Do you always reek after a workout session or game? You may wonder why you didn’t experience these embarrassing smell until puberty, you’re about to find out.
Body Odour is mainly caused by skin glands secretions and bacterial activity. Body odour is considered an unpleasant odour among many human cultures. Most people battling with the problem of body odour are either too shy to talk to speak to someone about it or are uninformed as to what to do about it.
Bromhidrosis (another word for body odour) happens at puberty because of increasing hormones called androgens. These hormones are not active until puberty, which is why body odour wasn’t a problem when you were a kid.
People who are obese, those who regularly eat spicy foods, as well as individuals with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes and staph, are more susceptible to having body odour. People who sweat too much may also be susceptible to body odour. Here are few tips on how to treat body odour.
Keep Your Body Clean: Have your bath at least twice a day, use antibacterial soap to reduce the number of bacteria on your skin. Sweat is odourless but when microscopic bacteria that live naturally on your skin mix with sweat, they multiply quickly and give birth to body odour
Towel Off Thoroughly: After shower, always be sure you dry yourself completely. Towel off and make sure you dry any areas where you sweat a lot. When the skin is dry, it’s harder for bacteria that cause body odour to breed on it.
Use Deodorant: Once you are clean and dry, use a strong deodorant or antiperspirant on your underarms. If you think you need even more help, you may want to ask your doctor about prescription antiperspirants.
Food: Yes, the foods we eat also play a role in the intensity of not only body odour but also foot odour and bad breath. Nutrients and compounds contained in food are essential for day to day sustenance, however some of them, especially in overabundance can influence odour. Foods commonly associated with odour issues include seafood, egg yolks, garlic, onions, yogurt, beans, cabbage and spices.
However, if the cause of body odour is traced to a certain medical condition, it is advisable to address the disease from its root, instead of combating only the symptom.