on the skin surface naturally grow quickly. In humid and hot weather, the sweat smell will naturally be more unpleasant. Be careful to avoid eating too much spicy and hot food, don’t smoke, and drink less alcohol to reduce the accumulation of toxins in the body and the burden on the liver, thereby effectively reducing the excretion of smelly sweat and achieving the purpose of effectively removing sweat odor.