The causes and possible cures for body odor
Body odor, often abbreviated and called B.O., is not an easy topic of discussion even among close friends and relatives especially when it is bad. What causes B.O? Tonight on Healthy Living, we take a closer look at sweat and body odor…the possible causes and cures.
Marleni Cuellar, Reporting
With the hot humid days in Belize, it’s very easy to work up a sweat. In fact it’s almost unavoidable once we’re spending time outdoors. Most people fear the body odor that may occur with excessive sweating. Dermatologist, Dr. Jorge Lopez, helps us to understand the origin of this unfavorable body aroma by first explaining the two main sources of sweat.
Dr. Jorge Lopez, Dermatologist
“There are two different types of glands that are associated with excretion of liquid. The first one and the one we have basically on the entire surface of our body are called the eccrine glands which are the sweat glands properly. They’re function is to help our body to cool off. So whenever, there’s a raise in the thermostat that we have inside of our brains then a signal is given for us to start sweating. When the sweat comes into the skin and it evaporates then it helps us to cool off. But then you have another type of gland that are only located around the auxillas around the breast in women and chest in men and on the genital area so these ones respond basically to stimuli that have to do with emotional states and also they are related to the pheromones production.”
Both the eccrine & apocrine glands produce sweat made up mostly of water. The apocrine sweat though also consists of oil, this gland does not activate until the hormonal changes of puberty – which is also the time we start using deodorants and antiperspirants. The sweat itself, though, is not what causes the ‘stink’ that may develop.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“The sweat has no odor by itself. What happens is that once it gets in contact with your skin then we have a lot of bacteria on our skin. Those are supposed to be there. Those are normal and they are necessary for our health. But when you do not take the appropriate measures for example you do not take a shower everyday or you don’t change your clothes when you’re sweaty. What happens is that there is an overgrowth of this bacteria and then whenever the bacteria breaks down the apocrine oily substance then it creates this body smell. A deodorant is nothing else than a substance that tries to mask the odor. It changes the odor you have and tries to hide it. So basically a deodorant is a substance that is designed to try to mask an odor. An antiperspirant on the contrary usually has as its main component, aluminum salts and what it does is that this basically clogs the sweat glands so to speak and in that way it prevents the person from sweating as much.”
The odor is not contagious as is often the belief but simply pungent enough to get trapped and transferred on clothing. As for the Belizean tradition of using lime, while it may be effective it should be used with caution.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“Theoretically it could work because what it is doing with the lime is your changing the PH of the skin and by that reducing the amount of bacteria. But the danger in this is that if you do not use the proper dilution then you would have an allergic contact dermatitis in other words you would burn your skin.”
Dr. Lopez also confirms that men do sweat more than women and race does influence sweat production as does our diet; but, excessive sweating may also be a symptom of other serious medical conditions.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“In some countries the stronger your body odor, the more appealing you re. In the western world it is actually the opposite. In terms of races we know that darker skin tends to produce more apocrine sweat than lighter skin. We also know that East Asians tend to have less sweating than the other races. Sometimes there are several factors like diet for example in some cultures they tend to eat a lot of spices, curry, hot pepper, even alcohol orcaffeine can give you a distinct body odor even if you have a good hygiene. Some type of cancers for example would give you sweating mostly during the night and this has nothing to do with your body being hot or feeling hot, this has to do with the cancer itself.”
Some people do have a condition called hyperhidrosis which is excessive sweating. Treatment options include prescription topical medication and in some cases Botox injections are used to decrease sweat production. Each person though has their own sweating pattern and good hygiene is the most effective barrier to developing the unwanted aroma.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“If you take a shower everyday if you get your feet to get some air. You use antibacterial soap for the areas like the armpits and genital area then you would be on the safe side. Now if you were to experience any sudden changes in your amount of sweat or body odor it’ always a good idea to consult with your doctor because there are medical conditions that could cause this so it could be a warning sign for this.”
