What is the root cause of body odor?

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asked Aug 27, 2023 in Body/Skin by Chadkgood (1,520 points)
What is the root cause of body odor?

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answered Sep 25, 2023 by Mack7uck (8,760 points)
The root cause of body odor is bacteria on the skin that comes into contact with sweat.

The human skin is covered with natural bacterial and when we sweat, the slat, water and fat mix with the bacteria which then leads to body odor.

Not bathing or showering daily can cause the bacteria and sweat to build up and cause you to smell.

There could be multiple underlying conditions leading to the body odor which can be primarily poor hygiene, disorders like diabetes and thyroid most commonly and also poor dietary choices.

Certain foods can change the way you smell.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Sweating and body odor are caused by sweat glands in your body.

The two main types of sweat glands are eccrine glands and apocrine glands.

Eccrine glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of the skin.

Some things you can do to get body odor to go away include.

Keep Yourself Clean.
Use Antibacterial Soap.
Towel Off Well.
Use 'Industrial Strength' Antiperspirants.
Keep Your Clothes Clean.
Cut Out or Cut Back on Certain Foods or Drinks.

Also an overactive thyroid can cause the body to smell due to the increase in sweat due to the hyperfunction of the thyroid gland.

Thyroid dysfunction has many long-term and immediate-term health implications.

If you are sweating too much, take it seriously.

A person living with a health condition such as diabetes or kidney disease may also have sweat that smells like ammonia.

A person can try antiperspirants to reduce the amount they sweat, and deodorants to cover up any odors.

A doctor can treat any underlying health conditions to help reduce the ammonia smell in sweat.

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