Cleveland Clinic. If youve been working out, excessive sweat may be the culprit. 4 /13. Rotting Flesh Smell in Nose: Which Test Rules Cancer Out? Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization. Not cleaning well or leaving a tampon in for too long can also cause odors. If the sudden smell has you worried and it persists, it never hurts to set up a doctors appointment or call a doctor or nurse for advice. Seattle Childrens Hospital: Ear Discharge., Mayo Clinic: Sweating and Body Odor, Vaginal odor, Diarrhea, Bad breath, Diabetic ketoacidosis., PLOS One: A Jungle in There: Bacteria in Belly Buttons are Highly Diverse, but Predictable., Mather Hospital: Theres a Rainforest in Your Belly Button., Johns Hopkins Medicine: Giardiasis., HealthDirect: Male Groin Irritation and Infection., National Health Service (U.K.): How to Stop Smelly Feet, Metallic Taste, Smelly Urine., Cleveland Clinic: Four Ways You Can Avoid Stinky Feet.. We avoid using tertiary references. The condition can also be caused by inflamed sinuses, temporal lobe seizures, Parkinsons disease and brain tumors, plus even an upper respiratory tract infection. These create a better breeding ground for body odor. Treatments are usually done with an antibiotic or antifungal agent. If the change in body odor is subtle and isnt accompanied by worrisome symptoms, it may be due to hormone changes. For instance, scurvy vitamin C deficiency can cause sweat to smell putrid. Its a mix of water and leftover waste from your kidneys. This comprehensive limitation of liability applies to any kind of damage including (without limitation) compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential, loss of data, income or profit, loss of or damage to property and claims of third parties. Smell Phantom Dirty Feet but Theres No Smelly Feet Around? "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. DOI: Shirasu M, et al. Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. It is stronger at some times than others, but is constant and has given me a headache that I cannot get rid of. Appointments & Access Contact Us Possible Causes Care and Treatment When to Call the Doctor It is illegal to copy, reprint or republish any content or portions of content from this site without the author's permission. 2023 Healthline Media LLC. This results from certain acids that occur, which can be reduced by using the antibiotic metronidazole. We sincerely hope that this article will help you make sense of the problem and possibly decide your best course of action to get rid of body odor. It occurs when someone senses the fragrance of metallic-appearing yarn or fiber. Everyone gets body odor sometimes. When metal comes into contact with skin, it catalyzes reactions among the organic molecules that coat our bodies. 2011;150:257. If vaginal pH is elevated from . Food preparation and eating can be an important part of parenting, socializing, and ethnic identity.. This can be due to a high protein diet, exercise, or health conditions such as. If body odor is affecting your life, please give your doctor a call. Something else may be causing your body odor, such as a fungal infection. Bacteria thrive in moist environments, like your armpits. There are some case studies that looked at the efficacy of smell training for olfactory dysfunction, but its difficult to make a concrete deduction since most people normally recover their sense of smell over time. For instance, an infected navel piercing might stink. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Anatomy, Skin Sweat Glands. Apart from iron, contact with copper precipitates a similar process, notes Nature. (2015). Some people sweat a lot in their groin. High concentrations of calcium chloride can harm plants and . However, theyre typically accompanied by itching, redness, or burning. Researchers believe that each person generates a unique smell after interaction with these metals and that the resulting odor may vary if an individual is unwell. Urine that contains a lot of water and few waste products has little to no odor. Causes of odor in sweat Prevention When to see a doctor Treatment Summary Sometimes sweat can smell like ammonia. So can supplements. Daily showering, anti-bacterial soap, and the right underarm product can help control body odor. You can't completely get rid of it. Patients with anosmia and parosmia can lose interest in food, Schamess said. Normal odors may even suddenly smell rotten, metallic, or skunk-like. Here are some of the common body odor diseases, so to speak: Diabetes: As the UK National Health Service says, diabetes increases an individuals susceptibility to body odor. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. When working out, choose moisture-wicking fabrics. Cold sweats are often associated with your body's ''fight or flight'' response. They can feel disconnected from others. Changes in your breath can be a symptom of several health conditions. See our, Body Odor Disease, Chronic, Onion & Sour Body Odor, What Causes Strong Odor in Body in Women, Men? Onion. Read our. But if you often smell ammonia, thats a sign you need to drink more water. Body odors in particular may be caused by an increase in skin oils or sweat coming into contact with dirt, bacteria or dried blood. Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. A sudden change in body odor typically occurs in a specific area of the body. Pay special attention to the areas prone to body odor. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. This may not necessarily be unpleasant just different. DOI: Mayo Clinic Staff. As we have seen, this symptom can point to a serious underlying pathology, as . Most often, body odor is more noticeable to you than it is to anyone else. The odor can be just about anything thats disagreeable, from rotting meat or cheese to fish, something burning or something chemical. Apocrine glands are found in areas where you have hair, such as your armpits and groin. This might help improve your body odor. Most patients with smell dysfunction after COVID-19 infection return to normal, but there is so little known about long-term effects that it is unclear how many patients will return to normal.. Brussel sprouts. If your skin develops an infection, either new or due to a preexisting condition, you may experience a sudden smell at the site of the infection. Apocrine glands are found in select areas of the body, including: This explains why body odor mostly develops in your armpits and groin area, but not on your forehead. Answers from hundreds of doctors about benign to serious symptoms. If you dont practice healthy foot hygiene habits, you may be more likely to develop it. DOI: Havlicek J, et al. I explained that this is a toxic chemical smell. Summary. Midlife hormonal shifts can affect vaginal flora and increase women's risk of UTIs and urinary incontinence, both of which can make their urine have an ammonia-like odor. Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. These glands empty into a hair follicle instead of a duct. Chronic body odor is best attended to by a doctor. Smart Grocery Shopping When You Have Diabetes, Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Dogs and Cats. New research reveals that immunization can trigger a distinct change in body odor. Here are some tips to practice better hygiene: If an adolescent is going through puberty, a change in body odor is completely normal. The two main types of sweat glands are eccrine glands and apocrine glands. Accessed July 6, 2016. Giardiasis is a type of diarrhea that triggers unusually bad-smelling poop. U.S. STD Cases Increased During COVIDs 2nd Year, Have IBD and Insomnia? There is still much to know about COVID-19 and how the disease affects the body, but its possible that the virus damages the olfactory receptors in the nose, causing anosmia and parosmia. Sex, your period, or sweating may briefly change it. Some people with gynecological tumors do complain of unpleasant-smelling vaginal discharge. Eccrine glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of the skin. Philipp J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Ketones-byproducts of the breakdown of fat-begin to build-up in the body with negative effects. Body odor is commonly attributed to poor hygiene, eating garlic and numerous spicy foods, taking some medication, stress and anxiety, or hormonal fluctuations associated with puberty and menopause. Going from no smell to distorted smell can be a step on the road to recovery., There is no way to say when it will go away, Manes said. Soap, laundry detergent, makeup, lotions and other products can also create pungent smells. Apocrine glands remain inactive until puberty. In uncontrolled cases of diabetes, the patient may develop a condition known as ketoacidosis which is noticeable for a distinctive body odor coupled with a sweet taste on the skin and a fruity taste in the mouth and breath. (2012). If regular showers don't seem to help, try a special cleanser. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. Raad N, Ghorbani J, Safavi Naeini A, Tajik N, Karimi-Galougahi M. Parosmia in patients with COVID-19 and olfactory dysfunction. Carla M. Delgado is a health and culture writer based in the Philippines. Losing the sense of taste and smell is commonly associated with COVID-19. "Head trauma can affect the olfactory nerves and they can re-innervate improperly, affecting smell," says Dr. Silvers. Phantosmia brought on by a sinus condition or other temporary health problem will usually disappear when your condition improves. Make a donation. People recovering from COVID-19 are also reporting that the smell of rotting meat seems to follow them everywhere. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022. International Hyperhidrosis Society. Even alcohol can change the smell of your sweat. "The mineral magnesium helps in 'deodorizing' our internal organs and also helps with our body odor," says cardiologist Robert Segal, MD, co-founder of LabFinder. So can metabolic disorders, diabetic ketoacidosis (a complication of diabetes), and gastrointestinal-bladder fistulas. Also learn how to keep it clean, how to treat the odor, and more. Normally, we experience smell when the olfactory sensory neurons in the nose pick up an odor and then transmit a message to the brain, which identifies the odor. Our experts continually monitor the health and culture writer based in the body such as armpits. Affecting your life, please give your doctor a call of doctors about benign to serious.. 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