Sometimes weird body issues can creep up on us at the strangest of times. Bad body odor is one problem that can cause embarrassment and shame. Here are some reasons why you may be emitting bad fumes.
The first culprit is stress. You have two types of sweat glands. One called the Eccrine glands, which are located all over your body and they emit fluid to cool you off. Often these fluids do not smell and have little or no fragrance at all. But apocrine glands, which are located in your armpits, will emit foul smelling sweat when you’re stressed. When you’re stressed these glands will emit a fatty, protein-rich sweat that mixes with bacteria on your skin. This sweat can cause bad body odor and even stain your clothes.
If you are not stressed, the next culprit could be certain foods. For example, spices such as curry and garlic, or vegetables like onion, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus, can cause you to emit compounds like sulfur into your sweat glands. This sulfur release can cause you to have musty or urine smelling body odor as long as 6-12 hours after.
If you know you will be facing a stressful situation, use an antiperspirant with 19%-20% of an ingredient called aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex. This is a less irritating version of the typical sweat-blocking aluminum. If you know your causes are food related, you could simply avoid these foods and drink more water to reduce the strength of your body odor.